A North Jersey municipality is preparing to mark a significant milestone in national remembrance by presenting a newly acquired artifact from the World Trade Center site. The township of Wayne has arranged to reveal a historic piece of structural steel recovered from Ground Zero during a formal public ceremony scheduled to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
The upcoming unveiling will take place as part of the community’s annual memorial gathering, slated for 6 p.m. at the memorial park situated alongside Nellis Drive by the municipal building at 475 Valley Road. The local site holds deep emotional resonance for the township, as the park is permanently dedicated to honoring the seven Wayne residents who were among the 2,977 people killed in the catastrophic terror strikes.
The physical centerpiece of the new memorial feature is a three-foot salvaged steel beam that has been mounted securely onto a granite block near the park’s entrance. Municipal officials have confirmed that the display will be further enhanced in the near future with the addition of a commemorative bronze plaque to document its significance for visitors and mourners.
The township was able to secure the historic steel artifact largely through the dedicated efforts and personal professional background of Councilman Frank Pietropaolo. For Pietropaolo, the acquisition represents a deeply personal mission rooted in his own firsthand involvement in the aftermath of the disaster more than two decades ago.
Pietropaolo serves as the director of construction services for J. Fletcher Creamer & Son Inc., a regional contracting and infrastructure firm. In the immediate wake of the attacks on Sept. 12, 2001, the company was among dozens of commercial outfits and contractors that mobilized specialized heavy excavation machinery to assist emergency personnel with debris removal and rescue operations at the devastated World Trade Center complex.
Reflecting on the emergency response, Pietropaolo recalled traveling into Lower Manhattan aboard a lowboy tractor-trailer hauling critical machinery to the disaster zone. Along the transit route, crowds of onlookers and supportive citizens gathered on the shoulders and overpasses of the highway to cheer on the incoming convoys of first responders and heavy equipment operators heading toward Ground Zero.
The councilman noted that the profound atmosphere of unity and public solidarity during that unprecedented national crisis left a permanent impression on him. He remarked that remembering the widespread patriotism from those days, a level of national unity he has not witnessed since, served as the primary motivation driving his efforts to secure an authentic remnant for the local community.
The formal plan to establish the monument was officially made public by Pietropaolo during a Township Council meeting on Sept. 2. During his presentation to fellow municipal leaders, he described the project as a personal goal that he had long desired to bring to fruition for the township and its residents.
The initiative required substantial preliminary work before coming before the council. Working with official permission granted by the township administration, Pietropaolo initiated the research process required to locate and acquire a piece of Ground Zero steel roughly a year ago, prior to winning his seat on the governing body.
While Pietropaolo declined to specify the precise previous repository or source of the beam, he publicly acknowledged that the Association of Former New Jersey State Troopers Inc. played an instrumental role in helping the township navigate the logistics required to procure the historical piece.
The acquisition and installation of the monument were accomplished entirely without public municipal expenditures, relying instead on private contributions and community partnerships. Pietropaolo expressed gratitude to local first responders as well as private commercial donors, specifically highlighting the support of J. Fletcher Creamer of Hackensack and Salomone Bros. Inc., based in Wayne, for covering the associated costs.
Following the announcement, Township Council President Michael Fattal commended the collaborative effort between local officials, donors, and administrative personnel. Fattal extended formal thanks on behalf of the council to Pietropaolo for spearheading the project and to the municipal administration for facilitating the necessary groundwork to bring the monument to Wayne.
Securing structural remnants from Ground Zero has become exceptionally uncommon in recent years. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the bi-state agency overseeing the World Trade Center property, formally concluded its artifact distribution program roughly a decade ago after exhausting its catalog of available items.
Throughout that historical outreach effort, the Port Authority distributed approximately 2,600 distinct artifacts—ranging from salvaged structural steel to parts of the 360-foot telecommunications antenna that previously stood atop the north tower, damaged PATH train cars, and recovered gift shop merchandise—to recipient organizations across all 50 U.S. states and ten foreign nations.
Despite the wide variety of items preserved from the disaster site, fragments of structural steel remain the most widely recognized and potent symbols of the tragedy. For communities across North Jersey and beyond, these preserved pieces of metal continue to serve as enduring touchstones of sacrifice, civic resilience, and public remembrance.
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