Photos Courtesy of Benjamin Kanter/Mayoral Photography Office
“It’s important to mark such a human tragedy, and the service held on Beach 116th was beautiful,” said Assemblywoman Pheffer Amato.
By Michael V. Cusenza
Rockaway residents, first responders, elected officials, and the families who lost loved ones in the crash of American Airlines Flight 587 on Sunday marked the 16th anniversary of the tragedy with a memorial service in Belle Harbor.
AA 587 was a passenger flight aboard an Airbus A300 that was destined for Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic but crashed into Belle Harbor shortly after taking off from John F. Kennedy International Airport. All 260 passengers aboard the aircraft died, as well as five people on the ground.
“It’s important to mark such a human tragedy, and the service held on Beach 116th was beautiful,” said Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato (D-Howard Beach). “The monument itself is a fitting coda to such senseless loss. The inscription in English and Spanish: ‘Despues, No Quiero Mas Que Paz’ (‘Afterwards, I Want No More than Peace’) encapsulates our feelings, those of our residents and those of the Dominican communities impacted in New York City and the Dominican Republic. Our love goes to those families and communities. May the memories of the 265 souls we lost be for a blessing.”
