MARLBORO — Additions at the township’s Sept. 11 memorial and the money to fund those improvements are coming in one brick at a time.
Marlboro’s memorial to those who were killed in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, is situated near the Marlboro Recreation Community Center, Wyncrest Road. The memorial is being prepared for an expansion to house additions that will include a 12-foottall steel I-beam that was salvaged from the World Trade Center wreckage.
The inspiration for the upgraded memorial came from Township Council Vice President Jeff Cantor, who has served in Afghanistan with the U.S. Army. While he was overseas, Cantor worked with the Sons and Daughters of America, of Breezy Point, Queens, N.Y., to have an I-beam from the World Trade Center brought to Afghanistan.
The organization was able to secure the steel, which Cantor had flown by helicopter across areas controlled by the Taliban. Cantor said his goal in having the piece of steel seen across areas controlled by the Taliban was to send the message “As Americans, we will never give up.”
That piece of steel was eventually incorporated into a memorial in Bagram, Afghanistan. Cantor said the steel will stand at the base until the last U.S. troops return home.
In October, the Sons and Daughters of America came through again by getting Cantor another 12-foot beam from the World Trade Center. That beam was transported to Marlboro, which lost 14 residents in the 2001 terrorist attacks.
“I thought, wow, what a fitting tribute it would be to those 14 people and to the rest of the residents of Marlboro if we could secure a steel I-beam for them,” Cantor said.
The flag-draped beam was escorted into Marlboro by police and has been in storage, where it will remain until such time as it can be placed at the memorial.
Cantor had a vision for the area, with the 1,500-pound beam standing straight and tall from a pentagon-shaped base, with flags flying around the area.
The township engineer, CME Associates, is donating its services in the redesign of the memorial and Lucas Brothers Construction is preparing the steel for display at no cost. The other improvements have an estimated budget of $53,000.
Without using taxpayers’ funds, the question came up as to how to pay for the work. In brainstorming sessions, Police Chief Bruce E. Hall and council President Randi Marder came up with a plan to sell engraved bricks to the public to be placed at the site, according to Cantor.
Marder said that at one point she was researching public/private projects and read about a redevelopment project that used engraved pavers as a way to raise money to clean up the town.
As discussions got under way about how to raise funds for Marlboro’s memorial, Marder recalled the article and suggested engraved bricks as way to shape the town’s project.
The brick pavers will make up an area surrounding the memorial.
Bricks are available in two sizes or in a four-brick array. The cost for a 4-by-8-inch brick is $100; an 8-by-8-inch can be purchased for $200; and an array of four 8-by-8- inch bricks can be purchased for $500.
Messages for the victims, well wishes to the victims’ families, the names of the donor or any other well-meaning message from the contributor can be engraved on the stones.
Cantor’s hope is to sell 1,000 bricks to help cover the cost of the upgrades and to help pay for the maintenance of the memorial.
All upgrades to the memorial are to be completed in time for a rededication ceremony to be held on Sept. 11, the 10-year anniversary of the attacks on the United States. The day will be marked with a special ceremony Cantor is currently planning.
“The thing about that fateful day is that almost everyone in Marlboro and in the immediate area certainly knows somebody, either friends or family, who was involved in Sept. 11. It’s really important that we come together as a community to memorialize this,” Cantor said.
In order to have a commemorative brick in place during the Sept. 11 ceremony, orders must be placed before the end of July.
Cantor said the bricks will still be available for purchase after that time and will be added to the memorial replacing blank bricks.
An application and more information about purchasing a brick can be found at www.marlboro-nj.gov.