NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) -- In the concrete and steel canyons of Lower Manhattan is a garden that bears the name of Queen Elizabeth II and pays tribute to 9/11 victims.
The Queen Elizabeth II September 11th Garden was one of the locations in New York where memorials to the late monarch grew Friday. Mourners left bouquets of flowers and a Union Jack flag. Although an ocean away, people still felt compelled to pay their respects.
The garden is a little patch of the English countryside in Hanover Square—an oasis of daffodils, azalea, rhododendron and holly.
It’s in the shape of the British Isles and features stones around the perimeter bearing the names of British shires. The stones were brought from a riverbed near Balmoral Castle in Scotland, where the queen died Thursday at the age of 96 after 70 years on the throne.
The garden is a memorial for the 67 commonwealth citizens killed in the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the 21st anniversary of which is Sunday.
The queen, who was born Princess Elizabeth of York, visited the garden in 2010, when she placed a wreath at the World Trade Center site. It was her third and final visit to New York following trips to the city in 1976 for the U.S. Bicentennial and in 1957, five years after she took the throne.
Michael Whittle from Preston, England, stopped by Friday to say a prayer.
“We’ve always been brought up with the royal family,” Whittle said. “The tradition is there in England, in the United Kingdom. I’m a big believer in it. It brings something to us as a country. It gives us that identity.”
New Yorkers also laid flowers at a growing memorial outside the British Consulate at Hammarskjold Plaza in Turtle Bay. Among them was Mayor Eric Adams.
“For all of my life, I watched the dignity and grace of a leader during many conflicts,” Adams said after signing a condolence book at the consulate, which opened its doors to the public.
“I believe the entire globe is feeling the loss of someone that not only ruled her nation but also played a stabilizing force in our lives,” the mayor said.
Adams directed all flags on city buildings to be lowered to half-staff in the queen's memory. Gov. Kathy Hochul and President Joe Biden ordered state and federal buildings to do the same.
"Queen Elizabeth II was a force on the world stage for decades and an inspiring female leader who leaves a lasting legacy," Hochul said in a statement. "New York joins the people of the United Kingdom and all those who are mourning in honoring her life, and we send our prayers to her family."
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