Not Too Soon?

Crazy to think that today’s vandals are only dimly aware of Sept. 11:

Borough President James P. Molinaro yesterday said that another plaque at the Staten Island World Trade Center memorial was damaged during a recent incident.

In light of the vandalism, Molinaro said he would ask the city to install video surveillance cameras near the St. George memorial.

Initial reports said part of a granite plaque devoted to Jason Christopher DeFazio, a Cantor Fitzgerald employee from Sunnyside, was shattered and its pieces scattered on the rocky shoreline near the memorial. The pieces were later recovered.

Yesterday, Molinaro said the plaque adjacent to DeFazio’s, belonging to Firefighter Jeffrey James Olsen of Great Kills, is missing its silhouette-style profile.

Authorities didn’t initially notice the vandalism to Olsen’s plaque because the layout of the 9/11 “Postcards” memorial can make it difficult to match victims’ profiles with their corresponding nameplates, the borough president said.

“It’s an easy mistake to make,” Molinaro added.

The part of the plaque containing Olsen’s name was not damaged.

Olsen’s mother, Carol Olsen, said the vandalism was “awful,” noting, “Many families rely on that memorial.”

She said her family wanted nothing to do with the memorial planned for Manhattan because it’s “too controversial.” Said Mrs. Olsen of the St. George site, “This is where we come.”

Officials believe that all the vandalism occurred sometime last weekend.

And by the way, how many other surveillance cameras around the city are only decoys?

Molinaro said two surveillance cameras mounted on light poles near the memorial are actually decoys. He said he’d never requested working cameras be installed at the memorial because “I was naive enough to think that people wouldn’t damage it.”

He also didn’t want to potentially invade the privacy of grieving family members by having them videotaped.

“Now I see we’re at a different level,” said Molinaro. “It’s necessary that you do it.”

Location Scout: Postcards Memorial.