ROCKAWAY BEACH — Patricia Hynes-Farragher was devastated when she lost her brother, FDNY Capt. Walter Hynes, on 9/11. She found solace in the months that followed by helping artist Patrick Clark craft a stained-glass mosaic in memory of the victims that would serve as the centerpiece of Tribute Park in the Rockaways.
“Patrick included the 9/11 families. He invited us to be a part of it. He knew how important it could be to us to have a connection with it,” recalled Hynes-Farragher, a parishioner of St. Camillus Church in Rockaway Beach.
Hynes-Farragher and her husband Thomas Farragher were among the local 9/11 families who cleaned tiny pieces of stained glass to be embedded in the mosaic.
“It was very important to us,” she said. “It was emotional because we knew what those pieces meant. It meant the life of the people who were in the buildings that day.”
Now, the Farraghers are once again working on the mosaic.
This time, they are working with a committee to raise money to restore the mosaic damaged by Superstorm Sandy in 2012.
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Clark, who has drawn up plans for the repair work, is hoping to raise $150,000 for the restoration. So far, they have raised approximately $60,000.
The work will not be completed in time for the 25th anniversary of 9/11 this September, but Clark said he hopes to finish before the end of the year.
Called “Navigator Star” and filled with 47,000 tiny pieces of stained glass, some of which spell out the words “We Will Never Forget,” the mosaic was dedicated when Tribute Park opened in 2005.
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Located on the waterfront, the park offers a view of the Lower Manhattan skyline, where the Twin Towers once stood and where the Freedom Tower now stands.
When Superstorm Sandy hit New York City, it damaged much in its path, including Tribute Park and the mosaic. “Water covered the mosaic and caused serious damage to the entire park,” Clark explained, “and since the mosaic was submerged under water, it didn’t look so bad. But it did compromise the underlayers.”
The New York City Parks Department spent $2.7 million restoring Tribute Park, but the plans did not call for the restoration of any of the artworks in the park, Clark said. After years of delays, the New York City Design Commission — the panel that oversees artworks in city parks — has now approved his restoration of the mosaic.
The mosaic is an emotional touchstone for Clark, who lives in Rockaway Beach and is a parishioner of St. Francis de Sales Church.
“There were 57 folks who lived here in the neighborhood who died. And so, when 9/11 happened, we were all involved like family,” he said. “And a number of them were from our parish, St. Francis de Sales, but also from other parishes in Rockaway, so it was a very personal experience.”
Farragher, a retired firefighter, recalled helping Clark with the original mosaic and seeing the finished product in the park. The park also has small sections of steel from the Twin Towers.
“For people who were never there (at the World Trade Center),” he said, “it was a spiritual experience, touching anything from there, because they were connected to this site now, to this tragedy.”
That is why Farragher believes the mosaic needs to be restored.
“It was a great tribute,” he added. “Pat did a great job. It was the centerpiece of the park.”
HOW TO HELP
To learn more about the mosaic and/or to donate to the restoration effort, visit the 9/11 Tribute Park website: