It’s victims helping victims.
Families that lost loved ones when Flight 587 crashed off the Rockaways 11 years ago are taking up a collection for residents of the battered shore front community still struggling to recover from the devastation of Hurricane Sandy.
The poignant gesture will raise money for those affected by Hurricane Sandy.
Most of those who’ll be donating will be Dominican-Americans of modest means.
But an official of the Committee in Memory of Flight 587 said the contributors aren’t focused on the money.
“We just want to give them something, you understand?” said Belkis Lora, 45, who lost her 44-year-old brother, Jose.
AP
Norberto Terrero, of New York, left, walks towards his grandson Jayden Terrero, 4, of New York, as they pay tribute to Wilton Mendez, whose name is engraved at the Flight 587 Memorial.
“It’s not going to be a lot. We want them to know we are with them.”
The two communities bonded after the doomed American Airlines flight to the Dominican Republic went down after takeoff from Kennedy Airport with 260 people aboard. Five others died on the ground.
Lora said that the memorial to the victims was littered by storm debris and “many people in the community went there and cleaned out the memorial... They are supporting us by keeping up that memorial.”
As he has for each year since taking office, Mayor Bloomberg yesterday officiated at the 11th anniversary memorial service for the victims, five of whom were from the Belle Harbor section of the Rockaways.
But for the first time, the event was held at the Holy Spirit Catholic Church in The Bronx, and not at the memorial site itself.
The mayor alluded to the connection between Flight 587 families and Rockaways residents in his brief remarks..
“Your commitment to stand together is an enduring promise, to support one another every day, every step of the way,” he said.
“Our city is making the same pledge to the families affected by Hurricane Sandy.”
The names of those who died were read one-by-one by selected family members before an audience of about 300. A couple of the readers wept when they came to the name of their own relatives. Within 45 minutes, the ceremony was over.
The mayor left with a red and white flower in his hand, promising it would be delivered to the memorial.
Families of Flight 587 victims take up collection for Sandy-battered Rockaways
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Families of Flight 587 victims take up collection for Sandy-battered Rockaways
