Local Woman Tapped for Honor Talks 9/11 Memorial

The 9/11 Remembrance Memorial at Croton Landing that folks around Buchanan, Cortlandt and Croton-on-Hudson envisioned years ago is halfway to completion. If fundraising efforts and grant requests are successful, the finished product could be ready in about 12 months.

"What you’re seeing here is a four-year effort,” said Janet Mainiero, a Croton resident who spearheaded the project. The first phase was dedicated last Sept. 11.

It features a piece of “surviving steel” from the World Trade Center site—which she and committee members picked up from Hangar 17 at John F. Kennedy Airport—supported by a large rock that was found on the shoreline a few hundred feet away. A sundial of medallions etched with scenes from the day surrounds the steel.

“We have a little ways to go yet, mainly the bronze statue and the remembrance garden, two very important components, and we're hoping to finish everything, hoping—with fingers crossed—in about a year, depending on funding,” she said. “We're applying for some grants; if those come through then it would just be a process of having the statue bronzed, which would take a long time, up to six months, and installing the garden and some other things we want to do, so we're hoping that all can be done in a year's time."

Cortlandt officials nominated Mainiero as the town’s selection for the Second Annual Women of Distinction Hall of Fame, which is hosted by State Sen. Greg Ball (R, C — Patterson). She was humbled by the honor—one she wishes her parents could be here to see.

“I never received an award before for anything,” she said, choking back emotion as she looked at the memorial on a recent Thursday. “It’s a very personal achievement.”

Mainiero, a Massachusetts-native, was working for Metro-North Railroad and living in Manhattan at the time of the attacks. She knew four people who died. 

“It’s a day that’s very much etched in my memory,” she said when asked what the memorial means [see attached video].

Folks in the community have given positive feedback for the most part, Mainiero told Patch. She and other members of the project’s task force often sit by the memorial, watch people’s reactions and ask them what they think of the piece.

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What does the 9/11 Memorial at Croton Landing mean to you? Leave your thoughts here.

Folks interested in donating to the memorial may find more information here. Medallion plaques are available for purchase. This year's 9/11 ceremony at the memorial will take place at 3 p.m. Wednesday (Sept. 11).