ROCKAWAY PARK — A year after angering the family of the victim's of the Flight 587 crash by arriving late, Mayor Bill de Blasio offered a "mea culpa" Thursday by arriving a half-hour early.
The mayor arrived at 8:30 a.m. for the memorial on Beach 116th Street, picking up breakfast at a local cafe before meeting with family members.
Flight 587, bound for the Dominican Republic, crashed in Belle Harbor on Nov. 12, 2001, killing all 260 people on board and five on the ground.
The annual memorial began at 9:05 a.m., and two members of the FDNY rang a bell to mark the time of the crash, 9:16 a.m.
De Blasio spoke about the victims and their families, and the 14 years they have gathered in Rockaway to honor those lost.
"You will never let the memories pass away, you will continue them in all that you do," he said, before family members came up to read the names of the victims.
The historically tardy mayor missed the start of last year's ceremony, including the bell ringing, after a "rough night" caused him to be late to the NYPD boat that brought him to the peninsula.
In the past year, de Blasio has improved his lateness, an issue he said he wanted to work on.
It was still upsetting to relatives of the victims, like Juan Reyes, 29, who lost his father Santana Reyes in the crash.
"It was very disrespectful, and we didn't even get an apology," he said.
His family lives in Connecticut, and they leave the house at 5 a.m. to make it to the ceremony on time.
But they come because it's important his father is remembered, he said, especially to his niece and nephew, Jason, 9, and Yaxiara, 7, who never knew their grandfather.
"This is a way of keeping his memory alive — who he was, what he meant to us, and what he means to his grandchildren," he said.
Nannette Fortez mourns her husband, Anthony Forteza-Garcia, who was killed in the crash. (DNAinfo/Katie Honan)
Miriam Estrella lost five family members in the crash and last year started the memorial without de Blasio, despite pleas from his office to wait for him.
Estrella, a 22-year-old college student from Bergenfield, N.J., said this year's ceremony was much better.
"Everything went well today," she said. "I'm proud of him. He made it on time, for once. I'm glad he was here to support us."
The mayor, though, never owned up to his mistake last year, she said.
"They still owe me an apology, they still owe everyone an apology," she said.
Mourners lay flowers at the exact site of the crash of Flight 587, 15 blocks from the official memorial. (DNAinfo/Katie Honan)
