On Sunday morning, September 8, about sixty active members of the New York City Fire Department will depart the World Trade Center on a 95-mile long ride to honor the 343 FDNY firefighters who lost their lives on September 11, 2001, raising funds all the while for veterans in need in the tri-state area.
Pictured Above (l-r): Robert Knudsen, Tom Cunningham, Retired Deputy FDNY Chief Paul Mannix, retired firefighters Don Cotrone & Thomas J. May and retired Fire Marshal Brian Hughes at Southold Town Hall Aug. 13 with a poster of all the New York City firefighters who died on Sept. 11, which they’ve taken with them on bicycle trips.
Their ride will take them down the spine of Long Island and out to the North Fork, where they’re slated to finish their day with a community celebration at Pindar Vineyards in Peconic. It’s a trek these cyclists have made before, in 2018 and 2019, but their permit application was initially turned down by the Southold Town Board, which is now expected to approve the ride at its Aug. 27 meeting.
Members of the group, FDNY 343 Ride, joined Pindar Vineyards General Manager and co-owner Pindar Damianos at the Southold Town Board’s Aug. 13 special meeting to ask the board to reconsider its denial, which was based on a 2015 law outlawing bicycle events on Southold Town roads between May and November, even though Southold has allowed the ride since that law went into effect.
Mr. Damianos, who also serves as First Assistant Chief of the volunteer Southold Fire Department, said the event reminds him of the bond that keeps firefighters together as a team.
“I an only imagine the bond of those brothers and sisters walking up the stairs, as the civilians were walking down,” he said of the firefighters who responded to the World Trade Center that day. “The 343 bike ride is an homage to those we have lost, and a way to remember the day that changed us forever.”
Southold Town Supervisor Al Krupski said the initial ban on bicycle events was made out of a concern for public safety, but pointed out that this all-volunteer ride, which has given its proceeds, to date totaling $2 million, to charity, was different from many large professionally run bike fundraisers that have been turned down since the law went into effect.
Councilman Greg Doroski added that this ride is different because members of the public aren’t participating, and the well-trained athletes are simply riding from the town line to Pindar Vineyards on the Main Road.
Riders are expected to arrive at Pindar between 4 and 5 p.m. for a community celebration.
“This is something that our local firemen are proud to say ends in our town,” said Councilwoman Jill Doherty. “I see that it’s separate from any other ask we’ve had.”
Retired FDNY Lieutenant Don Cotrone of Ladder 130 in Queens, who lives in East Marion, brought a poster bearing the department portraits of all the firefighters who died on Sept. 11 to the meeting.
He said he knew 41 of them personally, and had taken that poster on a 3,200-mile bike ride from San Diego to the East Coast on the 20th anniversary of the attacks to raise money for 343 Ride, stopping at firehouses all across the country.
He said he knows of 27 members of the FDNY who live in Southold Town. While he still rides his bike about 60 miles a day, he said, he’s not in good enough shape to ride the full length of Long Island on this trip, and will instead join the welcoming party greeting the cyclists at Pindar.
“His dedication is beyond me,” said former Southold Town Justice Brian Hughes of Mr. Cotrone. “He did that all on his own, with the logistics support of small groups like 343 Ride. We hold this very near and dear to our hearts… Residents in our town did participate in the initial stage of what happened on 9-11, as well as the follow-up. People in this town suffered cancers, and everything else with 9-11 illnesses. It’s a bond that connects with a lot of us.”
Retired FDNY firefighter Thomas Joseph May, Jr., of Cutchogue said 343 Ride was initially organized by FDNY’s Engine 50, Ladder 19, Batallion 36 firehouse in the Bronx.
“The riders are in very good shape, riding 60 miles a day. I couldn’t keep up with that,” he said. “They’re definitely a good organization.”
More information on how to contribute to 343 Ride’s work is at www.fdny343ride.com.
