Northeast Queens residents paused for a moment of silence Tuesday at 22 street corners in their communities to honor the friends and family members they lost on Sept. 11, 2001.
State Sen. Tony Avella, D-Bayside, led his annual motorcade through sections of Little Neck, Bayside, Flushing, Whitestone, College Point and Auburndale to pay homage to the victims of the terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center.
“I think it’s important for us to remember those who passed away that day,” said Avella, who began the procession seven years ago when he served on the City Council. “It’s a traumatic event for all of us. I don’t think there is anyone in the city who was not affected by 9/11.”
The senator and the motorcade’s attendees laid a wreath at 22 streets renamed after civilians, firefighters and police officers. One street, James E. Prevete Avenue in Whitestone, was named after a soldier who died in Iraq.
Bayside’s Marie Corrigan took part in the motorcade to honor the life of her husband, James J. Corrigan, a retired FDNY captain who was working as the World Trade Center’s fire and safety director at the time of the attacks.
“I live through it every day,” Corrigan said of 9/11. “You have to learn to live with it. It’s harder this year because there are so many [TV] programs on it. I don’t want to watch the buildings coming down anymore.”
Lisa Tornato, of Little Neck, takes part in the ceremony every year in memory of Christopher Racaniello, who had worked at Cantor Fitzgerald in the north tower.
The couple, who had been engaged on 9/11, sent out their invitations the day before the attacks.
“Ten years later, this is a scar that never fully healed,” said Tornato, who has since married. “His memory always stays close to my heart.”
Theresa Mullan held up a sign of her son, Firefighter Michael D. Mullan, in front of her home in Bayside.
“He told the silliest jokes and was a great comedian, full of fun,” she said of her son. “He had a song in his heart and love every moment he lived. He was one of the good guys.”
Edward Shubert arrived bright and early to the motorcade, which lined up along 130th Street and 25th Avenue in College Point. His brother, Thomas J. Shubert, had worked at Cantor Fitzgerald.
“Even after 10 years, there’s something every day that makes me think of my brother, Tommy,” he said. “I wanted to come out today to pay respects to the other families.”
The procession kicked off at 10 a.m., stopping in College Point at streets named after Firefighter Michael J. Elferis, Firefighter Michael Haub, Battalion Chief Lawrence T. Stack and Thomas J. Shubert.
Whitestone residents honored during the ceremony included PFC James E. Prevete and Thomas A. Casoria as well as Firefighters Michael Carlo, Carl F. Asaro, Sergio Gabriel Villanueva, Michael Cawley, Scott M. Kopytko and Thomas A. Gardner.
A street named in memory of Firefighter Timothy M. Welty was the sole Auburndale stop during the procession. Flushing stops included William M. Feehan Triangle and Jennifer Y. Wong Way.
Bayside residents commemorated during the motorcade included Corrigan, Mullan, Captain Vincent F. Giammona, Firefighter Andrew Christopher Brunn, Arthur Warren Scullin and Glenn J. Travers Sr.
Christopher Racaniello 9/11 Memorial Way, located at the corner of Marathon Parkway and Thornhill Avenue in Little Neck, was the final stop.
