Seventh Street War Memorial Drawing Revealed

Dennis Donnelly, village trustee and chair of a committee charged with looking into a request to relocate and improve the current Seventh Street war memorial, announced that a final design plan has been approved.

He requested in his motion this month that the village, "in all due haste" complete the installation by Memorial Day.

The new site will be located approximately 300 feet west of the current memorial, at the Seventh Street gazebo, and will include four plaques honoring those residents who served the country during World War I, the Korean War, Vietnam and Iraq/Afghanistan and a fifth plaque celebrating Garden City's Medal of Honor winners. Each plaque will measure 2 feet by 1 foot six inches in size. Landscaping, lighting, installation and architectural services will be performed by village personnel.

The proposal to upgrade, consolidate and relocate the existing memorial first came before the village board in January 2010. Vietnam veteran Cyril Smith of Fourth Street, who served (1968-69) with the 82nd Airborne Division, made the suggestion to further commemorate those village residents that paid the ultimate sacrifice during wartime.

The board unanimously accepted drawing #2, similar to resident Suzie Alvey's original idea.

"Cyril Smith contacted me with his original idea of sprucing up the memorial plaques in their present location," Alvey said. "I suggested moving the plaques to the nearby gazebo area and naming it 'Memorial Park.' I'm proud of the way the project has progressed with everyone's imput and to be able to draw more attention to veterans who fought so hard for all of us."

Trustee Andrew Cavanaugh believes the project, which he said received "quite a lot of study," will result in a "very fitting and very appropriate" memorial to pay tribute to those Garden City residents who have served the country.

Mayor Robert Rothschild was appreciative of the committee's "diligent" work.

"We had some numbers all over the map and zeroed them in on an appropriate number to do this," he said.

He also noted that the village has raised funds for the project but is still accepting donations. To date, the village has received $4,100 in donations. The monument layout is expected to cost roughly $20,000, according to village clerk Brian Ridgway. Additional funds could enable further enhancements, Ridgway said, including the installation of pavers for a path to the monument, a light on the flagpole and more.

Those wishing to donate can make checks payable to the "Inc. Village of Garden City" with "war memorial fund" in the subject line.

The committee is meeting this week to finalize details, Ridgway said.