FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Anthony Puglisi

June 3, 2009 973-621-2542

Lauren Shears

973-621-1590

ESSEX COUNTY EXECUTIVE DIVINCENZO PRESENTS PLANS

TO INCLUDE AIRLINE FLIGHT CREW MONUMENT

IN ESSEX COUNTY EAGLE ROCK SEPTEMBER 11TH MEMORIAL

Separate Monument to List the Names of the 33 Pilots and Flight Attendants

Who Were Aboard the Four Downed Airplanes

West Orange, NJ – Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr. unveiled plans on Wednesday, June 3rd to expand the Essex County Eagle Rock September 11th Memorial to include a special monument recognizing the 33 flight crew members who were aboard the four airplanes that crashed during the attacks. The addition is scheduled to be unveiled on the eighth anniversary of the tragedy, which will be Friday, September 11, 2009.

“Our September 11th Memorial is a revered place where family members and friends of those who died can find solace and tranquility. The symbolic bronze figures and beautifully manicured lawns are a fitting tribute to those who lost their lives and a reminder of the hope and camaraderie that grew from our country’s darkest day,” DiVincenzo said. “This addition to our memorial gives long overdue recognition of the bravery and heroics of the flight crew members aboard the four airplanes. They were on the front lines that day and should be remembered for their sacrifice,” he added.

“Joe, this monument to the flight crews will be beautiful,” Freeholder Blonnie Watson said. “The whole area is a place where families and our future generations will be able to come and remember this awful tragedy,” she added.

“When this was brought to Joe’s attention, he took immediate action because this was something that had to be done,” Sheriff Armando Fontoura said. “This is a great thing that you have done to make us aware of this, Deborah,” he added.

“This is an important addition so that we do not forget the first responders from the airline crews,” East Orange Mayor Robert Bowser said.

The idea to develop a memorial recognizing the flight crew members was presented to DiVincenzo in April 2009 by West Orange resident Deborah Calimano, a Continental Airlines flight attendant based at Newark Liberty International Airport. At that meeting, the County Executive decided to construct the memorial and dedicate it on the eighth anniversary of the attacks, which is Friday, September 11, 2009.

“I want to thank Deborah for bringing the idea for the flight crew memorial to our attention. We designed our September 11th Memorial with the intention of recognizing everyone who was involved in the tragedy and the recovery efforts. This addition will raise awareness of the flight crews’ role and further completes our memorial,” DiVincenzo noted.

“Flight attendants from around the country have wanted a memorial like this for some time and we appreciate the attention County Executive DiVincenzo has given to our idea. He was supportive of the flight crew monument from the start and has made our dream become a reality,” Calimano said. “Until now, members of the flight crew had been overlooked. But they were really the first responders to the tragedy and the first to die in the line of duty that day,” she added.

DiVincenzo reached out to the artist who designed the Essex County Eagle Rock September 11th Memorial, Patrick Morelli, and asked him to create an additional monument that would blend with the other elements of the memorial without detracting from the beauty of the site. The flight crew memorial will consist of a bronze pilot’s cap resting on a three-foot tall granite pedestal. The names of the pilots and flight attendants will be engraved in a section of the granite pedestal below the pilot’s cap. An emblem of airline wings generally worn by all flight crews will be engraved in the front of the granite pedestal and “911” will be in the center of the emblem where the wings meet. The flight crew memorial will be located in the southern section of the September 11th Memorial near a grove of seven trees that represent each of the sites where the attacks took place. Prismatic Development Corporation of Fairfield, which donated its time and materials to construct the original memorial, has agreed to do the same for the flight crew monument.

“I hope that this addition to the design of the Eagle Rock September 11th Memorial will be a source of consolation and inspiration for the thousands who visit the site each year from the United States and abroad – and especially for the family members and close friends of the four flight crews who sacrificed their lives in an heroic attempt to save others,” Morelli said.

“We look forward to this monument being dedicated,” said South Orange resident Don Robertson, whose son, Don Jr., lost his life in the attacks. “The County always keeps this place looking so nice that it’s an honor being here. This is important so that we remember all the people who lost their life that day,” he added.

DiVincenzo is assuring that the flight crew monument be developed and constructed using donations from corporations and members of the public, and that no taxpayer dollars be used in the project. The original September 11th Memorial was funded entirely through grants, charitable contributions or in-kind services. Donations can be made out to the Eagle Rock World Trade Center Memorial Fund. Checks can be sent to McEnerney and Brady, 293 Eisenhower Parkway, Suite 270, Livingston, NJ 07039.

The Essex County Eagle Rock September 11th Memorial was first unveiled on October 20, 2002, after the one-year anniversary of the tragedies at the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and in Pennsylvania where an airplane crashed. The tragedy had a profound effect on Essex County and its residents and, after visiting Eagle Rock Reservation, DiVincenzo said he immediately knew it was the right location for a memorial.

An aggressive schedule to create the memorial was followed and DiVincenzo led a fund-raising campaign that collected donations from local corporations and residents as well as grants from the New Jersey Green Acres Program and U.S. Forestry Service. Contractors who performed improvements to the site and built the monument donated their time and materials.

DiVincenzo recently announced the completion of a $982,000 project to construct a gazebo, enhance the aesthetics and safety at the reservation entrance, and improve landscaping throughout the meadow, concert and memorial area. The upgrades were funding with a NJ Green Acres grant received by Essex County and the Eagle Rock Conservancy and a grant from the Essex County Recreation and Open Space Trust Fund.

The Essex County Park System was created in 1895 and is the first county park system in the United States. It has been expanded to include about 6,000 acres of land. There are 17 parks, four reservations, a zoo, ice skating rink, environmental center, roller skating rink, three public golf courses, golf driving range, miniature golf course, three off-leash dog facilities and a castle. The land for Eagle Rock Reservation, which covers about 408 acres, was purchased by the Essex County Parks Commission in 1895. Frederick Law Olmsted created a preliminary design for Eagle Rock and the Olmsted firm operated by the renowned architect’s sons further developed the plan in the early 1900s. The area where the reservation received its name in the early 19th century when bald eagles were said to nest in the rocky cliffs on the eastern edge of Watchung’s First Mountain.

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