Bettina Browne. Firefighter Michael Scott Carlo. Firefighter John Elgis. Firefighter Thomas Farrell. Stephen Hoffman. Captain Terence Hatton. Firefighter Billy Hughes. Joe Kellen. Firefighter Michael Kiefer. Neil Levin. Charles P. Lucania. Noell Maerz. Firefighter Kenneth Joseph Marino. Captain John McCarthy. Chief Brian O’Flaherty. Firefighter Michael Ornauer. Firefighter William Quick. Firefighter Gregory Stajk. Detective Richard Wentz.

The names were read aloud by Long Beach City Councilman George Ennis and several crowd members during this morning’s 9/11 memorial service in front of the Virginia Avenue Garden of Remembrance. The annual ceremony, organized in 2002 by longtime Long Beach resident and former Nassau County Legislator Denise Ford, commemorates local citizens who died on 9/11 or from 9/11-related illnesses in subsequent years.

Nearly 100 people crowded the corner of Virginia Avenue and West Beech Street, with the Long Beach Police Department shutting down a section of Virginia Avenue and partially barricading West Beech Street to ensure public safety. With the Long Beach City Council in attendance, Ennis led the event, introducing Rabbi Benny Berlin of BACH Jewish Center of Long Beach and Father Dillon Vita of Beach Catholic to begin and end the day with prayers, respectively. The Connolly Sisters performed the National Anthem and concluded the day with “God Bless America.”

After speeches delivered by Ennis and Town of Hempstead Receiver of Taxes Jeanine Driscoll, City Council Vice President Chris Fiumara offered particular remarks. Fiumara noted that he was working at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001 and evacuated before the tragedy occurred. Fiumara raised a concern that the lingering message of 9/11 — “Never forget” — may be getting lost in today’s society and in schools.

“Myself and this council, we are committed to drafting a resolution that we started working on already,” Fiumara said. “I’m honored to announce in front of all of you in Long Beach today that we are going to be the first municipality in the state of New York to make 9/11 a holiday.” Sept. 11 is currently designated as Patriot Day, and a National Day of Service and Remembrance, but is not formally observed as a holiday at the federal or state level.

“We’re talking about the details now,” said City Manager Daniel Creighton. “The Council is very adamant that they want this done. Now it’s the nuances of it. The union contracts. We have to have conversations with all of them to make it happen.” If the declaration is made official, it would apply to the city workforce and not the school district. “They would have to do it on their own,” Creighton clarified. “We only can control our workforce.”

Creighton explained that the issue is important, but not necessarily urgent, requiring adequate time to properly plan the impactful decision. “The way I look at it, we have between now and a year from now to get it done. We want to do it right.”