By Nathan Duke
Civic President Joe Cimino and two other community leaders were named to a committee led by Chapter 32 President Pat Toro Jr. to raise funds and awareness for the site.Toro, of Forest Hills, persuaded the City Council to designate $500,000 for the memorial, which will sit in a 6.5-acre park at the Elmhurst site, and has received a $50,000 grant from state Sen. Serphin Maltese (R-Glendale). Toro first presented a proposal for the memorial one year ago and will discuss design plans for the site at a city Parks Department hearing this spring. He said he will lead a committee to obtain funding for the memorial, which will also include Cimino, Maspeth Federal Savings Bank President Kenneth Rudzewick and Community Board 4 District Manager Richard Italiano.Cimino said the civic decided to get involved with fund-raising for the memorial, which will commemorate borough residents who died in the Vietnam War.”(The civic) is happy to raise community funding and awareness for the project,” he said. “It's important for the community to embrace it and realize it's for a good cause. We want to honor the men and women from our community who served our country.” Cimino said the civic will also assist in the upkeep and maintenance of the memorial once it is built.Toro, who was inducted into the online New York State Senate Virtual Veterans Hall of Fame in October, said the full cost of the memorial has yet to be determined and that design plans were still being discussed.Toro said he would like for the names of the estimated 450 borough residents who lost their lives during the Vietnam War to be engraved on the wall. He said a number of local communities, especially Maspeth and Middle Village, have shown great support for the construction of the memorial.”I've been humbled by the outpouring of support for this memorial,” he said. “I've had all kinds of people come up to me and ask what is happening with the memorial and when it will get done.”Reach reporter Nathan Duke by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 156.
