Top photo shows the damage; inset the name signed in the wet concrete.

Within hours of putting in a 35-foot walkway at the nearly completed 9/11 Memorial at Cedar Beach, officials of the Babylon Town Memorial Foundation reported that someone vandalized the fresh concrete, setting back the project by at least $3,000 and perhaps several weeks of its targeted completion.

"This was a very hurtful thing to all of us," said Ralph Ascoli, a 9/11 family member and vice president of the foundation. "It is very important that we complete this project in time for the dedication on September 11 of this year."

The concrete was put in on Monday, July 12. Sometime between the late afternoon of that day and the next morning, someone rode a bicycle through the fresh concrete, leaving large, long tire marks throughout the walkway.

"At first we thought perhaps someone had simply made a mistake and rode their bike on the cement without realizing that it was still wet," said Foundation President and Town Councilwoman Ellen McVeety. "But then we saw that the individual had actually written on it and it made all of us feel terrible."

"Why would someone do something like this," asked Ascoli.

Suffolk Police are investigating the incident. First Precinct Det. Lt. James Maher said a report has been filed and that the damage was estimated at approximately $3,200.

Anyone with information on the vandalism should call Det. Maher at 631-854-8100.