In honor of the 20th Anniversary of September 11, 2001, Riverside Park Conservancy has secured the necessary funds for NYC Parks to repair The Firemen’s Memorial at 100th Street in Riverside Park this Fall.
With support from an individual donor, funding from the Conservancy will provide the equipment and supplies needed for NYC Parks’ monuments crew to clean, repoint, and repair the monument. The memorial is the site, each October, of the Fire Department’s annual memorial event honoring firefighters who have died in the line of duty.
“On this meaningful anniversary of one of the darkest days in New York’s history, we are honored to bring renewed care to this important and beloved monument,” said Dan Garodnick, President & CEO of Riverside Park Conservancy.
“We are proud to partner with Riverside Park Conservancy to ensure the structural integrity of the Firemen’s Memorial. Thanks to their critical support, our staff will have the tools needed to ensure the preservation of this impressive monument–one of the City’s finest–which honors the heroic acts of New York City’s firefighters,” said Jonathan Kuhn, NYC Parks Director of Art & Antiquities.
The Firemen’s Memorial was built in 1913 and has since undergone extensive repairs twice: once in the 1930s and again in the 1990s. Today, the 108-year-old monument is again in need of restoration work to preserve it for future generations. NYC Parks’ January 2021 assessment revealed water and lime damage as well as cracking on the structure, factors which will compound over time to cause significant deterioration if left unattended.
With funding from the Conservancy, NYC Parks’ monuments crew will remove lime buildup; clean the entire monument, including the cleaning and resealing of the bronze panel; and repoint all the joints to reinforce the structure.
The project will begin after the FDNY holds its 24th Annual Fallen Firefighters Memorial Ceremony at the monument on October 6, 2021.