This Wall Inspires,Elliot Resnick, <i>Jewish Press Staff Reporter</i>

With a new World Trade Center and its companion memorial still years away from completion, families of firemen and policemen who perished on September 11, 2001, have very few sites to visit to remember their loved ones.

One of the few places, however, the Brooklyn Wall of Remembrance, is the brainchild of Brooklyn Jewish resident Sol Moglen. The granite wall of 155 laser-engraved faces of Brooklyn's first responders who died on 9/11 - which includes two Jewish firemen, Alan Feinberg and David Weiss - stands on the exterior of KeySpan Park's west wall, where the Brooklyn Cyclones play baseball.

"How could we not do something special for those who crossed the bridge and never came home?" Moglen remembers thinking.

Moglen is not done, however. He hopes to add an additional 259 faces to the wall, commemorating the lost first responders of all five boroughs. A third Jewish fireman from Manhattan, Stephen Belson, will be among the additions.

"He [Belson] was the nicest guy in the world," said Jeff Kuzoch, president of Ner Tamid, the Jewish fraternal firefighters organization.

Of the other two Jewish firemen, Alan Feinberg was at a golf course on 9/11 before he rushed down to lower Manhattan, and David Weiss made the news in 1997 by diving into the East River while off-duty, attempting to save a man whose car had fallen into the water.

Brooklyn Wall of Remembrance

Pointing out that many bodies were never recovered in the Word Trade Center rubble, Rabbi Joseph Potasnik said, "I think it's important for everyone to recognize that people who lost loved ones need sacred space." Rabbi Potasnik acts as the fire department's Jewish chaplain and was an early supporter of the wall.

After securing Rabbi Potasnik's and other key city officials' approval in the year following the 9/11 attacks, Moglen worked on a design with United States Bronze Sign Company's Peter Kasten, who lost a dear childhood friend on September 11. The project's total cost, funded by private donations, was $193,000, Moglen said.

Moglen estimates the new expansions will cost $250,000. Actor Gary Sinise - who has donated $50,000 for the cause - and his band will be performing a concert at Brooklyn College on August 11 to raise funds for the project. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster and KeySpan Park's sales office.

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This Wall Inspires , Elliot Resnick, <i>Jewish Press Staff Reporter</i>