STATEN ISLAND — A memorial project started for 9/11 victims will honor City Councilman Vincent Ignizio and Snug Harbor Cultural Center next week for their contributions after Hurricane Sandy.
The New Yorkers for Parks Daffodil Project, which plants the flower around the city to memorialize the men and women who lost their lives in the terror attacks, will give the awards on Tuesday at their annual Daffodil Breakfast in Manhattan.
While NY4P usually honors people and groups involved in the project, they decided to expand the scope this year to honor Ignizio for his work with residents post-Sandy.
“Though our Daffodil Breakfast typically celebrates those involved with the project, we wanted to recognize the amazing volunteer response of New Yorkers after Sandy,” said Holly Leight, executive director of NY4P. “Vinny was a one-man volunteer coordinator for his community in the weeks after the storm, and an enduring tireless presence in his district day and night.”
Ignizio said Staten Island came together after the storm, and he would like to accept the award to honor them for all they have done.
"After the storm, the Staten Island community came together to show its true colors by banding together to help their neighbors in need," he said in a release. "I would like to accept this award on their behalf, for their efforts and showing why Staten Island is such a great place to live.”
Snug Harbor will also receive the group's Staten Island Daffodil award for their planting of more than 1,000 flowers after Sandy in their Healing Garden, a living memorial for 9/11.
“Snug Harbor couldn’t have been a more enthusiastic, dynamic Daffodil Project participant in 2012,” Leight said. “They hosted plantings on their own grounds, helped promote the project on Staten Island and through social media, and their submissions broke voting records in our annual daffodil photo contest.
"Most of all, though," she added, "their resiliency and spirit of generosity after Hurricane Sandy really exemplified what the Daffodil Project has always been all about.”
The ceremony will also honor volunteers in all five boroughs for their contributions to the project in 2012. The New York City Housing Authority's Garden and Greening Program won the citywide award and the borough-wide award winners are:
► The Bronx: Debra Myers, Friends of Mt. Eden Malls and Claremont Park
► Brooklyn: Tom Buxton and Jennifer Hicks, I.S. 259
► Manhattan: Tony Hillery, Harlem Grown and P.S. 175
► Queens: Rose and Benny Wong, West Cunningham Park Civic Association
