Nearly 1,000 representatives of the construction, design and real estate industry gathered at the Building Congress Remembrance and Recognition Dinner for an evening of tributes to those lost in the World Trade Center attack and the heroes who responded so valiantly in its wake.

“This dinner has been held since the 75th Anniversary of the Building Congress in 1996, but never has it had greater meaning to our industry and all New Yorkers,” said Building Congress President Richard T. Anderson. “This year, we remember those lost on September 11 and the heroic efforts of the front line emergency and rescue workers.”
Dinner Chairman Robert Prieto, who is Chairman of Parsons Brinckerhoff, Inc., added, “Everything that has happened since that fateful day has brought heartfelt emotions and a deeper feeling of unity among all of us. Our great industry demonstrated right from the start that we are more than a pillar of the City’s economy. We are among those who respond first and stay the longest. We have been working at Ground Zero from the start and will be there for years to come.”

Prieto announced that the dinner contributed $50,000 to the World Trade Center Memorial Fund established through the New York Building Foundation. Additional contributions from across the country have yielded another $150,000. The Memorial Fund underwrote $25,000 donations to three of the evening’s honorees – the Fire Department of New York, the Port Authority Police Department, and the Building Trades Families Relief Fund. A $25,000 donation from the Rudin family underwrote the gift awarded to the New York Police Department. Dinner attendees saw a moving video tribute to New York City’s heroes, and heard performances by the Carpenters Local 608 Pipe and Drum Corps, and tenor Scott Ailing.
Former School Construction Authority President Milo E. Riverso, PhD, PE, made the presentation on behalf of the Building Congress to New York City’s firefighters. Riverso, a volunteer Fire Commissioner in Greenburgh, NY, said, “We can never forget what they have done and continue to do. New York City and the members of this industry owe a debt beyond any other. The brave members of the Fire Department of New York responded first and without hesitation. Amid the devastation, 343 firefighters perished and another 186 were injured.”

After the first of numerous standing ovations, Chief Joseph Callan, who accepted the gift alongside Firefighter Joseph Lavin, said, “I am mostly representing the 343 firefighters who couldn’t be with us today,” adding, “I can assure you that the Fire Department will be there (Ground Zero) until we get all of our brothers back, and that’s how it’s going to be. People ask what good came of this. Well, God now has one hell of a Fire Department.” TDX Construction Cor- poration President James H. Jones, PE, and Rudin Management Chairman Jack Rudin, Accepting the gift on behalf of the NYPD were First Deputy Commissioner Joseph P. Dunne and Angela Danz, whose husband, Police Officer Vincent Danz, was lost on September 11. Said Danz, “It is fitting that I be here since my husband, who had five years to go until he retired, was an apprentice operating engineer. He was there at the World Trade Center to save people. The kindness of a stranger is what he gave that day. And that is what you are
giving today.”

Spearin Preston & Burrows, Inc. COO Gerard A. Neumann Jr., PE, presented the gift to Building & Construction Trades Council President Edward J. Malloy, who accepted it on behalf of all union tradespeople. Neumann remarked, “Building Trades members lost 59 of their own during the attack. Despite such losses, thousands of skilled tradespeople volunteered to work down there. So many people called and said ‘Please get me down there. I want to help.’ Never has the construction industry stood taller.”

“Every construction site in New York City shut down moments after (the attack),” noted Malloy after receiving the gift. “Every construction worker went down to Lower Manhattan to help. They went down there, not as ironworkers, welders or carpenters; they went down there as Americans. I say thank you on behalf of the 59 families.”

The mood of the evening was summarized best by Building Congress Chairman and EMCOR Group, Inc. President and COO Jeffrey M. Levy. “Never have I been prouder of this industry than in the past six weeks. We have responded from every sector – through rescue efforts, design evaluations, debris clearance, and planning for the future. We have not hesitated, waited for contracts or stood on ceremony. We are known as a generous industry, and we have demonstrated that most convincingly in recent weeks.”