Online News From The Tribeca Trib

Street Co-Named for 9/11 Brother Victims

by Etta Sanders

"This intersection will forever be known as Mark and Stephen Colaio Way," said Councilman Alan Gerson, standing on the top step at the entrance to the American Thread Building on the morning of June 10.

A few minutes later, family members of the Colaio brothers, who lived in Tribeca and died in the attack on the World Trade Center, tugged on a rope to reveal a new street sign at the corner of Beach Street and West Broadway.

"I hope Mark and Stephen are looking down here on their family and friends," their father, Victor Colaio, told the 40 friends and relatives gathered for the ceremony. "Maybe 25 years from now a child will ask 'Who were those guys?' and someone will be able to explain."

It was a moment that Victor Colaio had long dreamed of seeing and had lobbied hard to make happen.

Mark Colaio, 34, who lived in the American Thread Building at 260 West Broadway since 1996, and Stephen, 32, who lived at Independence Plaza, were brokers at Cantor Fitzgerald. Their parents, Victor and

Mary, divide their time between a home in Montauk, L.I., and an apartment in Battery Park City.

Mark's widow, June, still lives at 260 West Broadway with their two children, Delaney, 6, and Joseph, 4. "It's going to be great everyday to see it," she said, adding that it will help the children keep a connection to their father. "It's going to be great for them to know this is their father's and uncle's street."

In October 2003, Victor Colaio brought the request to co-name a portion of Beach Street to Community Board 1, which must approve street name changes. The request met with resistance from board members who were concerned that requests to co-name streets for 9/11 victims would flood in.

But the Colaio request turned out to be one of only two that came before the board, according to Judy Duffy, CB1's assistant district manager. (A block of North Moore Street outside the Ladder 8 firehouse was co-named for firefighter Lt. Vincent Halloran.) The family persisted. In March 2004, with a letter of support from Gerson, June Colaio and her sister-in-law, Jean Colaio Steinbach, came to CB1's Tribeca Committee again. This time they received unanimous approval.

"The process worked," said committee chair Albert Capsouto at the June 10 ceremony. "And the end product is one family having a little sweetness added to the bittersweet."