Remembering Flight 587 Six Months Later

Santo, Miguel and Inonenico Valera came to Belle Harbor on Sunday to "remember and respect" their brother Feliciano and others on the doomed Flight 587, which crashed exactly six months earlier. "I dont know if this will ever get any better. For us the plane crashes every day, over and over again," said one of the many family members who accompanied them to the memorial service at 131 St. and Newport Ave. "Its very difficult not knowing how this happened."
Santo Valera stood with his wife Melissa and sobbed as he held a piece of rock he had picked up at the crash site. "My brother was thirty-five years old," Santo said. "He has three children, 10, 6, and 4. These babies lost their father and I dont know what they are going to do. I dont know what any of us are going to do."
In the 181 days since the crash, two communitiesone in Rockaway, Queens, the other in upper Manhattanhave formed an unlikely bond as a result of two tragedies separated by little more than two months. The quiet seaside community of Belle Harbor suffered a disproportionate loss of 70 people in the World Trade Center attack, while the largely Dominican community of Washington Heights in upper Manhattan lost scores of loved ones on Flight 587.
Five residents of Belle Harbor also lost their lives in the Flight 587 disaster.
The backdrop for the service was a dark grey sky, threatening rain. One corner of the intersection is now an empty lot where grass covers the ground that once supported three houses. Across the street the homes still standing are scorched and boarded up. A wooden fence along Newport Ave. serves as a canvas for photos and writings about some of the victims, with candles and flowers lining the sidewalk. On the fence one hopeful inscription reads, "To all those who were lost we miss you. We hope you are having a good time with God."
One of the organizers of the service, 48-year-old Hector Algarobba lost both of his parents on the plane. Married for 54 years, Ubencia and Hipolito Algarobba were moving back to the Dominican Republic. "They were going home," said their son. "They were so close even death could not separate them."
The Astoria resident said he wanted to come to Belle Harbor and tell the residents how much their support has meant to all the families and friends of the victims. "I want to thank you for the dignity and respect which you showed our loved ones especially as you removed them from the crash site."
Msgr. Martin Geraghty, the pastor of the local parish of St. Francis DeSales, spoke about faith and remembering. "We are united in faith, we are united in sadness. This is consecrated ground now because of the people that we lost here. We are here because we will never forget them." To the mourners, Msgr. Geraghty said, "We open our hearts to you. We love you. We ask God to bring you peace and consolation."
Prisca Celestino feels anything but peace or consolation. The mother of three wept uncontrollably as she stood at the fence locked in an embrace with her son, 8-year-old Angel Jr. Priscas husband, Angel Celestino, was among those killed in the air. "I am not good at all," she said, "I cant stop feeling the sadness and the depression. Only our children give me the force to keep on. He [Angel] loved them so very much."
Two hundred and sixty people died aboard the plane on Nov. 12, in addition to the five who died in their homes on the ground.
That tragic day began like any other. Gerrie Pomponio was in the bathroom blow drying her hair as her daughter Jennifer, 16, was pleading with her to get out of the bathroom so that she could get in. Gerris husband Franco, 46, was asleep in their bedroom and their son Michael was away at school. As she turned off the blow dryer and headed out of the bathroom, an explosion shook the floor beneath her. "The whole house rocked back and forth. I couldnt believe what was happening," recalled Gerri. "There was fire and so much debris flying everywhere."
Miraculously, Gerri and Jennifer, still in their pajamas, made it out of the house with Dakota, the familys golden retriever. "The only rooms that were not totally destroyed were the bathroom and the kitchen," said Gerri.
Gerris family is now patiently waiting for the Environmental Protection Agency to hand back the property as it tests the area for any residual toxic debris from the airplane. Meanwhile, they are living in a rented house not far from the crash site.
There are hard daysand memories. "Two weeks ago would have been our 24th wedding anniversary, and my daughters Sweet 16 party was back in Marchthat was really emotional," said Gerri.
She said the thing that she wants to do more than anything now is just to go home. "Our house is going to be rebuilt and I really hope we can be moved in by Christmas and the New Year so that we can start building memories again. We are not coming back to this place because its where my husband died. Were coming back because its our home."