By Gabriel Rom
Beginning early Friday morning in Flushing and ending just after 11 a.m. in Douglaston, State Sen. Tony Avella (D-Bayside) wove a path through the borough to honor victims of Sept. 11.
Accompanied by family members of residents killed 14 years ago at Ground Zero, Avella made more than two dozen stops on quiet streets and avenues with names like Firefighter Michael Haub Road and Christopher Racaniello 9/11 Memorial Way and hung 27 wreaths on corner signposts.
Avella’s annual 9/11 motorcade pays tribute to those individuals, he believes, made the ultimate sacrifice.
“This is simply something that we have to remember. It was a life changing event for this country,” Avella said. “The people who worked at the tower and who ran there after the planes struck — the police officers, the fire fighters, the port authority and the EMTs — became martyrs in the cause of freedom. They ran into those buildings without any forethought of their own safety, and it’s important that we remember that.”
Reach reporter Gabriel Rom by e-mail at grom@
