Over 350 Roosevelt Island residents gathered Friday evening at sunset in an impromptu vigil of candlelight and song.  For some, it was a memorial to fellow human beings lost in the attack on the World Trade Center towers; for others, it was a gesture of patriotism at a difficult time for America.  And for still others, it was a way of thanking the emergency workers who are on the scene of the disaster.

Songs ranged from America the Beautiful and the National Anthem through This Land Is Your Land, This Land Is My Land and Amazing Grace and other hymns.

Afterward the large group split into three parts.  Many went to the Island's firehouse to sing for and thank the firefighers bivouaced there.  Others stayed at the bell in Good Shepherd Plaza to create a memorial shrine on the bell's base.  And others carried their candles to the river, repeating songs as they looked downtown toward the gap in the skyline once filled by the towers.

Later in the evening, Sister Register Palamara announced that all of next week's proceeds in the Cabrini Thrift Shop will go to funds for the firefighters and police.