Last Saturday morning, Highbridge residents gathered at the memorial site for the Magassa and Soumare families, calling for a middle school named after the families to be built in Highbridge.

The morning after New York City’s second snowstorm this winter, the shrines honoring the ten victims of this month’s fire at 1022 Woodycrest Avenue appeared as a winter wonderland. Roses, candles, and teddy bears stood frozen in the snow as icicles hung from the many sympathy cards. The sun peaked on a card made for Djibril Soumare , signed by the staff of the Volunteers of America’s Bronx Early Learning Center.

The card read: “May God bless you and shine upon you. Every day from the school bus you would run and hug me tight; with bright eyes and a big smile. Rest in peace my little angel.”

As the Highbridge community mourns the ten lives taken away from it two weeks ago, the neighborhood has united in grief. The fire and its aftermath have also placed Highbridge in the media spotlight, and residents have taken the opportunity to have their opinions heard. “We are here today because this neighborhood does not have a middle school,” said local parent Analiz Figueroa.”

 Figueroa said middle-school-aged children in Highbridge currently had to take two different buses to get to nearby schools. The closest middle schools to the neighborhood include Arturo Toscanni Junior High School, at 1000 Teller Avenue;  L. Mott Junior High School 22, on 270 East 167th Street;  Junior High School 117, Joseph H. Wade school ,at 1865 Morris Avenue ; and  Middle School 203 at 339 Morris Avenue.

India Echevarria, a family support worker at the Highbridge Community Life Center who led local residents in erecting the memorial for the victims and raising more than $26,000 in donations, said that a school named for the families was important for several reasons.

“We are doing this because we want to keep the familes’ memories alive,” Echevarria said. “We don’t have a school that shows cultural education. We are also asking for a teacher to educate our children about the Islamic  faith, and other religions.”

Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrión indicated he had no specific timetable in mind for a memorial middle school to be built. “While it is certainly a wonderful idea for the future,” Carrión said, “the best immediate tribute for all the children that we lost, is by having all city schools working with the New York City Fire Department to provide fire safety lessons to all children to ensure that this tragedy doesn’t happen again.”

Congressman José E. Serrano expressed greater initial enthusiasm for the idea.   “The proposal to name a middle school in the Highbridge neighborhood after the families that lost so much in those fires strikes me as entirely appropriate and fitting,” Serrano said. “I applaud the community for coming up with yet another way to support and honor these families.”

Wanda Smith, a member of the parent association at P.S. 73—where where Abuducary, Mahamadou, and Bandiogou Magassa attended school—said that because the Soumare and Magassa families are Muslims, the new school should be based on Islamic tradition and morals.

Towards the end of the rally, Moussa Magassa—the father of five of the dead children—appeared, apologetically saying he was camera shy.
Everyone laughed and seemed to understand.  It was, undoubtedly, a much --needed lighthearted moment.