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OLYMPIC TORCH GLOWS HERE FOR SEPT. 11 FALLEN
New York, N.Y.; Dec 24, 2001; The torch crossed into Staten Island yesterday morning from New Jersey via the Goethals Bridge. Runners relayed it across the Verrazano Bridge into Brooklyn, where Brian Brennan, 32, got a chance to tote it for his brother, Firefighter Michael Brennan, who died saving lives at the twin towers. The orange glow of the Olympic torch lit up midtown last night after it traversed the city with the help of relatives who lost loved ones in the World Trade Center attacks. Mayor Giuliani was the last to carry it, and he used it to ignite a cauldron in Rockefeller Center plaza that will burn until Wednesday. "I carried this flame in honor of my heroes: the New York Fire Department, the New York Police Department, the Port Authority Police Department, the court officers, the emergency workers and all those people who gave their lives on Sept. 11 to save the lives of other people and to save the dignity and heart of the United States of America," Giuliani said. The torch's New York visit was part of a 13,500-mile journey across the country to the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. Mitt Romney, president of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee, said that although the torch summons athletes from around the globe, this year the torch has taken on new meaning. "Now it's a symbol of the heroes of this community and the hearts of those who lost loved ones," Romney said. The torch crossed into Staten Island yesterday morning from New Jersey via the Goethals Bridge. Runners relayed it across the Verrazano Bridge into Brooklyn, where Brian Brennan, 32, got a chance to tote it for his brother, Firefighter Michael Brennan, who died saving lives at the twin towers. "Obviously it's an honor and privilege for anybody. It's a once- in-a-lifetime experience, but it's bittersweet," said Brennan, a carpenter from Manhattan. After being carried through Brooklyn and Queens, at Hunters Point the torch was taken aboard a ferry filled with firefighters, police officers and relatives of people killed Sept. 11. "It's a real tribute," said Connor Geraghty, 14, of Rockville Centre, L.I., whose father, FDNY Battalion Chief Edward Geraghty, was lost at the World Trade Center. "We lost a lot that day, and we'll never forget." |
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