Tree gifted from 9/11 Memorial & Museum to Staten Island
Borough President James Oddo has announced that a “survivor tree” has been gifted to Staten Island from the 9/11 Memorial & Museum and planted at the Postcards 9/11 Memorial site along the waterfront in St. George.
The young tree, a Callery Pear Tree, is a cutting of the only tree to survive the 9/11 attacks at the World Trade Center site. Since then, the Museum has become a steward of the trees and made them available as memorials all over the world as part of their Seedling Program.
“We are grateful for this beautiful, sentimental gift from the 9/11 Memorial & Museum,” said Borough President Oddo. “There is no place more appropriate for this tree to grow on Staten Island than at the Postcards site that brings us solace.”
The tree was planted on Saturday by volunteers from the Friends of Postcards organization and the Office of the Borough President. Watch a video of the planting here: https://youtu.be/KDnyned6slk.
“The Survivor Tree signifies our resilience as a people and is a sign of hope in the face of so much tragedy. Twenty years after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the Survivor Tree still stands at the 9/11 Memorial in lower Manhattan and hundreds more trees, born from this one survivor, are now planted around the world. It’s an honor to welcome a Survivor Tree to Staten Island’s Postcards Memorial and we hope that future generations will reflect at this site, remember those lost on 9/11 and since due to illness, and continue to tell the story of the Survivor Tree,” Friends of Postcards said.
James Oddo
James Steven Oddo is an American attorney and politician serving as the Borough President of Staten Island. Oddo had previously served as a member of the New York City Council.