By Tom Wrobleski Staten Island Advance
With all the damage wrought here by Sandy, one waterfront attraction emerged from the storm unscathed: The “Postcards” memorial in St. George that honors those who died at the World Trade Center.
“It didn’t suffer any damage whatsoever,” said Borough President James P. Molinaro, whose office funded the $2.5-million memorial. “I don’t know how high the water came there.”
Molinaro said that one of the keys to the memorial’s survival was that its twin “wings” were each built as one-piece structures. “We made them solid,” said Molinaro. “There were no seams that could crack.”
He also said that it helped that the memorial was made out of a fiberglass-like plastic instead of concrete.
“It’s fortunate that we didn’t use concrete,” said Molinaro. “The material we used doesn’t expand or contract like concrete, which leads to cracks.”
He said using the alternate material increased the price on the memorial by around $200,000.
“But it was worth it,” Molinaro said. “You can see it: It’s still there after nine years, and it withstood Sandy.”
Molinaro said he didn’t know whether the Island would eventually build a monument to honor those Islanders who died in Sandy. He said the idea has come up as elected officials discuss hurricane rebuilding efforts.
“There’s a difference of opinion on that,” he said. “Some people think you should, some think you shouldn’t. We’ve spoken about it, about a monument with the names of people who perished. I don’t think it’s a bad idea.”
