A memorial plaque in honor of Lt. David Fontana, one of the firefighters from Squad 1 in Park Slope who died on 9/11 at the World Trade Center, has been stolen. 

It was placed there in 2002 by friends and neighbors on the tree in front of the Fourth Street brownstone where David, Marian, and Aidan Fontana used to live. There was a small dedication ceremony around Christmas of that year. "We invited Squad 1 over for a little dedication. Some kids from my son’s chorus at MS51 stood on the stoop and sang a couple of song. songs," writes Sarah Greene in an e-mail to OTBKB. "My husband, Bill,  talked about how we planted that tree a few years before, and when he watered it some mornings, Dave would come out and they’d chat. So we thought of it as ‘Dave’s tree’."

The plaque, which reads, "In Memory of Firefighter Dave Fontana – Beloved Husband, Father, Neighbor, Artist, Hero," was discovered missing on the afternoon of Wednesday, September 13th. "It was there in the morning because my husband watered the tree around 10 a.m," writes Greene.  "But Liz O’Connell noticed it was missing in the afternoon."

The missing plaque has been reported to the police. "But somehow I doubt they will put a detective on the case," writes Sarah. She and her neighbors are putting up signs this weekend offering a $100 reward for its return. The value was placed at $800.00 but Greene thinks that it will cost close to $1000. to replace it.

No one can quite figure out why someone would steal the plaque which honors a local Park Slope hero. Perhaps someone wanted a 9/11 souvenir. The theft could be connected to the publicity surrounding the publication of Marian Fontana’s just-published memoir: "A Widow’s Walk: A Memoir of 9/11." Or it might have been a school prank – there are two schools near the location of the plaque. The principals of both schools were notified of the missing plaque.

If you have any information about the missing plaque, contact: Sarah Greene at
sarahgreene@nyc.rr.com or louise_crawford@yahoo.com