The color guard serving at the Sept. 11 commemoration are, from left, fire Capt. Carl Mercado; police detectives Hector Nunez and Joseph Finkler; police officers Justin Smith, Eric Capito and Darwin Rubio; and Firefighter Alex Nieves.
Nearly 3,000 luminaries encircled The Green last week as Bloomfield observed the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the lives lost in New York, Washington, and Shanksville, Pa.
Three township residents were among those who died in the World Trade Center: Catherine Nardella, Cesar A. Alviar and Daniel Rosetti.
Attending the Bloomfield ceremony was Arlene Perez, who works in the Bloomfield High School cafeteria. She said Rosetti, a carpenter who died at 32, and she were “best friends.” He was always in her house, her ex-husband was his fishing buddy, and she remembered how blue the sky was the day of the attacks.
“Danny didn’t work in the World Trade Center,” she said. “He was only going to be there for two days, on the 105th floor, installing furniture for Aon. This was his second day. He was never there before.”
Aon Corp. is a risk management company. The attack was on a Tuesday.
“I didn’t know he was there until 11 o’clock that night,” she continued. “I got a phone call, I don’t remember who. It was awful.”
Perez said she always watched TV for the annual reading of the names, from lower Manhattan, of those who died. She did not miss the broadcast when she worked at Annie Sez here in town. She took a vacation day. But for the last four years she has been at BHS and since school was just starting, she tapes it now.
In her remarks, Mayor Jen Mundell reminded everyone that many people have no recollection of 9/11 and how it especially changed those living in the region. Some were too young to remember, others were unborn.
“So what we must not forget and what we are compelled to share with our children are both the
clarity of what happened and the impact it had on us,” she said. “These were not random acts of violence. They were calculated acts of hate, driven by an ideology that sought to tear apart our way of life. The fires that burned were not just physical; they were fueled by a deep-seated contempt for freedom, democracy and the beautiful diversity of this nation.”
After the attacks, difficult choices had to be made and certain freedoms given up, she said. This cannot be forgotten. Future generations must understand this or risk losing more freedom.
“We are a people made stronger not by a single shared background, but by our shared commitment to one another,” she said.
Mundell thanked Bloomfield first responders for their unselfishness and courage, and said family members who lost loved ones will remain in Bloomfield’s heart as will those who continue to suffer.
Michael Sceurman, the director of the parks, recreation and public affairs department, was the last to speak.
“It was a tough day for us,” he said, one which held significant meaning for many in town.
He then read the three names.
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