New York Marks 9/11 Anniversary as Victims, Survivors, and NYC First Responders Share Memories

Current and former public officials attended the ceremony, including the F.B.I. director, Kash Patel, second from left; former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, third from left; and Mayor Eric Adams, far right.Credit...Vincent Alban/The New York Times

New York City, NY – September 11, 2025: On the 24th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, New York City observed a day of profound remembrance, blending public ceremonies at Ground Zero with intimate private tributes across the boroughs. Families of the nearly 3,000 victims, survivors, and first responders gathered to read names, share stories of loss and heroism, and reflect on a tragedy that reshaped the nation, as the toll from related illnesses continues to mount.

The annual commemoration at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum in Lower Manhattan began at 8:30 a.m., with family members accessing the plaza as early as 7:30 a.m. Bells tolled and bagpipes wailed as relatives read aloud the names of the 2,983 victims from the 2001 attacks and the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, pausing for six moments of silence at key times: 8:46 a.m. (when American Airlines Flight 11 struck the North Tower), 9:03 a.m. (United Airlines Flight 175 hit the South Tower), 9:37 a.m. (the Pentagon attack), 9:59 a.m. (South Tower collapse), 10:03 a.m. (Flight 93 crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania), and 10:28 a.m. (North Tower collapse). The ceremony concluded around 12:30 p.m. with Taps, after which the museum reopened to the public at 3 p.m.

Dignitaries including New York City Mayor Eric Adams, Governor Kathy Hochul, former Mayors Rudy Giuliani and Michael Bloomberg, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, FBI Director Kash Patel, and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick joined the gathering. Vice President JD Vance and Second Lady U.S. Vance attended, representing the administration, amid heightened security following the recent assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Flowers and flags were placed beside inscribed names on the reflecting pools, where survivors like William Staudt, a firefighter who worked at Ground Zero, paused in quiet reflection. "We gotta remember those who are sick and dying. We have to remember those that are suffering still, 24 years later," said 9/11 first responder and advocate John Feal, highlighting the ongoing crisis.

The day's weight was evident in personal stories shared publicly. Cole Santiago and his wife Raysa paid respects to his aunt Anna Laverty, who died in the South Tower, at the south reflecting pool. Survivor and advocate Alan Jacoby, a former NYC medic who lost 19 friends and battled severe survivor's guilt, posted on social media: "I lost 19 close friends and suffered from severe survivors guilt for more than a decade. Still today, that morning plays in my head every day... Now, I focus on why I was spared." Curtis Sliwa, Guardian Angels founder and NYC mayoral candidate, recalled rushing to the site: "I ran to the pit with my fellow Guardian Angels... 24 years later I have not forgotten that day."

In private, New Yorkers marked the day with quieter observances. James Lynch, who lost his father Robert in the World Trade Center, planned a family ceremony near his New Jersey hometown followed by time at the beach. Eyewitness News shared memories of missing persons posters that blanketed the city in the weeks after, evoking the desperate hope amid devastation. U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand reflected: "24 years ago today, our nation was attacked... We are also reminded of the extraordinary first responders who answered the call. They ran up the towers when everyone else was running down." First responders Michael Taylor, Pat Brosnan, and NYPD Chief John Chell spoke on Newsmax about the unity forged that day: "Everybody was unified against a common enemy, terrorism."

The anniversary underscored the escalating health crisis. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over 24,000 responders and survivors have developed cancers from toxic exposure at Ground Zero and the Staten Island debris site, with more than 8,000 post-9/11 deaths—likely surpassing the 2,977 killed that day—though not all are tracked as related. The World Trade Center Health Program reports 48,579 cancer diagnoses among participants, a 143% increase in five years. Advocates, including Senators in a letter to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., called for stable funding: "Individuals with 9/11-related conditions should not have to rely on repeated uproars... to obtain the care they are owed." Dr. Jean Kanokogi of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association added, "The WTCHP isn’t a benefit, it’s a lifeline... It saved my life."

Nationally, President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump attended a Pentagon ceremony, where Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth decried the attacks as an "act of savage evil." In Shanksville, Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins laid wreaths for Flight 93 victims. Trump later attended a Yankees-Tigers game at Yankee Stadium, featuring pregame tributes and "God Bless America" during the seventh-inning stretch.

As evening fell, the Tribute in Light pierced the skyline, its twin beams evoking the absent towers, joined by blue-lit rooftops and facades citywide. For many, like NYS Assembly Member John Zaccaro Jr., the day evoked enduring pain: "24 years ago, thousands left their homes and never returned... So many have carried the pain, the loss, and the lasting effects." In public and private, New York's spirit of resilience shone through, a testament to shared memory and unbreakable unity.