Honoring a Fallen 9-11 Hero With Flowers

New park to be dedicated Sept. 21

By Jessica Anderson

Relatives of Captain Kathy Mazza joined local officials Sept. 8 to plant flowers and shrubs in a memorial park in Farmingdale that was developed in honor of the Port Authority police captain.

Garden designer Edie Katz carries flowers for planting around flagpole in garden.

Mazza, 46, was one of three female rescue workers to die in the World Trade Center collapse September 11, 2001, and was cited for bravery in saving hundreds of lives.

(L.-r.): Edie Katz, Kathy's parents Rose and John Mazza, Butch Starkie from Starkie Bros. Nursery, and Anthony Dippold from Lush Lawns.

The garden was designed by a friend of Mazza's, Edie Katz, who was on hand to assist in the plantings. The garden is heart-shaped, 50-feet in diameter, with a central walkway leading up to a granite monument. The walkway will include the engraved names of Mazza's fellow officers, and the garden and flagpole, which will be lit at night, surrounds the monument.

Kathy's cousin Gertrude came from Tennessee to help with planting.

Starkie Bros. Nursery donated many of the plantings and Lush Lawns supplied much of the manpower at the garden. Butch Starkie, from Starkie Bros. and Anthony Dippold from Lush Lawns, were on hand to help out any way they could.

View of the commemorative garden at the end of the day.

Additional plantings were provided by Ralph's Nursery in Farmingdale, Hicks Nursery in Westbury, and Home Depot in Farmingdale.

"Kathy, the first female commanding officer at the PAPD Police Academy, is a 'true American hero'," said Oyster Bay Town Supervisor John Venditto, who was also on hand as the garden was planted.

The park will be dedicated Sept. 21 at 10 a.m., followed by a walk-a-thon to raise money for a nursing scholarship at Nassau Community College, and a grant for pediatric cardiac care at St. Francis Hospital in Roslyn.

The grants and scholarships are made possible by the North Masspaequa-based Captain Kathy Mazza Memorial Foundation, founded by her family in a continuing effort to carry on the fine service that Mazza personified in both her careers with the police department and as a nurse.

The walk will start at the park, travel through several Farmingdale streets, past Captain Mazza's home on Sunset Ave., and finish at the park. At this time, there are over 200 walkers registered. The walk-a-thon will serve as a fundraiser for the foundation.

"Kathy never let anything hold her back," said her mother, Rose Mazza, vice president of the Captain Kathy Mazza Memorial Foundation. "She had a mission in life and she would never leave anyone behind. She ... will forever be remembered."

To obtain walk-a-thon applications or pledge sheets, call 798-6756, or e-mail captkmazza911@aol.com.