Critical Shifts:
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National & Local Relief Mobilization: GNYADA launched the Greater New York Auto Dealers Disaster Relief Fund with a $250,000 seed contribution and co-established the nationwide NADA Survivors Relief Fund to support affected families.
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Direct Equipment and Logistics Support: Automobile dealers and manufacturers went beyond monetary donations by supplying hundreds of vehicles, ATVs, generators, and 18 Red Cross vans directly to Ground Zero and rescue operations.
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Long-Term Honor and Community Commitment: GNYADA restored a damaged Bronx fire truck for the 2002 NY Auto Show and established ongoing tributes, including First Responders Appreciation Day at the show.
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Twenty-five years after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association is remembering how New York dealers and the broader auto industry responded in the aftermath.
GNYADA President Mark Schienberg was attending the Frankfurt Auto Show when the attacks occurred, along with New York Auto Show Chairman John LaSorsa and GNYADA Board Chairman Michael Caruso.
With U.S. airspace closed, the group began discussing how New York’s auto dealers could help with recovery efforts. Because communications in New York were severely limited following the collapse of the World Trade Center towers, Schienberg contacted Mark Herrmann, GNYADA’s representative to the National Automobile Dealers Association, to help coordinate a national response.
That effort resulted in the NADA Survivors Relief Fund, which brought dealers from across the country together to support families and survivors of the attacks. The fund received hundreds of thousands of dollars in dealer contributions within weeks.
GNYADA also established the Greater New York Auto Dealers Disaster Relief Fund on Sept. 26, starting it with a $250,000 contribution from the association. Dealers, automakers, suppliers and other dealer associations were asked to contribute.
Dealers also provided equipment and vehicles. New York dealers donated 18 vans to the American Red Cross for rescue and relief operations, while automakers and dealers across the country provided hundreds of vehicles, generators, ATVs and other equipment to agencies working at Ground Zero and elsewhere.
GNYADA also paid to restore a fire truck from a volunteer Bronx firehouse that was severely damaged while responding to the World Trade Center. The restored truck was dedicated during the 2002 New York International Auto Show in a ceremony attended by former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and former Fire Commissioner Thomas Von Essen.
“Twenty-five years later, we remember the lives lost, the families forever changed, and the extraordinary courage of the first responders who ran toward danger,” Schienberg said. “But we also remember how the automobile industry came together. Dealers didn’t just write checks. They provided vehicles, equipment, their time working at ground zero helping feed the 1st responders, and they reached out to families who had lost everything.”
GNYADA and the New York Auto Show have continued their support for first responders through community programs and Auto Show events. That includes First Responders Appreciation Day, which offers complimentary and discounted admission to eligible fire, police and EMS personnel and their families.
