14 SEPTEMBER 6, 2018 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Remember the victims of 9/11 at vigils this week
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
RPOZARYCKI@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
@ROBBPOZ
Nearly 17 years aft er it happened,
the painful memories of Sept.
11, 2001, still remain fresh on
the minds of so many Queens residents
who were alive to experience it.
In the aft ermath of the terrorist attacks
on the World Trade Center, the
Pentagon and United Airlines Flight
93, the borough held candlelight vigils
and prayerful ceremonies honoring
the victims and especially the police
offi cers, fi refi ghters and paramedics
who made the ultimate sacrifi ce while
trying to save thousands of people in
Lower Manhattan.
That tradition of remembrance will
continue in the days approaching the
attacks’ 17th anniversary. In addition
to the annual ceremony at the National
September 11 Memorial in Lower Manhattan,
Queens neighborhoods will
host various tributes to the victims of
the attacks at public parks and venues
across the borough.
Some of the scheduled memorial
events, set to take place rain or shine,
include the following (in chronological
order):
KEW GARDENS
Sometimes the best way to refl ect
on a tragedy is through conversation.
All are invited to take part in such a
conversation about the events of Sept.
11, 2001, set to take place on Saturday,
Sept. 8, at Maple Grove Cemetery in
Kew Gardens. Jo-Anne Raskin, a member
of the Friends of Maple Grove, will
moderate a talk about the attacks and
how it transformed the lives of New
Yorkers. The event takes place from 10
to 11:30 a.m. at Maple Grove Cemetery’s
Victorian Administrative Building,
83-15 Kew Gardens Rd. Please reserve
a seat in advance by emailing info@
friendsofmaplegrove.org.
MASPETH
Residents of Maspeth and surrounding
communities will come together for
a memorial ceremony at 11 a.m. on Sept.
8 at Maspeth Memorial Park, located
at the corner of 69th Street and Grand
Avenue. With the Manhattan skyline
in the background, participants will
remember the victims of 9/11 through
prayers, music and words of refl ection.
Members of the Fire Department will
also lay wreaths at the memorial; the
park is located a few steps from the
headquarters of Squad Company 288/
Haz-Mat 1, which suff ered signifi cant
losses in responding to the 9/11 attacks.
FOREST HILLS
Members of the Forest Hills Volunteer
Ambulance Corps will honor one
of their own who died while responding
to the 9/11 attacks by participating
in the “Run for Richie” motorcycle
ride on Sept. 9. The event is named in
honor of Richard Allen Pearlman, an
18-year-old ambulance corps volunteer
who rushed down to the Twin Towers
to assist in the emergency response; he
died aft er the South Tower collapsed.
The motorcycle ride starts and ends
in the parking lot of Resorts World
Casino New York City, located at 110-00
Rockaway Blvd. in South Ozone Park;
registration begins at 8:30 a.m. For
more details, call 718-521-6507 or visit
nycpunisherslemc.com/events/9-09-
18-Ride.html.
MIDDLE VILLAGE
More than 3,000 people gathered
on the ballfi elds of Juniper Valley
Park in Middle Village fi ve days aft er
the 9/11 attacks in 2001 for a remarkable
candlelight vigil honoring the
victims. The community will once
again gather at the park on the 17th
anniversary of the attacks on Tuesday,
Sept. 11, for a candlelight vigil
beginning at 7:30 p.m. Organized by
the 9/11 Candlelight Vigil Committee
of Queens, the program includes
music, poems and other refl ection.
All are encouraged to bring candles
or fl ashlights, a lawn chair and an
American fl ag. For more details, visit
911vigil.org.
GLENDALE
Residents of Glendale will once
again gather at the community’s 9/11
memorial at Dry Harbor Playground
for a ceremony on Sunday, Sept. 16,
honoring the victims of the attacks.
The vigil, which gets underway at
12:30 p.m., will include the reading of
the names of 42 residents of Glendale,
Middle Village and Woodhaven who
perished at the World Trade Center.
Dry Harbor Playground is located at
the corner of Myrtle Avenue and 80th
Street.
File photo/RIDGEWOOD TIMES
Last year's 9/11 memorial at Juniper Valley Park in Middle Village, with
the Tribute in Light seen in the background.
All Saints holds fi nal Mass at host church in Ridgewood
The Ridgewood-based parish
that was pushed out of its host
church over a controversy
involving homeless men held its fi nal
mass in the community last weekend.
The Mass on Sept. 2 marked the fi nal
worship for All Saints American Old
Catholic Community, an independent
parish that signed an agreement
fi ve years ago to use the Ridgewood
Presbyterian Church for its services.
Father Mike Lopez, pastor of All Saints,
said that many supporters of the parish
came to the fi nal mass and Bishop
Ken Corbin deconsecrated the space.
All Saints was asked to vacate Ridgewood
Presbyterian by Sept. 4 over
allegations that some of the homeless
men who struggle with alcoholism that
the parish helps with its Hungry Monk
Rescue Truck were causing problems
at the church at all hours of the night.
Lopez said that the parish is working on
fi nalizing another space to use in the area.
“We are dedicated to continuing the
work of the poor in the Ridgewood
community and although we have
been off ered numerous spaces, we
have chosen not to leave the community
that we love,” Lopez said.
Lopez added that the biggest concern for
All Saints is finding a kitchen and storage
space that can accommodate its mission
to feed the poor with the rescue truck.
— Ryan Kelley
Photos courtesy of Fr. Mike Lopez
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