The Memorial at Harbor View Park in Bayonne NJ remembers the victims of the September 11, 2001 and February 26, 1993 bombings of the World Trade Center. It was on our list of local things to see, and we finally got a chance to this past Sunday. It was another beautiful day to spend along the Hudson River, albeit a melancholy one given where we were headed.
About a 20 minute drive south from home, the memorial is way at the end of the old Military Ocean Terminal, a two-and-a-half mile long man-made peninsula that juts out onto the river. It’s been closed by the military and reacquired by the City of Bayonne for commercial redevelopment and is now known as the Peninsula at Bayonne Harbor. As you drive down towards the memorial park, you can see new construction and the old military buildings as well. The park seems out of place, but with a bird’s eye view of lower Manhattan, it’s easy to see why it was chosen as the site for it.
The monument is immense, depicting the towers with a huge jagged crack and a 4-ton nickel teardrop suspended at the center. It was a gift from the Russian people, created by Moscow artist Zurab Tsereteli. The park’s walkways are lined with paving stones engraved with personal messages, and for a donation of $50 you can have your own. Walking along looking at the pavers reminded me of seeing the Names Project AIDS Quilt for the first time. The names of the victims are etched in marble wrapped around the foot of the moment, reminiscent of the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington DC.
This coming weekend? Something a bit more upbeat. CARLOS
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