Local Builders Mobilize For A Mission To NYC
Local Builders Mobilize For A Mission To NYC
By Steve Bigham
A group of local builders put down their tools and cleared their schedules earlier this month to join thousands of other volunteers working in the rubble of the World Trade Center.
Steve and Neal Berko, Ray Ormsbee, and Tony Pietrini said they felt compelled to help out in the wake of the September 11 tragedy, so they loaded up a caravan of trucks and delivered much-needed supplies. The Newtown men actually made several trips down to âground zero.â
âWe took stuff right to the front lines,â Steve Berko said this week. âLet me tell you, it was like holy hell down there. Itâs not like what you see on TV â the smells, the sights, the sounds. It was snowing dust when we got there.â
These days, security around the devastated site is closed off to outside volunteers. In the days after the attack, however, the rescue effort was less organized and people converged on the scene by the thousands to offer their assistance.
âWe wanted to do something. It took us four hours to mobilize from nothing to seven trucks,â said Berko, co-owner of Four Square Builders. âWe werenât looking to dig dirt. We wanted to get supplies to the front line.â
And thanks to a connection, the Newtown guys received a police escort to the scene. Crowds cheered as they rumbled through the streets of Manhattan. At the scene, they were met with welcoming arms from rescue workers in need of such things as special digging knives, waders, cigars, coffee, and 2,400 bottles of water. Some of the items were rounded up from around the country.
The Newtown group earned the nickname âThe Connecticut guysâ as they were able to get things that nobody else could get. The cigars reportedly went over well with the NYPD and FDNY.
The group made four trips to ground zero and thanks to the generosity of Newtown businesses like Newtown Hardware, Dunkinâ Donuts, and Bagelman never arrived empty handed. Stevenson Lumber of Monroe also played a part in the effort, donating several pallets of hardware.
âWeâd walk into these places and tell them we were going down to the city and they were always eager to help out,â Mr Berko said.
The best part of the experience, the men say, is the fact that they were able to deliver supplies directly to the men and women on the front line.