By Forum Staff
Mayor Eric Adams and New York City Department of Veterans’ Services Commissioner James W. Hendon on Thursday announced plans to build a new memorial honoring the 99 fallen post-9/11 service members from New York City who made the ultimate sacrifice during their service in Iraq and Afghanistan. As America’s longest military conflicts, these wars have claimed the lives of a total 7,057 brave souls nationwide.
The memorial will be built on the waterfront in the Whitestone neighborhood of Queens, the borough home to the largest number of post-9/11 service members who were killed in action. Queens is also the borough with the highest population of living veterans. The new memorial is part of the Utopia Parkway Seawall Replacement and Street Improvements project led by the City Department of Transportation and the City Economic Development Corporation that will incorporate a bike path, pedestrian walkway, and rebuilt bulkheads to revitalize the area and mitigate storm risk for the surrounding neighborhood.
Funding for the project will be sourced from private donations and public capital project allocations to cover design, construction, and long-term maintenance costs.
DVS — in partnership with the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs’ (DCLA) Percent for Art program — will lead a public artist selection process to ensure the memorial appropriately reflects the bravery and sacrifice of the fallen service members from this generation. To ensure community input and support, a committee of veteran stakeholders has been assembled to guide artwork design and support the artist selection process.
A Request for Qualifications (RFQ) will open on Monday, June 3rd, 2024, that will invite artists to submit qualifications and letters of interest to be considered for panel review and the opportunity to be considered as finalists for the commission of this permanent artwork. This project is open to all artists and collaborative artist teams, based locally, nationally, and internationally. A special emphasis will be placed on reviewing proposals from veteran and military community artists and design teams. The RFQ will be open through July 10, 2024.
“I am deeply honored to represent neighborhoods which are home to the largest number of post-9/11 service members who fell in defense of our American values, and the largest veteran community in the city,” said City Councilwoman Vickie Paladino (R-Whitestone). “As a member of the New York City Council Committee on Veterans and the daughter of a WWII Veteran, all our vets hold a special place in my heart and I’m proud to serve those who served our country. This new memorial will stand in solemn remembrance of those who gave all in defense of our values in the Global War on Terror, and I know our veteran community and all residents of this district are looking forward to this much-deserved honor. I want to personally thank Mayor Adams on behalf of myself and the community for this much-deserved memorial, and for his steadfast and patriotic words.”
“Over two decades since the start of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, today’s announcement of a post-9/11 service members memorial is great news,” said City Councilman Bob Holden (D-Maspeth), chairman of Committee on Veterans. “We must remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom and those worldwide, and I thank the city for this initiative.”
