NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) — A memorial honoring 99 New York City service members who died during the post-9/11 wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will be erected in Queens following a public artist selection, City Hall announced on Thursday.
The majority of those 99 service members who were killed hailed from Queens (the borough with the most living veterans), and the memorial will be built on the East River waterfront in Whitestone, near the Utopia Parkway Seawall and a refurbished walkway and bike lane.
“With this new memorial, we will honor a new generation of souls who gave their lives far too early in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan while simultaneously paying tribute to the hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers who have served our country in these wars,” Adams said.
The wars have claimed the lives of over 7,000 soldiers total nationwide. Nearly 3,000 people perished in the 9/11 attacks, not including those who have died of 9/11-related illnesses in the years that have followed.
Project funding will be sourced between private donations and public project allocations, and in order to ensure the memorial “appropriately reflects the bravery and sacrifice of the fallen service members from this generation,” a public artist selection will be held by the city’s Department of Veterans’ Services and Department of Cultural Affairs.
A committee of veteran stakeholders will be involved in the artist selection process and help to guide artwork design.
Artists may submit qualifications and letters of interest for panel review beginning June 3, and applications can be found here.
Special emphasis will be placed on viewing proposals from veteran and military community artists and design teams, City Hall said.
“In this setting by the water's edge, we honor the bravery and selflessness of our post-9/11 service members, ensuring their sacrifice is never forgotten,” DVS Commissioner James Hendon said.