Sept. 11 memorial, park
to be unveiled next month
VERONICA YANKOWSKI Contractor Bryan Burns (l) talks with sculptor Blaise Batko at the future site of the township’s Sept. 11 Memorial Park on Tuesday morning, when workers began to set the monuments in place.
MONROE — Work on the township’s elaborate Memorial Park, located on Prospect Plains Road near Half Acre Road, is nearing completion, and officials are planning a dedication ceremony for 10 a.m. Sept. 14.
The dedication will come three days after the one-year anniversary of Sept. 11. On the night of the anniversary, the township has scheduled a 7 p.m. community memorial service titled "Monroe Township Remembers," a patriotic musical tribute featuring local musicians and performers. The event will be held in the performing arts center at Monroe Township High School.
The $280,000 park, in addition to being the home of the municipal Sept. 11 Memorial, will include 63 native New Jersey trees, walking paths and a gazebo, according to information released last week by the township’s administration office.
The memorial itself will feature a Pentagon-shaped walkway and twin black pathways symbolizing the shadows of the World Trade Center. Eight black granite panels are being carved to symbolize the New York City skyline, and will each be inscribed with the name of a Sept. 11 victim who lived in Monroe, had a parent living in the township, or who attended high school in Monroe.
VERONICA YANKOWSKI Workers set the monuments Tuesday at the Monroe Township Sept. 11 Memorial Park, Prospect Plains Road.
Two additional monuments will be dedicated to all uniformed service people and innocent civilians lost during the terrorist attacks.
The park will also include two flag poles, serving as a reminder "that the United States is a strong nation that has risen up from this tragedy and remains indivisible, with liberty and justice for all," according to the press release from the township.
The Sept. 11 memorial was designed by sculptor Blaise Batko, a Hamilton resident who is also working on East Brunswick’s Sept. 11 memorial, to be located at that township’s municipal complex and unveiled on the Sept. 11 anniversary.
The tree park, which local officials had been planning for some time, but subsequently decided would also be an ideal setting for the memorial, was designed by Township Engineer Ernest Feist, of Feist Engineering Inc.
The memorial will list the names of the two township residents lost Sept. 11 — Vincent Gallucci, who is survived by his wife, Barbara, and children, Joe and Alyssa; and Joseph M. Giaccone, who is survived by his wife, Sondra, and children, Alex and Max.
Also to be included are the names of William Fallon, Stewart D. Harris, Steven B. Lillianthal, Mark D. Rothenberg, and Jeffrey D. Wiener, all of whom were children of Monroe residents. The name of James K. Samuel Jr., a 1989 graduate of Monroe Township High School, will also be included.
Parking and shuttle service for the park’s Sept. 14 dedication will be available from the Concordia shopping center starting at 9:30 a.m.

