A police cadet who died helping World Trade Center victims on 9/11 was honored Monday at a Queens street renaming — 13 years after being accused of involvement in the attacks.
Residents and elected officials came together to formally rename 204th St. at 35th Ave. “Salman Hamdani Way” after Mohammed Salman Hamdani, the son of Muslim immigrants from Pakistan who lived a block from the Bayside street.
“It’s a joyous and victorious day,” said Talat Hamdani, the mother of the police cadet, who died at the age of 23. “And it’s a turning point in America’s fight against prejudice and bigotry. It symbolizes that OK, American Muslims are also Americans, and we are an integral part of society.”
Hamdani’s name was initially tarred by leaks to the press from anonymous police sources suggesting he was suspected of ties to terrorists, but was eventually given a funeral with full police honors in April 2002, a month after his remains were found in the wreckage at Ground Zero.
Residents and merchants cheered the new street sign on 204th Street at 35th Avenue, one block from the house where the former Bayside High School football player grew up.
“It’s a great idea,” said Gidon Pesso, owner of Pesso’s Italian Ices across the street. “He should definitely be recognized.”
