New England Boatworks completes 9/11 memorial

PORTSMOUTH, R.I. – New England Boatworks recently finished building the Staten Island September 11 Memorial, which honors the 267 people from Staten Island, N.Y., who died in the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, the company said in a release over the weekend.

The memorial, named “Postcards,” is currently en route to New York City on two barges, and the memorial will be installed this week by a floating crane, the company said.

The official dedication will take place on Sept. 11, with New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg presiding.

The memorial consists of two 50-foot-high sculptures by artist Masayuki Sono that feature granite profiles of each of the victims. The artist has designed the memorial so that on September 11 each profile will be lit in turn as the sun passes through the sky. From Staten Island the view from between the twin postcards frames Ground Zero.

New England Boatworks built the memorials out of resin-infused fiberglass, engineered so that the structure can flex slightly and withstand the stresses of strong winds without micro-cracking. Each “wing” weighs 30,000 pounds and the steel base will be bolted to a structure embedded at the site.

The company’s workers had been putting in 18-hour days, often seven days a week, to get the memorial done in time for the dedication, New England Boatworks said.

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