Congressman Adriano Espaillat Commemorates American Airlines Flight 587 Victims in Queens
Congressman Adriano Espaillat (D-13) attended a commemoration in Belle Harbor, Queens, to honor the 265 victims of American Airlines Flight 587, which crashed on November 12, 2001. The flight was en route to the Dominican Republic from John F. Kennedy Airport. Of the 265 fatalities, 175 were of Dominican origin. Congressman Espaillat, the first U.S. Congressman of Dominican descent, spoke at the monument erected at the crash site, emphasizing solidarity with the victims' families and the enduring memory of those lost. He highlighted his role in promoting public funding for the construction of the memorial, which was designed by Dominican artist Freddy Rodríguez. The monument features a curved wall of Canadian vermillion granite blocks with various openings and a view of the sea, inscribed with a line from Dominican poet Pedro Mir. Espaillat also recalled the Flight 587 Memorial Scholarship program, established in 2003 through a state law, which has enabled dozens of orphaned children and other affected fam...
