By Nathan Duke
The borough will honor the memory of Queens residents who died during the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center during ceremonies throughout northern and western Queens throughout the course of this week and next weekend.
Astoria’s United Community Civic Association will host its annual candlelight vigil for the Sept. 11 victims Friday at McManus Memorial Park at 81st Street and the Grand Central Parkway service road in Astoria Heights, said Dan Andrews, spokesman for Borough President Helen Marshall.
The Bayside Hills Civic Association will conduct a ceremony at 7 p.m. on Sept. 11 at the corner of Bell Boulevard and the Long Island Expressway service road. A number of borough officials have been invited to attend the ceremony, including U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-Forest Hills), state Sen. Frank Padavan (R-Bellerose), state Assemblyman Mark Weprin (D-Little Neck), Avella and Community Board 11 Chairman Jerry Iannece, who is running for Avella’s seat. The civic has asked attendees to bring candles to light at the ceremony.
Another memorial will be held Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Juniper Valley Park in Middle Village. Elected officials representing the community are expected to attend, a spokesman for City Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley (D-Middle Village) said.
Queens Judges Fernando Camacho and Jeremy Weinstein will honor the lives of three Manhattan court officers — Sgt. Mitchell Wallace, Sgt. Thomas Jurgens and Capt. Harry Thompson — who died on Sept. 11 during a 12:30 p.m. ceremony on Sept. 11 in the Central Jury Room at Borough Hall, located at 120-55 Queens Blvd. in Kew Gardens. The event will include songs and poems presented to the families of the officers, a spokeswoman for Camacho said.
On Friday, the Forest Hills Community & Civic Association and the American Legion will host their annual Sept. 11 memorial at 6:30 p.m. at Remsen Memorial Park in Forest Hills.
St. Michael’s Cemetery’s event, the largest annual memorial for the victims of the attacks in the borough, will take place at 2 p.m. Sept. 12. The cemetery, at 72-02 Astoria Blvd. in East Elmhurst, will honor the firefighters, Port Authority officers and police officers who died at Ground Zero.
A monument at the cemetery includes the names of the 343 firefighters, 76 of whom lived or worked in Queens, who were killed in the attacks. The eighth-annual memorial service is open to the public.
College Point’s Poppenhusen Institute, located at 114-04 14th Rd., will host a concert featuring music by Queens College graduate student Natalia Salemmo and a dance performance by Once Upon a Time Theater Company on Sept. 12 at 2 p.m., director Susan Brustmann said. The events will be followed by a candlelight ceremony.
Reach reporter Nathan Duke by e-mail at nduke@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 156.
