Grisanti's Bill Designates Pedestrian Bridge In Buffalo As 'Scajaquada 9/11 Memorial Bridge'

New York State Senator Mark Grisanti (R, I-60) today announced the passage of a bill that amends the highway law to designate the bridge that crosses over Route 198 into Delaware Park that connects Nottingham Terrace with Hoyt Lake in the City of Buffalo as "Scajaquada 9/11 Memorial Bridge."
 
The designation of the bridge was spearheaded by community activists who have been working on this project for over three years to have a memorial located in the city honoring people who were killed in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

The latest passage of the bill marks the third consecutive year that the designation of the bridge has passed the state Senate but the legislation cannot be signed into law until it is approved by the state Assembly which has failed to take it up for a vote.

"I am pleased that my colleagues in the Senate voted unanimously in favor of this bill because they all recognized the significance of 9/11 and how important it is to members of our community," said Senator Grisanti. "For more than a decade this bridge connecting Nottingham Terrace to Hoyt Lake has been a unifying factor for those who wish to remember the victims of the worst attack to ever occur on our nation's soil. This measure helps move ahead our shared goal of officially renaming it. We believe this will honor the sacrifice these individuals made with their lives and also provide Western New York residents and visitors to our region a place to go and memorialize those who died on that tragic day."

Since 2003, the bridge has served as the site of an annual remembrance celebration on September 11th for local firefighters, police officers, active and retired military and others to visit and pay tribute to victims of the attacks.  Past activities have included speeches, wreath laying, testimonials and other public acts of remembrance.

Now that the designation of the Scajaquada 9/11 Memorial Bridge has passed the Senate, it will be sent to the Assembly in hopes of that body taking action and holding a vote.

"We have worked very hard on this project and I applaud the community activists who have pushed for this, particularly Laurie Kostrzewski, who has spent more than three years meeting with various elected officials at the city, county and state levels of government, including myself and representatives from my Buffalo and Albany offices," said Senator Grisanti. "The diligent work of Laurie and other community activists will hopefully pay off. I urge my colleagues in the Assembly to recognize the importance to our community of the creation of this memorial."