WSVN 7 NEWS
MAY 16 , 2022
Meeting held to work on memorial plans for 1-year anniversary of Surfside collapse
By Robbin Simmons
SURFSIDE, FLA. (WSVN) - A major meeting was held with City of Surfside officials and representatives of the families of the victims of the Champlain Towers South collapse to discuss memorial plans for the one-year anniversary since the building came down.
Surfside Mayor Shlomo Danzinger said during Monday’s meeting that plans are well underway to mark the somber occasion.
“It’s been a long journey for the last month and a half, nonstop, and there’s a lot of people behind this, working on this every day, and it’s nice to see that we’re starting to make headway and progress and hopefully be able to make something that really means something to the families and make it really special,” he said.
The meeting about the one-year anniversary remembrance comes a week after a nearly $1 billion settlement was reached in a class-action lawsuit filed by the families of the Champlain Tower South condo collapse.
“The banner that we put up on the site, the CTS site, there was a lot of work but to see that go up was really special,” said Danzinger.
In the early morning hours of June 24, 2021, the 12-story condominium fell, killing 98 people and leading to agonizing months of rescue, recovery, and for those who lost loved ones, healing.
A committee representing family members, community members and other stakeholders gathered to craft a weekend of events that will offer the public a chance to participate but also give families the privacy they need.
“That was one of the most important things that they asked for. Thankfully, we were able to work with the other receiver. Michael Goldberg can accommodate that for them, which was to give access on the site, so they can have that moment, flowers, candles,” said Danzinger.
For Danzinger, it’s been a whirlwind. The first anniversary of the tragedy comes just three months after he was elected to office.
“This was something that we saw that hadn’t been addressed yet, and it became our priority as a commission,” he said. “This means a lot to a lot of people, and it’s my honor and, I know, the honor of the commission to be able to do this for them,” he said.
One of the challenges is trying to ensure that as many families members as possible are pleased with what they come up with. With so many victims, you have so many family members with different points of views.
They will have a moment of privacy on June 24, in the early morning hours before the public events happen. Organizers are expecting to see representatives from various local, state and federal entities in attendance.