November 18, 2001
A place to come together
Hundreds of neighbors gathered at Gramercy House, the former Sonnenberg Mansion at 20 Gramercy Park South, and outside on Irving Place. The Gramercy Park Block Association organized the benefit with the local police community in the months following September 11.
The Neighbors Helping Neighbors Fund supported the families of 13th Precinct officers Moira Smith and Robert Fazio and Emergency Service officer Brian McDonnell. This was a way to turn the neighborhood’s gratitude into help for people living with loss.
The event combined music, police demonstrations and a silent auction with contributions from more than fifty restaurants. The house and the street brought together residents, business owners, officers and their families.
At the benefit, the Block Association presented the precinct with the Wall of Support, a photographic collage of people who had helped in the relief operation. The gift gave a lasting form to the many individual acts of care.
The fund and collection arrangements described in the 2001 records belong to that time. The story continues through the Block Association’s remembrance work and its longstanding relationships with first responders.