North Bergen and Hudson County officials gathered at James J. Braddock Park Thursday afternoon to cut the ribbon for the new veterans memorial.
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North Bergen Freeholder Anthony Vainieri (D-8) conducted the ceremony alongside various other elected officials at the memorial site.
“Whether a veteran or not, it is special to recognize the hard work and dedication of every veteran which has allowed for us to be here today,” Vainieri said.
Vainieri continued to talk about the dedication the township gave back to the veterans by working on this memorial site which has “been in the works for years.”
Following Vainieri, other officials such as Hoboken Freeholder Anthony Romano (D-5), Guttenberg Mayor Gerald Drasheff and North Bergen Mayor/state Senator Nick Sacco (D-32) gave brief remarks.
Sacco went on to call the memorial site a once “dust bowl†which has been changed to “beautiful fieldsâ€, continuing that “the veterans deserves a monument like this and a beautiful park in honor of those who served our country.”
Officials broke ground on the $6.1 million park just under one year ago: on January 24, 2015.
Hudson County Executive Tom DeGise, Assemblywoman Angelica Jimenez (D-32), Hudson County Sheriff Frank Schillari and North Bergen Commissioners Hugo Cabrera, Alan Pascual and Julio Marenco were also in attendance at the event.