NST Never Forgets
Courtyard Ceremony Marks 20th Anniversary of 9/11
BY JILL DAVIS
“The weather for today’s event
is perfect, eerily like it was on
September 11 twenty years ago,”
remarked Glen Kotowski, North
Shore Towers’ General Manager
and a 9/11 first responder. And
he was right. The backdrop of a
crystal blue sky on this September
11 belied the somber nature of the
day’s event.
While NST has an enduring
tradition of marking each anni-versary
of that horrific day, this
year’s event held a special mean-ing—
two decades is hard to grasp,
especially when it feels as if it just
happened. NYS Senator John Liu
said, “Twenty years seems like
a long time but we all remember
9/11 as if it were yesterday. The pain
hasn’t abated.”
North Shore Towers
First Responders
Dr. Stanley Goldsmith
acknowledged North Shore
Towers’ 9/11 first respond-ers
who attended this year’s
memorial:
NST Residents:
• Tom Lyons, Firefighter,
FDNY, retired
• Todd Heiman, Detective,
NYPD, retired
• Ivan Ko, Sergeant, NYPD,
retired
NST Staff:
• Glen Kotowski, General
Manager; Deputy
Inspector, NYPD, retired
• Steve Cairo, General
S u p e r i n t e n d e n t ;
Lieutenant, NYPD, retired
• Chris Stahly, Security
Director; Lieutenant,
NYPD, retired
• Bruce Vogel, Assistant
to the General Manager;
Sergeant, NYPD, retired
• John Graffeo, Supply
Room; NYPD Police
Officer, retired
Dr. Stanley Goldsmith, NST’s
Chair of Special Events, coordinat-ed
the program, which was held in
the center courtyard at 5 pm. “We
begin our remembrance ceremony
with the National Anthem led by
a longtime friend of North Shore
Towers, Phyllis Hoffman, who
has joined us to help brighten
our day,” he said. Ms. Hoffman is
an outstanding singer and led off
with the “Star Spangled Banner,”
which was followed by a moment of
silence. Ms. Hoffman interspersed
the program with moving renditions
of “Amazing Grace,” “God Bless
America” and “Proud to Be an
American.”
Dr. Goldsmith welcomed invit-ed
guests who, in addition to Sen.
Liu, included NYS Assemblyman
Ed Braunstein, NYC Councilman
Barry Grodenchick and Anthony
Lemma of NYS Assemblyman
David Weprin’s office.
Dr. Goldsmith thanked former
NST Board President Bob Ricken,
who founded the annual NST
9/11 memorial program and orga-nized
it for many years, and also
acknowledged North Shore Towers’
staff and residents who were first
responders on 9/11.
“Never Forget,” the phrase that
has become inextricably linked to
9/11, seemed especially poignant
on this anniversary given that
there are now many young people
who were not even born at the
time. In addressing the audience,
Board President Ed Phelan noted,
NYS Assemblyman Ed Braunstein; former NST board member Debra
Markell-Kleinert; NYS Senator John Liu
Ms. Phyllis Hoffman and Dr. Stanley Goldsmith A clear blue sky 6 NORTH SHORE TOWERS COURIER ¢ October 2021