9/11 Ceremony Set for Croton Landing

CORTLANDT, NY — The Town of Cortlandt and the Villages of Buchanan and Croton-on-Hudson will hold a dedication ceremony Sept. 11 at Croton Landing in Croton. The event will take place at the 9/11 memorial.

The planning, creating and building of the memorial – “Reaching Through The Shadow” - began in 2009. The memorial is now complete and was formally transferred from the BCC 9/11 Task Force to the three municipalities.

Through the hard work and perseverance of the local all-volunteer Task Force, this unique Memorial will stand for many future generations as a symbol of remembrance and hope, said Cortlandt Town Supervisor Linda Puglisi.

Major components of the Memorial consist of a functioning sundial with nine, artistically-created bronze
medallions serving as the hour markers (from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.) which also depict the searing events of that
day. The World Trade Center steel beam from the North Tower performs as the gnomon of the sundial, which
is registered with the North American Sundial Society (NASS).

In 2014, a bronze life-size statue of a woman was installed under the steel beam. The woman is reaching, but
not quite touching, the steel beam. She is “Reaching Through The Shadow” (the title of the Memorial) and
she symbolizes hope and strength. She is meant to represent all of us who have experienced loss, but
continue to have hope for the future. A Remembrance Garden, which is a place for reflection and renewal, has
been planted adjacent to the Memorial.

A bronze plaque mounted on a boulder at the site is inscribed as follows:

“Dedicated to all who lost their lives on September 11, 2001; to the first and second responders; to the
members of the military who answered the call of duty; and to those listed below from our community:”

• William F. Abrahamson
• Gregory E. Rodriguez
• FF George C. Cain
• Thomas E. Sinton III
• PO Stephen P. Driscoll
• Randall L. Sprance
• James A Oakley
• Joseph J. Zuccala

Participants will gather in the Croton Landing parking area at the north end of Elliott Way of the Croton
RiverWalk at 3:30 p.m. for the ceremony at 4 p.m. Led by a color guard from the community, they will walk in
procession along the quarter-of- a-mile pathway north to the site on the Hudson River. A van from the Village
of Croton will be in the parking area to transport those who need assistance.

Please join us for this important ceremony.