Mayor Francis “Mac” Womack, Township Council President Carlo Socio, Schools Superintendent Dr. Brian Zychowski and Office of Emergency Management Coordinator Mark Cafferty gathered at Community Park to reflect on the lives of the North Brunswick residents lost due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Seventy-eight flags were placed at the Community Park sign near Route 130 south on March 2 to memorialize the lives lost since March 2020. A wreath, candle and flags were also laid at the sign during the remembrance.
“We invite you and your family to drive by and come by the entrance of Community Park. Take a minute and pause and grieve and remember those who have been lost,” Womack said in a prepared statement. H
e said that residents are invited to drop off flowers or a personal item at the base of the Community Park memorial.
Womack added that there will be a permanent memorial and ceremony to honor township residents lost to COVID-19.
Socio said, “What these flags represent are our neighbors, volunteers, parents, siblings. Each flag has its own special memory of what that resident gave to their family, to their friends and to the community.”
Zychowski added, “The flags are a sober reminder that we must stay and remain vigilant and we also must honor those who have passed.”
During the township’s daily video briefings, Cafferty reads the number of daily COVID-19 cases and the number of deaths in New Jersey, Middlesex County and North Brunswick.
“Every day that I have to read another death it is a difficult day,” he said in the statement. “We are losing a family member, a friend, a neighbor. It is difficult to imagine that we have lost 78 people to this pandemic.”
The township is planning to create a permanent memorial at a future date.
