New Eisenhower Park 9/11 memorial continues tribute to Nassau's fallen firefighters

A new memorial unveiled Sunday at Eisenhower Park honors dozens of Nassau County volunteer firefighters who died in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks or from related illnesses.

The black granite tribute, located on Park Boulevard near the park's veterans memorial, includes the inscribed names of 57 fallen firefighters, 19 killed on 9/11 and 38 who have died in the years since. The memorial replaces a previous one, worn down by time, that commemorated Nassau firefighters lost as a result of the attacks.

Included among the names of those killed on 9/11 is Tommy Jurgens, at the time a 26-year-old volunteer firefighter and court officer whose uncle, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, attended an opening ceremony Sunday for the memorial.

"For the last 25 years, I have dreaded 9/11 week," Blakeman told more than 100 people gathered for the event. "There was so much horror, tragedy and sadness."

Jurgens was guarding the perimeter of a courthouse several blocks from the World Trade Center at the time of the attacks. He was soon administering first aid to a burn victim near Tower Two when it collapsed, according to Blakeman. His nephew's body was never recovered.

Before the attacks, Blakeman recalled, then-Gov. George Pataki appointed him to the Port Authority board. After 9/11, Pataki asked him to deliver the eulogy at several funerals for victims. Among the 30 funerals he attended, one in particular, for an FDNY firefighter, had a lasting impact, the county executive said.

"I was sitting across the aisle from his widow. She had two children with her, both under the age of 3. She was pregnant," Blakeman said. "I will never, ever, ever forget that."

Dozens of chiefs and firefighters from Nassau’s 70 volunteer fire departments huddled under tents in the rain on Sunday. Children and grandchildren of those killed in the line of duty hugged one another.

Ralph Esposito, chairman of the Nassau County Firefighters Memorial Endowment Association, took the stage to describe what it felt like to be at Ground Zero a quarter-century ago. Esposito's voice sounded strained as he spoke, a result of what he said is an illness contracted after working for an entire month at the pile in lower Manhattan.

"That day, we were all there," he said. "Our instructions were to make sure that our brother and sister firefighters got taken care of. And we did. … The problem was, we were told the air was clean ... And that’s what caused me to get sick."

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani released more than 170,000 pages of documents earlier this month revealing city officials misled the public for years about toxic air at Ground Zero.

The new memorial at Eisenhower Park, officials previously said, would cost about $350,000. It is funded in part by private foundations and $150,000 from Nassau County.

Nassau County Chief Fire Marshal Michael Uttaro, who orchestrated Sunday’s event, said his high school friend was among the names recently added to the tribute.

"We have accomplished the promise to ‘never forget’ as we stand here together 25 years later," Uttaro said. "Our new mission is that we always remember."