NST Remembers 9/11
BY JILL DAVIS
On September 11, North
Shore Towers continued
its tradition of paying
homage to the victims and heroes
of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Board President Bob Ricken and
Board Director Deborah Markell
Kleinert coordinated the
evening, which included tributes
to NST residents and staff as well
as several guest speakers.
Bob introduced the evening saying,
“The events of 9/11 will live
forever in our memories…we’ll
always also admire the courage and
compassion of the heroes racing
into the buildings trying to save
their countrymen.” He continued,
“Our remembrance of that day
requires a serious reflection. We
must ask ourselves, ‘How best to
honor those who died?’’ He concluded,
“The highest honor we can
pay to those we lost is to stay true
to who we are as Americans.”
Bob then invited Rabbi Bless,
a frequent speaker at the Towers,
to the podium. Rabbi Bless noted
that 18 years have passed and “the
number 18 in Jewish tradition has
special significance…it makes up
the word, ‘chai,’ which means ‘life.’
Who would think,” he continued,
“that 18 years after 9/11 we would
still be waging a war against terror.”
Rabbi Bless concluded his talk by
saying, “To make a memorial service
meaningful, it’s important that
we find a positive message…let us
pledge to shine a ray of light…
let us all resolve to increase our
acts of kindness and hope that in
the future the world is filled with
peace and tranquility for all.”
One of the key moments of the
evening was the acknowledgment
by Bob and the audience of FDNY
Firefighter Tom Lyons and NYPD
Detective Todd Heiman. Bob
introduced them as as our heroes,
saying, “Tom was at 9/11 and you
will still see him at every parade.
Todd was there too, but he doesn’t
talk about it, doesn’t brag about it.”
Bob then brought NST General
Manager Glen Kotowski and
Security Director Chris Stahly to
the stage, explaining the dedication
they displayed in the aftermath of
the attacks “working 12 hours shifts,
seven days a week for weeks at a
time” to prepare for other possible
threats and to secure the area from
unauthorized individuals. “These
guys did wonders,” Bob said.
Deborah then addressed the audience
and echoed Bob’s remarks.
“The police officers, firefighters,
EMS works are our heroes. Our
first responders go in when we go
running out. Thank you for protecting
us every single day.”
Speakers included Senator John
Liu, who wanted to make sure that
younger people are told about that
day. "We have to make sure our kids
know…many of them were not born
Board Director Deborah
Markell-Kleinert
yet.” Assemblyman Ed Braunstein
noted that “Those of us who were
alive that day will never forget but
it’s important we tell our children
about that day and also about the
good things, the bravery of our first
responders and also about how
New Yorkers came together.”
NYS Comptroller Thomas
DiNapoli recalled that immediately
after 9/11, “After there was a
sense of unity, differences were put
aside…but in 2019 we see too much
division disharmony. We need to
understand how to respect each
other and be once again united as
Americans. Let's try to get back to
that spirit.”
On a positive note, Assemblyman
David Weprin announced that
earlier that day, Governor Cuomo
signed a bill that will “provide for
anybody who volunteered at ground
zero as if they were a uniformed
responder to be treated the same.”
And Bob concluded the evening
by reminding the audience that
“some good things have happened.
For the first time, Democrats and
Republicans got together and the
president signed the bill that will
provide health care to everyone
who worked on the pile--forever.”
Photos by Dawn Steinberg
18 Years Later: Vicarious Trauma…Vicarious Resilience
BY ROBERTA GOULD, PH.D.
I am a psychologist who volunteered
at 9/11. I am still
involved and recently attended
a Voices of September 11th Resiliency
Symposium. Dr. Madelyn
Miller is a social worker with a
Ph.D. and her presentation really
rang home for me.
She spoke about the tenor of the
times, not only 9/11, but the constant
terrorist attacks that we are
experiencing now. There is a sense
of loss, suffering, and uncertainty.
The world is no longer a safe place,
whether we go to the mall, a department
store, to school, to work or
even to a house of worship. We are
constantly anxious or under stress.
We read the papers and watch TV
and we vicariously experience a
sense of trauma. I heard the talks
of survivors, the father of a daughter
who was killed in the Parkland
shooting, and others.
In spite of all of this, we heard
stories from victims’ families and
survivors who have supported
one another and have displayed a
wonderful sense of resiliency. They
have found ways to heal and help
others to do so as
well. They are developing
a greater sense
of meaning and hope
in their lives as they
move forward. The
father of the Parkland
school victim spoke
about how he goes all over to where
there are other terrorist attacks to
meet with people. I had lunch with
two women who lost their husbands
on 9/11 and are now docents
together at the 9/11 museum.
Dr. Miller spoke about resilience
being a dynamic process of moving
forward, rather than an end
point. There was greater
determination, perseverance,
and creative coping
while still suffering. Being
with these people gave
me a vicarious feeling of
resistance.
Maybe we can begin to see a
pathway of not being stuck in the
trauma and we can slowly move on
to feeling that there is hope. Maybe
we can vicariously feel more confident
about the future as we learn
about human survival and our own
ability to move on.
Board President Bob Ricken
Firefighter Tom Lyons and Police
Det. Todd Heiman
Rabbi Bless
NST GM Glen Kotowski and
Security Director Chris Stahly
10 NORTH SHORE TOWERS COURIER ¢ October 2019