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Long Island Playground Dedicated To Sandy Hook Victim Madeleine Hsu

WOODBURY, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- Madeleine Hsu didn't live on Long Island, but she slid down the slide and rocked on the plastic yellow horses on the playground of her family's church in Woodbury when she visited.

As WCBS 880's Monica Miller reported, that playground was dedicated Sunday to Maddie, one of 26 people gunned down at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, in December 2012.

Long Island Playground Dedicated To Sandy Hook Victim Madeleine Hsu

Maddie would have celebrated her eighth birthday this week.

"When Maddie last visited this church for her great grand aunt's birthday, she was playing at this playground and picking flowers with her sisters and other kids," her cousin, Mat McGough, said, choking up while speaking at the dedication ceremony at the Woodbury United Methodist Church.

Madeleine Hsu
Madeleine Hsu (Credit: Handout)

"Thank you for being a part of our life and making the world happier with your colorful smile."

Freshly planted purple and pink flowers now line the fence around the playground. Those were Maddie's favorite colors.

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