A Street for Her Dad

A street for her dad

Tot never met the 9/11 hero
By DAVID SALTONSTALLDAILY NEWS CITY HALL BUREAU CHIEF

She shares her father's eyes, his face, even his name. But yesterday, little Terri Elizabeth Hatton gave New Yorkers another way to remember her hero dad.

The 3-year-old beauty is the daughter of FDNY Capt. Terence Hatton, who perished in the World Trade Center's north tower on 9/11 - robbing the city of one of its most revered firefighters, and little Terri of a father.

She was born eight months after his death, never knowing the man who collected 19 medals of valor in his 21 years at the FDNY.

Yesterday, the littlest Hatton helped Mayor Bloomberg rename W. 43rd St., between 10th and 11th Aves. - home to Hatton's beloved Rescue 1 stationhouse - in honor of her dad. It is now Capt. Terence S. Hatton Way.

"Terry really was a remarkable guy," Beth Petrone Hatton, Hatton's widow and a longtime aide to former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, told the crowd of 300 or so who turned out to unveil the street sign.

"I try not to romanticize him too much with Terri, because I try to make him a real person," she added through tears as she cradled the little girl in her arms. "But she's going to look at that sign and think, 'Gee, my dad really was what my mom said.'"

Giuliani described Hatton as a thinker who helped design some of Rescue 1's vehicles, while also a man of courage who never thought twice about putting himself at risk.

In his final act, Giuliani said, Hatton and his FDNY brothers ensured that history would recall 9/11 as the greatest rescue effort of all time.

"His career ... and his life was too short," Giuliani said, "but it sure was powerful." Originally published on June 15, 2005

US Street Named after Indian American 9/11 Victim

US street named after Indian American 9/11 victim -->

By Bhavna Kaul, Indo-Asian News Service

Edison (New Jersey), July 13 (IANS)

Four years after 57-year-old structural engineer Prem N. Jerath died in the 9/11 terror attacks while saving a fellow worker's life, a street here has been named after him.Edison council members Robert Diehl and Parag Patel joined Jerath's family and friends to dedicate the intersection of Oak Tree Road and Wood Avenue in Jerath's name. "This corner reflects him. We chose this place because earlier we used to live around here. We passed from here everyday; even now I pass from here. I will get a chance to see this every day," Meena Jerath, widow of the deceased, told IANS.She said she felt "honoured that the township did this for him". "It is a touching tribute to my husband."Jerath worked as a structural engineer with Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The office was on the 82nd floor of Tower 1 of the World Trade Centre.Meena said her husband was always helping others. She said he lost his life while trying to help a person on whose leg a wall had fallen. "He was helping him to go back to office and call for help...but...they didn't realise the scope of the situation." "We have been working with families to honour the lives of people they lost. One of the initiatives was the street sign dedication," Councilman Diehl said.
Indo-Asian News Service

FDNY Kin Fight WTC Politics

FDNY kinfight WTC politics
By PAUL D. COLFORDDAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Widows, children and other relatives of some 70 city firefighters killed on 9/11 are hitting the Internet in a bid to keep politics far away from the planned Ground Zero memorial.
Among the thousands "signing" an online petition to "take back the memorial" are loved ones of Chief Peter Ganci, the FDNY's highest-ranking uniformed officer, who was directing rescue efforts at the north tower when it collapsed.

Son Christopher Ganci is now training to become a New York firefighter. His sister, Danielle, is due to marry one of New York's Bravest.

"We feel very strongly about this," Kathleen Ganci, the chief's widow, told the Daily News.
Ground Zero is "almost like a religious place," she added.

The petition, at takebackthememorial- .org, tells Gov. Pataki, Mayor Bloomberg and the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. that "the World Trade Center Memorial should stand as a solemn remembrance of those who died" on 9/11.

Referring to the International Freedom Center, due to occupy a nearby building with the Drawing Center, the petition adds, "Political discussions have no place" at the memorial.
Some relatives of 9/11 victims fear the Freedom Center and the Drawing Center might mount politically charged exhibits unsuitable for Ground Zero.

LMDC officials have been in talks with the two groups about their exhibition plans.
"We believe our institution must and will honor humanity's march toward freedom and highlight America's role as a beacon for freedom throughout the world," the Freedom Center recently told the LMDC.

Retired firefighter Paul Seidel, whose son, Gary, perished along with other members of Rescue Co. 1, said he added his name because "I believe it [the site] should be strictly for 9/11."
Robert Shurbet, who also writes a conservative political blog called Lime Shurbet, started the petition last month. Originally published on July 22, 2005