In the waning hours of the legislative session, state lawmakers gave final approval to erect “a memorial for the victims of the Holocaust and to educate the public about the history of the Holocaust and the dangers of antisemitism, racism, and all manifestations of intolerance,” according to the bill memo.
Once the governor signs the bill into law, the Office of General Services will begin the lengthy process to select a contractor to build the monument, which is slated to be located on a two-acre site near the state museum where buses regularly drop off students for a lesson in civics at the government complex. The monument will be located between a Women Veterans Memorial and a Korean War memorial.
The bill memo states: “This monument aims to honor the victims and pay tribute to those who survived the atrocities of the Holocaust. It is intended to offer visitors an opportunity to reflect on the lessons learned from this dark chapter in history and to inspire them to uphold their responsibilities as members of society, fostering the strength to stand against injustice and intolerance.”
The funding for the memorial is unclear. The bill memo states “To Be Determined,” while the sponsor of the bill in the Assembly, Gabriella Romero, told The Jewish Press the memorial “will be funded privately.” It is expected to cost $5 million based on a previous model for the project a few years ago when the memorial was going to be located in a Catholic cemetery in the Schenectady County town of Niskayuna, an Albany suburb.
“Given the intense amounts of antisemitism that we are experiencing, and we’ve been experiencing them for a while, I think it is fitting and appropriate that New York state have some memorial to those who were lost during what is commonly called the Holocaust,” Assemblyman Charles Lavine (D – Glen Cove, Nassau County), president of the New York chapter of the National Association of Jewish Legislators and a member of its national board of directors, told The Jewish Press.
“Thirty million souls were lost during the Holocaust as a result of authoritarianism and Nazism. There were the six million Jews, there were the Roma, the homosexuals, the Communists, and even before that people with disabilities. They were the first singled out to have their lives terminated because they didn’t measure up to Nazi standards,” Lavine said. “Whenever we deal with white supremacy, which is what Nazism is, we have to take a deep breath and reflect on what we do to make sure everyone knows we are all in this together and no man or woman is superior to any other woman or man.”
One lawmaker, while supporting the measure, was not impressed by the draft of the memorial and would have preferred a previous draft supported by Dr. Michael Lozman, z”l, an orthodontist who headed up the project until his passing.
“I think what Dr. Lozman wanted was something that could educate people about the Holocaust. From what I’ve seen of the design so far, I think it is symbolic but I would prefer something that was more overtly educational,” Assemblyman Phillip Steck (D – Latham, Albany County) told The Jewish Press. “The design seems rather abstract and I’m not sure that it would serve the educational purpose as well as another design. Dr. Lozman had a very historically oriented approach… From what I’ve seen so far this one might not get us there.”
The members of the left-leaning Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) also voted for the measure, except Zohran Mamdani (D – Astoria, Queens), who was continuing his New York City mayoral campaign in New York City. Other members of the Assembly who did not vote for the bill because they were absent included Jenifer Rajkumar (D – Woodhaven, Queens), a candidate for NYC Public Advocate, Nily Rozic (D – Fresh Meadows, Queens), who was born in Jerusalem and raised in Queens, Amanda Septimo (D – South Bronx), and Sam Berger (D – Kew Gardens Hills, Queens), an Orthodox Jewish member.
There is a method of filling out paperwork for a member to declare their vote on a measure after the results are announced. Michael Tannousis (R – Great Kills, Staten Island) was the only member of the GOP side of the aisle who could not make it to session for personal reasons. He told The Jewish Press he plans to vote in favor once the paperwork arrives for him to cast his vote.
“The DSA isn’t going to get into a fight over the design of a Holocaust memorial. The DSA would probably want to put up a memorial to the Nakba… They might draw different conclusions from the Holocaust than you or I might, but they are not Holocaust deniers that I’ve seen,” Steck, a Reform Jew, said. “I was reading the supreme leader of Iran’s comments about the Holocaust – that’s a Holocaust denier.”
“This monument aims to honor the victims and pay tribute to those who survived the atrocities of the Holocaust. It is intended to offer visitors an opportunity to reflect on the lessons learned from this dark chapter in history and to inspire them to uphold their responsibilities as members of society, fostering the strength to stand against injustice and intolerance,” freshman Senator Patricia Fahy (D – Albany), the Senate sponsor of the bill, wrote in a prepared statement. “When we say ‘Never Again,’ we need to act in order for those words to have meaning… I’m proud that our legislation creating the New York State Holocaust Memorial has passed both houses and look forward to seeing this memorial become a reality.”
The measure passed the Senate unanimously, 59 to 0, with four members having an excused absence. The four members were Zellnor Myrie (D – Crown Heights), who was running for mayor of New York City, Dean Murray (R – East Patchogue, Suffolk County), who underwent an emergency appendectomy, newly minted Senator Sam Sutton (D – Midwood, Brooklyn), and Jessica Ramos (D – Jackson Heights, Queens), who was also running for mayor of New York City.
The architect of the draft drawing of the memorial was proud to see this memorial moving forward. “We have been dedicated to creating a permanent space in the Capital Region to honor the victims of the Holocaust and educate future generations,” Dan Dembling, an architect and president of the Capital District Jewish Holocaust Memorial, wrote in a prepared statement. “Since our organization’s founding, at a time when antisemitism and hate are on the rise it is more critical than ever to provide students and the public with the tools to understand the devastating consequences of unchecked hatred. This memorial will serve as a powerful reminder and an essential educational resource for New Yorkers and visitors alike.”
The Assembly bill sponsor, Gabriella Romero, a Puerto Rican Catholic, said, “It is really important to have this very specific memorial pay homage to the survivors of the Holocaust year after year. Survivors of the Holocaust, their children and families lose their stories whether they are aging or they are passing as time moves on. This memorial would really stand tall and strong commemorating the Holocaust and showing the history of the atrocities but also kind of showing the negative intensity of an action.” All of her closest and best friends are Jewish, Romero told The Jewish Press.
A conceptual animated video of the memorial can be found at youtu.be/RfkscYZO0KY. To learn more about the Holocaust Memorial go to www.cdjhm.org.
