New Jersey is bracing for the unimaginable after the tragedy at the World Trade Center. Not only are there dozens of residents missing in town; there are scores of family members grieving for them around the state.
As of Thursday, it was estimated that the loss of life in New Jersey could top 2,000. Reports from rescue workers and health offices speculate that up to 40 percent of those lost in the downtown Manhattan tragedy are from New Jersey.
And Hoboken is right in the middle of the firestorm.
It’s been almost two weeks, but an accurate list of those missing from Hoboken – a haven for young people who work across the river – is still hard to come by.
"It’s still difficult to make a guess as to how many Hoboken residents are missing," said Hoboken Police Chief Carmen La Bruno last week. "The problem is, most of the missing have their family in other cities, so they claim them there."
As of Thursday afternoon, the Hoboken Police Department only had 15 names of Hobokenites listed as missing, but the research of the Reporter and other news outlets puts the total at 28. There is also one former resident on the list. This is the list:
Confirmed dead
Peter Apollo, 26
Christopher S. Cramer, 34, of Manahawkin, formerly of Hoboken
John Murray, 33
John Perconti, Jr. 32
Scott Rohner, 22
Missing
Donna Bernaerts-Kerns, 44
Nick Brandemarti, 21
Christopher Colasnti, 33
Swarma Chalasani, 33
Gavin Cushny, 47
Neil Dollard, no age available
Margaret Echtermann, 41,
Rosa Julia Gonzalez, no age available
Wayne Hobson, no age available,
Thomas P. Knox, 31
Joseph Ianelli, no age available
Keith K. O’Connor, 28
Katie McGarry-Noack, 30
George McLaughlin Jr., 36,
Michael Mullin, 27
Dominique Pandolfo, 27
Joseph Pick, 40
Ronald J. Ruben, 36
Josh Rosenblum, 28,
Nick Rowe, 28
Richard L. Salinardi, 32
Lesley Thomas, 40
Melissa Vincent, 28
Michael Wittenstein, 34
Help compile a state list
State Police Spokesman John Hagerty said in a press release last week that troopers are in New York reviewing the city’s missing persons list and are attempting to compile a comprehensive list of New Jersey casualties.
"We are well aware that the names we have verified fall far under the number who are actually missing," he said in a statement. "We are working on this, but it is going to take time."
State officials are urging relatives of people unaccounted for since the trade Center attack to call their hometown police departments to file and official missing persons report. Once verified by the state police, those reports make up the state’s roster of missing residents.
Saying goodbye
Monday morning, city residents lined the banks of the Hudson to say goodbye at an interfaith memorial service. As the morning sun rose over those grieving, they held hands and prayed for victims, the missing and their families.
"We lost some our best and brightest," said Renee Schubert, 59, who was a neighbor of one of the missing. "These are the best our world has to offer. They were smart and talented and had so much to look forward to. The city is different; we are all different."
"Thousands of people make Hoboken their home because of its close proximity to New York City, and many of them work in New York’s downtown area," said Mayor David Roberts in a statement last week. "Our thoughts and prayers are with all the people affected by this disaster, but they are especially with our Hoboken neighbors and their loved ones."
Some remarked at Monday’s vigil that the tragedy hit those who were so young and vibrant. "You look at their pictures and you get so sad," said Hoboken resident Melody Ruiz. "This was supposed to be the beginning of their lives. They were on top of the world; the best jobs in the best market in the world, but it can all end in a second. It’s so cruel. You can have everything in one minute and the next it is taken from you."
Those include people like Scott Rohner, 22, who was training as a foreign trader at Cantor Fitzgerald on the 105th floor of Tower One. It was his first job out of Hobart College, from where he graduated in the spring. At his home in Rivers Edge, N.J., the former River Dell High School’s quarterback football jersey still hangs in the front window.
Rohner’s family members have put a picture of him in the doorway of his apartment building on Washington Street.
Then, there’s Rohner’s co-worker on the 105th floor, Jon A. Perconti, Jr., 32. Formerly of Lodi, Perconti had been a trader at Cantor Fitzgerald for more than eight years and was a graduate of Rutgers University. A memorial mass for Perconti will be held Monday at 7 p.m. at St. Joseph R.C. Church in Lodi.
Then there were those like Nick Rowe, 28 and Peter Apollo, 26. Both were engaged to be married to different women by the end of the year. Apollo is confirmed dead, and a memorial service for him was held Friday at St. James Church in Red Bank. Rowe is still among the missing.
Another missing person is young Dominique Pandolfo, who had just moved into an apartment in Hoboken with her boyfriend and was just starting graduate classes at New York University. She was on the 99th floor of the Trade Center as a trainer for Marsh and McLennan. According to family sources, she didn’t normally work at the Trade Center, but was there that day to teach a computer class. She is still among those listed as missing.
Memorials to unaccounted for Hoboken residents are posted in doorways around town. On Neil Dollard’s apartment building on the 1100 block of Washington Street, friends have taped a large piece of posterboard with comments and photos meant for Neil. Nearby, at the beginning of the week, a missing resident’s car contained both a poster asking for information and a note for police to please not tow the car.
Every day, a couple more tragic stories of lost youth are added to a constantly growing list.
The Reporter is publishing photos, dedications and information about those missing free of charge (see p. X).
Here is a list of numbers that residents can call if they are having difficulty coping:
St. Mary Crisis Hotline: 795-5505.
Community Mental Health Center: 792-8200.
State Crisis Hotline: (866) NJ-CRISIS.
Coping in schools
The events of last week are hard enough for adults to deal with. For children, the stress can be even worse. Hoboken children are back in school, and the district is taking every precaution to make sure they are getting the attention they need.
The schools are taking a three-pronged approach to dealing with the crisis. First they are providing direct service to children and staff. That includes counselors going into the schools to speak with children concerning the disaster, and to provide referral information, names and phone numbers of people to contact at the Community Mental Health Center at St. Mary’s Hospital.
The second phase entailed the Superintendent of Schools Patrick Gagliardi sending a letter home to parents with a sheet for parent/family follow-up.
"The terroristic act that unfolded before us at the World Trade Center will impact our lives forever," wrote Gagliardi. "Adults find this act incomprehensible and indelible. As the parents and educators of our district’s children, we must help then deal with this event and provide them with a sense of safety. It is imperative that our children feel safe."
The final phase of helping kids cope is to have voluntary group and family counseling sessions at St. Mary’s Community Mental Health Center at 506 Third St. on Sept 25 and 26 from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The Board of Education can be reached for more information at 420-2161.