Point Lookout ceremony held for Long Island 9/11 victims

POINT LOOKOUT (WABC) -- Nearly 500 people from Long Island died on terror attacks of September 11, and each year, people gather at Point Lookout in Hempstead to honor them.

Two 18-foot-tall sand-covered towers are the centerpiece of a World Trade Center memorial on the beach.

The project is crafted every year for the remembrance service.

Large boards are covered with a sand-covered surface, interspersed with polished chrome strips.

"My fiance loved the beach, so it's even more appropriate that I'm here," said Lisa Tornato, of East Meadow

It was Tornato's first time at the ceremony, as it took her 13 years to come after losing her fiance Christopher Racaniello.

"Every year, it just goes ahead and rips apart the scar that's been built from the year before," she said. "Basically, it's an ongoing hurt that's never going to go away."

The ceremony featured song, inspirational speeches from religious leaders and an interactive display where people could write notes to their loved ones.

Joe Misita was the artist behind this year's design.

"It's in loving memory of all the people that perished, that were murdered," he said.

The Point Lookout ceremony is held on the same beach where hundreds of residents gathered spontaneously on September 11, 2001, after the attacks.