Live updates: Sept. 11 victims remembered 25 years after attacks

Watch live: 9/11 memorial ceremonies in NYC, around the country

'It's a memory'

Suffolk County Presiding Officer Anthony Piccirillo in his remarks in Hauppauge said it can be difficult for younger people to “fully understand what that day felt like.”

“For those who lived through it, Sept. 11 is not simply a date in history, it’s a memory. It’s a moment that changed our country forever.”

He said what followed the attacks was a "remarkable demonstration of courage, sacrifice and service."

In Suffolk 9/11 ceremony, Romaine calls for unity

Suffolk County Executive Edward P. Romaine called for unity as he remembered the lives lost both on 9/11 and in the years afterward.

“The sense of unity in this country was overwhelming,” he said of the aftermath of the attacks.

“It's not our division that determine the strength of our country,” he added. “It's the unity that we have here.”

He said the county will look to create a garden of remembrance for those who died from 9/11-related illnesses.

Families recall selfless acts and 'act of God'

Denease Conley, a St. Louis native who was working as a security guard at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, when she was killed, was remembered on  Friday during the reading of the names ceremony for assisting firefighters that day. She was 44 when she died.

"You were a first responder," said her sister, Barbara Haynes-Jenkins, who read the names of her sister and other victims and was interviewed recently by a St. Louis news station.

"You took the fireman’s test, certified as a New York firefighter. Thank God we have video of your last day on Earth, assisting the firefighters at Tower One," she said, referring to video published online showing her holding a door open for firefighters.

Haynes-Jenkins recalled checking into her New York City hotel room Thursday night, and just 15 minutes later, she "ran into a co-worker of hers ... he knew her personally," she said, citing it as an "act of God."

She then cited a Bible verse: "You’re out of the body, but you’re certainly present with the Lord."

Jets coach remembers 9/11

Jets head coach Aaron Glenn opened his Friday media availability by reiterating his thoughts on 9/11 from 25 years ago.

"It’s been on my mind to talk about 9/11 and the events that happened when I was here and my feelings and thoughts on when I was here," said the former Jets cornerback, who was a player on the team in 2001 when they were headquartered at Hofstra on Long Island. "It’s still a tough situation to think about, but as I said before, it makes you proud as Americans how we came together as a country and we overcame. It was such a beautiful thing to see that. And the men and women who risked their lives to serve, to me that’s the No. 1 thing that continues to go through my head."

Glenn had previously discussed his experience from that day and his attempts to relate it to his players, many of whom were young children or not even born at the time.

Several Jets players visited the 9/11 Memorial in lower Manhattan this week. Glenn and the coaches did not go with them.

"Those guys had an opportunity to go down there," Glenn said, "and I thought that was special."

Surviving first responders thankful for new moment of silence

This year's ceremony will conclude with a new, seventh moment of silence for first responders who have died since 9/11 from 9/11-related illnesses.

The toll has weighed on first responders who have gotten sick themselves or lost loved ones from cancers and illnesses they got after working at Ground Zero.

The new moment of silence joins six others traditionally observed that start with the 8:46 a.m. crash into the first of the Twin Towers and cover the tower collapses and plane crashes at the Pentagon and in Pennsylvania.

Sonia Agron, 69, and her husband, Jose Agron, 76, of the Bronx, both contracted illnesses from working during the recovery effort.

"Neither one of us knew we were sick until 10 years later, and it started with the cancer," Agron said.

Jose Agron, a former NYPD officer still battling cancer, was unable to attend Friday's ceremony, his wife said.

The family didn't hear from him on 9/11 and started planning a funeral until he came home Sept. 12.

"This was his life. So he came here and he responded, but when he came here, he said he was numb because he had never seen anything like this," Sonia Agron said. "But in those hours, I don't think I'm alone in feeling what every wife, every family member felt waiting to hear from their loved ones, and now we wait. More than 10,000 of us have died."

Agron said the moment of silence will help recognize those sickened from working at 9/11, when the health dangers were not disclosed.

"It's heartbreaking because it took 25 years for people to recognize that, but I have three beautiful granddaughters, and one day they're going to hear that bell in honor of my husband," she said. "That hurts, but we got something. We got some recognition, and we have to take that win. We have to after all these years."

'The Dust Never Settles'

Stacey Goodman, a Long Island native and former Suffolk County Police detective who spent 23 days at Ground Zero, returned to the Island from her home in Arizona to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Sept. 11.

“These ceremonies are really important so that we don’t ever forget,” she said prior to the start of a memorial service in Hauppauge.

Goodman, 61, recounted her 9/11 story in a book she wrote, “The Dust Never Settles.”

She said she’s grateful for health given how many first responders developed cancer from breathing toxic air while working on the pile.

But every night she uses a CPAP machine to help with sleep apnea she said developed from her work at Ground Zero.

“I basically think about it every night when I put that mask on,” she said of the memory of 9/11.

A steadfast memorial as 'life consistently changes'

Gennaro Valerio, a 75-year-old electrician who worked on the Twin Towers and used to live in Elmont and Hempstead, was leafleting late Friday morning for the Gospel. He had just attended the memorial for his uncle Jerry Barbara. A blue ribbon was still pinned to Valerio’s shirt. 

"Life consistently changes," Valerio said. "But this memorial will never change. It will stay this way forever."

He added: "I'm thankful to God for what that I'm still able to come here and do this on his behalf."

Suffolk set to honor 9/11 victims with noon ceremony

In Suffolk County, final preparations are underway for a memorial service honoring county residents who died on 9/11. Suffolk County Executive Edward P. Romaine will be joined by county legislators, local law enforcement members and other county officials.

The memorial service will include the reading of names of 178 county residents.

The ceremony begins at noon at the Armed Forces Plaza of the H. Lee Dennison building in Hauppauge.

Daughter of lone female NYPD officer killed on 9/11 honors mom

Patricia Smith, the daughter of the only female NYPD officer killed in the 9/11 attacks, Moira Smith, paid tribute to her mother at Friday’s remembrance ceremony.

"She died the way she lived, surrounded by people she wanted to help," said Patricia Smith, who was 2 years old when her mother was killed.

Patricia Smith’s photograph as a toddler accepting the Medal of Honor for her mother was published in newspapers around the world, as Newsday noted in a recent profile of the now 27-year-old. Moira Smith, then a 13-year veteran of the NYPD, was 38 at the time of her death.

"I’m so proud to be your daughter," Patricia Smith, continued on Friday. "I’m grateful for the example you set for me. ... Thank you for your courage, thank you for setting the standard. ... In valor there’s hope, and may we never forget that."

Visiting O'Hara's, where firefighters from around the world gather

It is happy hour at O’Hara’s Pub, the venerable watering hole down the street from the World Trade Center that has become a beacon for firefighters from around the world.

The bar is decorated with patches, badges and other memorabilia from departments around the globe. Los Angeles firefighter Nino Lovato attached the newest badge, representing his unit, in the foyer of the bar.

"I have never been here before, but it's tradition," Lovato said. "I heard from other firefighters that when you come to New York, come to O'Hara's here, you leave something behind. Something that represents that you were here."

Lovato said the badges and patches represent the love and support firefighters feel for New York, and for each other.

"As I walked through that building and I saw every single patch, I could see that other agencies, police, fire, came here with respect for this area, and it came with love," he said. And when they're leaving that, it's a representation of their support. "

'I will always be your little girl'

Twenty-five years after the Sept. 11th terrorist attacks, the emotional toll on the victims’ families was on display during the hourslong reading of the names ceremony in lower Manhattan.

Jillian Suarez, who was 9 years old when her father, NYPD officer Ramon Suarez, was killed at the World Trade Center, choked up as she paid tribute to her father at the 9/11 remembrance ceremony Friday. He was one of 23 NYPD officers killed on 9/11.

"Dad, we miss you, we love you," she said, her voice shaking. "I hope I’m making you proud. I’ve carried you with me throughout every accomplishment."

She’s getting married soon, she said, and longs for her dad to walk her down the aisle.

"I will always be your little girl," she said.

Several of those reading the names are children who weren’t born yet, or too young to remember the attacks.

A granddaughter of FDNY Safety Battalion 1 Chief Lawrence T. Stack, of Ronkonkoma, remembered him and the 343 firefighters killed that day.

According to a 2016 Newsday story, Stack crawled through debris from the collapsed south tower to reach the north tower, "where he tried to save a man’s life just when the second tower fell."

She was seven days old when her grandfather "was tragically taken from us," she said. "He sacrificed his life for his city and his country, which he so deeply loved."

Blakeman at 9/11 memorial event in NYC remembers fallen nephew

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman paid respects to his nephew, Tommy Jurgens, 26, of Valley Stream, who was killed in the collapse of the south tower. Blakeman walked the reflecting pool with his family and to the south tower, where his nephew’s name is engraved.

“I do not look forward to this day or this week," he said. "This is something where it brings back tremendous feelings of sadness.”

He was an Army medic and a volunteer Nassau firefighter who had gone to work as a court officer.

Jurgens' remains were never recovered, only his gun and badge.

“He was stationed a few blocks away and basically, it was all hands on deck. He went over there with other court officers, and he was rendering first aid to a woman who was severely burned in the lobby of Tower Two when the tower collapsed on him,” Blakeman said. “We didn't find any DNA. We didn't find his body. So this is his final resting place. So we come back here every year.”

Blakeman was joined by his sister, Jurgens' mother, Linda Propper, who lost her oldest son.

“I just miss him tremendously,” Propper said.

Blakeman said his nephew died a hero.

“He could have had children, he could have had a great career,” Blakeman said. “Knowing my nephew Tommy the way I did, he died the way he would have wanted to die. This is a guy, a firefighter, an Army medic, a court officer who loved to protect people. He saved lives that day, so he died a hero.”

U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick tears up at 9/11 memorial

U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who grew up in Jericho, was the CEO of the investment firm Cantor Fitzgerald when the attack on the World Trade Center killed 658 of its 960 employees.

He survived because he was taking his son to school when the attack happened. His brother, Gary Lutnick, was among those who died.

At the memorial Friday, Lutnick wiped away a tear, but also smiled as he looked fondly at the names of Cantor Fitzgerald employees inscribed on the parapets that ring the footprints of the fallen towers.

At Point Lookout, a family remembers their father

Shortly after the Point Lookout 9/11 memorial ceremony concluded, the hundreds of participants made their way to the water and threw in carnations in honor of loved ones.

For sisters Donna Steckman, 58, of Massapequa, and Deanine Nagengast, 56, of Seaford, that carnation is always for their father, William Steckman, who worked as a transmitter engineer for NBC in the north tower.

"He should have been home that day," Steckman said. "He was working overnight and he ended up staying."

The sisters, who are two of five children who grew up in West Hempstead. One of their siblings, Deborah Steckman, came with her daughter Aayla Koebler, from Phoenix.

"We'd pile the kids in the car. We'd come here, we’d have a great day," Nagengast said. "So this is very comforting for us. This is a happy place for us to be here."

The family has attended every Point Lookout memorial since the attacks. On Friday, the siblings and their extended family wore matching black shirts and buttons with their father’s name, photo and date of birth and death.

William Steckman, who was 56 when he died, was born on Christmas Eve. The sisters said the holiday was his favorite, and they try to honor his memory by coming together and making it "what he would want it to be."

Blakeman's nephew remembered at reading of the names

The readers just read the name of Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman’s nephew, Thomas Jurgens, 26, of Valley Stream, who was killed when the south tower fell as he was treating a burn victim. He was a court officer.

Trump closes remarks at Pentagon, says 9/11 showed 'power of the American spirit'

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump, wrapping up his remarks at the Pentagon’s 9/11 remembrance ceremony, said the 25 years since the attack "have shown us the even greater power of the American spirit to endure and prevail and to win."

"No one can ever prepare us for a day like 9/11, but we can always choose to be the kind of nation the world saw and noticed," that day, Trump said. "We can raise our children to know that their country is good, that their fathers are brave, and that our flag is a symbol of justice and freedom."

Trump, was joined by First Lady Melania Trump. Other Trump administration members on hand included Attorney General Todd Blanche, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Education Secretary Linda McMahon, Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin. The president’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., was also spotted in attendance.

Sixth moment of silence held

The reading of the names paused at the 9/11 remembrance event in lower Manhattan at 10:28 a.m., when a bell tolled six times for the fall of the north tower. They resumed immediately after, with families paying emotional tributes to their loved ones who died 25 years ago. 

President Trump speaks at 9/11 remembrance event at Pentagon

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump, marking 25 years since the 9/11 attacks at the Pentagon’s annual ceremony, said, "Time has not dimmed the horror of that day."

"Today we renew the sacred oath that we first swore in their names a quarter century ago — we will never, ever, forget," Trump said. "That’s why we fight today. We don’t have a choice."

Trump is the only living U.S. president not present at the remembrance ceremony at the 9/11 Memorial & Museum in lower Manhattan. Trump, who arrived early Friday morning from Dallas, is set to travel later in the day to Doonbeg, Ireland, to attend the Irish Open golf tournament that his club there will host.

The president said, "For anyone who lived it, no words can do justice to the anguish of that day," and said the nation continues to be "tested."

"We’re being tested today, and we’re winning that test very handedly," Trump said. "Faith is believing in that future, even after you have seen the absolute worst things that you never thought possible to see."

At Pentagon, former secretary of state delivers message of unity

WASHINGTON — Former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, speaking at the Pentagon’s annual 9/11 remembrance ceremony, called on the nation to remember lessons learned in the days after the attack when the nation came together.

"We must use these moments of reflection to teach the lessons of that day to a generation of young people who were not even born at the time of the attack," said Rice, who served in President George W. Bush’s cabinet at the time of the attacks. "Let us always remember that those who thought the world could be ruled by hate and fear were wrong."

Rice said, "Our country did not let that dark vision of humanity stand," but noted the continued need for "vigilance."

"We are one people, drawn from different religious and ethnic and national origins, but we have been forged into an extraordinary whole — we are American," Rice said.

Fifth moment of silence held for Shanksville, Penn.

A fifth moment of silence tolled bells at 10:03 a.m. the moment 25 years ago that United Flight 93 crashed into a field after passengers overcame the hijackers in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The plane was bound for San Francisco. 

Fourth moment of silence held

At 9:59 a.m., the reading of names stopped for a fourth moment of silence when the south tower fell, 56 minutes after it was struck by United Flight 175.

A bell tolled four times, followed by silence.

What was Jennifer Nettles singing?

Singer and songwriter Jennifer Nettles sang a version of "Go Rest High On That Mountain" during the Ground Zero anniversary ceremony.

The song was written and performed by country music artist Vince Gill, who began writing the ballad following the death of singer Keith Whitley in 1989.

Gill has said he did not finish the song until the death of his older brother Bob of a heart attack in 1993.

'Pain is still there': Bayville man among those reading names

James Giaccone, of Bayville, was one of several 9/11 families that took part in the reading of the names on the 25th anniversary. He spoke poignantly of his brother — Joseph Michael Giaccone — one of 658 Cantor Fitzgerald employees killed in the attacks on the Twin Towers.

“The pain is still there,” he said in remarks after he finished reading his assigned names. “The void in my family will never be completely healed. 'What could have been' still makes me angry. He should have been holding his two beautiful grandchildren right now.”

The annual remembrance ceremony at the World Trade Center brings him comfort, he said.

“This ceremony is essential,” he said. “He is here. And he is present. And he is never forgotten.”

Newsday profiled Giaccone in 2017.

Third moment of silence held at Pentagon

A third moment of silence was held at 9:37 a.m., marking the moment that hijacked Flight 77 struck the Pentagon.

The silence, which was held both at Ground Zero and during a simultaneous ceremony at the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial in Arlington, Virginia, came at the conclusion of the reading of the names of those killed at the Defense Department headquarters 25 years ago.

The dead included 125 people working inside the building and all 64 people aboard Flight 77.

President Donald Trump, accompanied by First Lady Melania Trump, is scheduled to speak at the Pentagon ceremony for the second year in a row.

Trump, originally from New York, last attended the Ground Zero ceremony in 2024.

9/11 ceremony in lower Manhattan draws firefighters from around the globe

Firefighters from around the nation and the world — Queensland, Australia, Anaheim, California, Chicago — traveled to New York to attend the 9/11 25th anniversary memorial.

Jeff Duran is a firefighter from Aurora, Colorado. He said he came “to remember the heroes, the people who were lost.”

Other first responders hailed from the Netherlands, Belgium and France. 

Leonie Cafaxe is one of 13 firefighters who traveled from Senas, France, to attend the 25th anniversary memorial. She said it was important to be in New York to honor those lost in “the tragedy of 9/11.”

“Firefighters have a sensibility,” she said. “There is a brotherhood and sisterhood of firefighters around the world.”

At Ground Zero, a new tribute to those who fell ill

Traditionally, there are no political speeches at the New York commemoration, where victims' relatives read aloud the long list of names, punctuated with moments of silence at key points in the attack timeline. A crowd of 9/11 family members watched, many holding aloft photos of loved ones who perished a quarter-century ago.

For the first time, this year's ceremony will add a silent moment to honor people who were exposed to the clouds of toxic dust released by the twin towers’ fiery collapse and have since died of cancer and other illnesses. Questions remain about how many people developed health problems linked to the dust.

It's a reminder of how the attacks' long shadow has reached into many corners of life in the U.S. and beyond.

The U.S.-led global war on terrorism included invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan — the latter Washington's longest war — and detentions and harsh interrogation of terror suspects in an international network of secret CIA prisons. The U.S. found and killed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden in Pakistan in 2011, but accused 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed still awaits a trial 23 years after his capture.

The attacks changed U.S. air travel, prompted new federal surveillance and intelligence-gathering powers and banking regulations, and generated ongoing debate over the balance between security and freedom. The Department of Homeland Security, many state anti-terrorism laws and billions of dollars in state and local counterterrorism funding all are post-9/11 creations.

So, too, is the culture of individual vigilance summed up by the slogan “If you see something, say something.”

Second moment of silence recognized

Lower Manhattan fell into a hush at 9:03 a.m., the second moment of silence in the 9/11 ceremony. 

The silence was coupled with the tolling of the bell to mark when United Airlines Flight 175 struck the south tower.

National chair of 9/11 Families United says Saudi Arabia should be held accountable

Terry Strada, a 9/11 mourner reading names of those who died in the terror attacks, veered off reading the names for a moment to cast blame on Saudi Arabia for the 9/11 attacks. 

“My husband, Tom Strada, you are missed more with each year that passes — and how can it be it’s been 25 years and we still have no justice for the role Saudi Arabia played in your murder?" Strada said in her remarks. "Saudi Arabia sent agents to an attack you and all. And for 25 years, administration after administration chose to protect the Saudis rather than standing with 9/11 families. They withheld evidence and it was one betrayal after another. President Trump can change that. Vice President Vance, carry that message back and stand with Americans."

The crowd erupted in cheers at the comments.

Cellist Yo-Yo Ma accompanies reading of the names

The iconic cellist Yo-Yo Ma is accompanying the reading of the names.

First moment of silence completed

The first moment of silence at the 9/11 ceremony in lower Manhattan began at 8:46 a.m., a symbol of when American Airlines Flight 11 struck the north tower of the World Trade Center. 

The silence marked the first plane that stuck the World Trade Center. A single bell rang, while the only sound heard was the rushing waterfalls of the reflective pools.

'For a brief moment, America forgot the labels that so often divide us'

At the Point Lookout ceremony Friday morning, Assemb. Ari Brown read a letter from Rabbi Mordechai Kamenetzky, of the Yeshiva of South Shore in Hewlett.

Kamenetzky wrote that it was fitting this Sept. 11 falls on the Jewish new year, or Rosh Hashanah, which carries a theme of remembrance, especially in the blowing of the shofar, or ram’s horn.

“It plays no melody. It has no words. It is simply a cry, because sometimes words are inadequate,” he wrote. “But the shofar is also a call to awaken. It asks us, what are we doing with the life that we have been given? Are we kinder than we were yesterday?”

He encouraged all to think of the pure kindness imbued in the heroic efforts of first responders.

“Nearly 3,000 innocent lives were taken through an act of unspeakable evil, and yet, even in those darkest hours, we witnessed extraordinary goodness,” he said. “We saw strangers carrying strangers and people of every faith, race, and background helping one another simply because another human being needed help. For a brief moment, America forgot the labels that so often divide us. There were no Republicans or Democrats in those stairwells. No Jews or Christians, Blacks or whites. There were simply human beings, Americans, helping other Americans, other human beings.”

9/11 ceremony in lower Manhattan gets underway with first moment of silence at 8:46 a.m.

The annual 9/11 remembrance ceremony is scheduled to begin Friday at 8:40 a.m. with the reading of the names of the victims who died in the attacks at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and on Flight 93.

The ceremony’s first moment of silence will be at 8:46 a.m., when the first hijacked flight hit the North Tower. Several other moments of silence will follow, including for when the south tower was struck, when each tower fell, when the Pentagon was struck and when Flight 93 crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

For the first time this year, a moment of silence is being held for those who have died from 9/11-related illnesses.

Admission to 9/11 Museum in NYC will be free every Sunday, Hochul says

Entry to the 9/11 Memorial & Museum will be free every Sunday, beginning next month and continuing for the next year, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Friday.

As New Yorkers recognize the 25th anniversary of Sept. 11 attacks, Hochul announced $2.2 million in state funding to the support the New York First Sundays program.

The program, which was initially funded by the Andrew Carnegie Foundation, currently allows individuals who live and study across the state to receive free admission to the museum on the afternoon on the first Sunday of each month.

“By expanding New York First Sundays to include every Sunday throughout the year, we are ensuring that more New Yorkers can experience the Museum, honor those we lost, and reflect on the courage, resilience and unity that sustained our state and our nation on one of our darkest days,” Hochul said in a statement.

Beth Hillman, president and chief executive of the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, said she anticipates the funding will allow thousands of additional New Yorkers to “visit and reconnect to the sense of community that we all felt after the attacks.”

At Point Lookout, a solemn reminder to 'never forget'

Ferretti said as the country marks the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, new generations are no longer remembering the day but learning about it through textbooks, which stresses the importance of the phrase "Never forget."

"Today, a person old enough to be a college graduate was not even born yet when our nation was attacked on Sept. 11, 2001. Someone of that age and younger could never understand Sept. 11 at a primal level, like so many of us do," he said. "At the same time, there may be no combination of words that do justice explaining it to them."

Mamdani, Giuliani arrive at 9/11 ceremony

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani greeted visitors and firefighters at the 9/11 memorial ceremony in lower Manhattan.

Also in attendance were Rudy Giuliani, who was the city's mayor when the attacks occurred on Sept. 11, 2001, former mayor Bill de Blasio and former New York Sen Al. D’Amato.

Several dignitaries are expected to attend Friday morning’s ceremony at the 9/11 memorial, including former presidents Joe Biden, Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton. Vice President J.D. Vance, Gov. Kathy Hochul, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman are also expected to attend.

Hempstead supervisor: 'The toxic legacy of that day continues'

The Town of Hempstead's 9/11 memorial ceremony began Friday morning at Point Lookout with the Nassau County Firefighters Pipes and Drums playing "God Bless America," followed by a welcome by Supervisor John Ferretti.

"Today marks the 25th anniversary of the largest terrorist attack in our nation's history," Ferretti said to the hundreds of onlookers.

In addition to the nearly 3,000 people killed in the attacks, Ferretti said, "Over the past quarter of a century, we have lost thousands more to 9/11-related losses. The toxic legacy of that day continues."

As Nassau County Legis. Kayla Knight sang the "Star-Spangled Banner," guests stood with their hands over their hearts, many softly singing along.

Numerous people who had continued to arrive after the start of the ceremony stood behind the provided seats and crowded the beach’s ramp, with carnations, ceremony pamphlets and American flags in hand.

Showing support for the first responders

Oscar Molina, of West Haven, Connecticut, came to New York City on Friday to show support for all the victims of the 9/11 attacks, especially those who served in the FDNY, NYPD and the Port Authority police.

Molina said he was 4 years old and living in Brooklyn on the day of the attacks. On Friday, he held an American flag and wore a photo of FDNY Lt. Michael Quilty, who died that day, on his shirt. 

“I really don't know that much about Lt. Michael Quilty," Molina said. "All I know is that he pretty much went there, did his job, and he and his brothers knew, they probably weren't gonna make it."

'She had the biggest heart'

More than a dozen members of the White family traveled to New York City from Arkansas to honor their relative Melissa White, who was killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

White had moved to New York in 1993 and worked in human resources for the insurance company Marsh & McLennan. She was on the 99th floor of the north tower of the World Trade Center when the attacks occurred.

“She was really smart,” Phillip White said. “She had the biggest heart.”

The family is among the thousands expected to attend Friday's ceremony at the 9/11 Memorial & Museum in lower Manhattan, which will mark the 25th anniversary of the attacks.

Point Lookout memorial speaker reflects on death of brother, husband

Dorine Hetzel-Dand is serving as the keynote speaker Friday morning at the Town of Hempstead's annual 9/11 memorial ceremony at Point Lookout.

Hetzel-Hand lost her brother Thomas Hetzel, 33, in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Her husband, Christopher R. Dand, died of a 9/11-related illness in 2024 at the age of 45.

"It has multiple meanings for me this day because the impact that it had of killing my brother in such a horrific way is just mind-boggling," she told Newsday.

Thomas Hetzel, who had one daughter, worked on FDNY Ladder Company 13. He was killed while responding to the World Trade Center.

Her brother loved his job and never complained, Hetzel-Dand said.

"His joy was being a firefighter and he died doing what he loved. He saved other people's lives that day, and that's an honorable thing," she said.

But, she said, "It was a family. ... We were ripped apart by his death."

Hetzel-Dand's husband served 25 years with the Franklin Square & Munson Fire Department. He assisted in the search and recovery effort at Ground Zero and later developed a rare form of leukemia caused by his exposure to toxins at the site.

Hetzel-Dand, of Garden City South, said she and her family, including her two children, attend the Point Lookout ceremony every year.

After 25 years, she said it is important to teach the history of the attacks to students.

"These are inspirational stories that should be shared," she said. "It doesn't have to be about the terror, the horror of the day, but it could find the inspiration from the events that happened."

Tight security ahead of 9/11 memorial ceremony

Security at the 9/11 Memorial & Museum was extremely tight Friday morning, ahead of the annual ceremony honoring those who died in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Police have closed off roads in lower Manhattan and armed officers were lining the streets. U.S. Secret Service agents and dogs were inspecting equipment and bags before visitors and news crews entered the ceremony area.

Thousands are expected to attend Friday’s remembrance ceremony, which is open to family members of those who died in the attacks. Former presidents Joe Biden, Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton are to attend. also to be in attendance.

Vice President JD Vance was also expected to attend. President Donald Trump is attending a memorial ceremony at the Pentagon.

LIers gather for Point Lookout ceremony

Before dawn, people had already begun arriving in Point Lookout, where the Town of Hempstead will hold its annual 9/11 memorial ceremony Friday.

As the sun slowly began to rise, three fire trucks pulled up to the memorial. Just after 6 a.m., two fire trucks could be seen positioning their ladders to raise a large American flag. A small group of volunteers and town officials had begun setting up tables along the beach’s path for the annual distribution of carnations.

As one looked toward the beach, two light beams representing the Twin Towers — the Tribute in Lights — could be seen from Manhattan.

The annual sunrise ceremony is to begin at 7:30 a.m.

Mamdani: 9/11 attacks were 'a horrific act of terror'

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani released a pre-recorded video message Friday for the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, which he called "a horrific act of terror."

In the 70-second video, Mamdani is seated at a desk outside, the Manhattan skyline in the background. He mourns the killings of the 2,753 people who died at the World Trade Center — "2,753 universes gone in an instant" — and the deaths of those who died in the years since from having breathed in toxic air at Ground Zero.

"We remember 9/11 as the darkest day in our city's history. But we also remember what so many New Yorkers did in that darkness," he said, from donating blood and opening their homes to those who couldn't get home, to carrying colleagues down the Twin Towers stairs and then returning inside to help more.

"Twenty-five years later, we have a sacred obligation to those who were stolen from us, to care for one another as they cared for strangers, to live lives worthy of the sacrifices they made, and to build a city worthy of their courage, a city where we run toward one another," Mamdani said.

Later Friday, the mayor will visit three 9/11 memorial events. He will lay a wreath at 6:55 a.m., attend the official 25th anniversary event at Ground Zero beginning at 8 a.m., and deliver remarks at 3 p.m. at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church & National Shrine’s Interfaith 9/11 Memorial Service.

Moment of silence for those who died of 9/11-related illnesses

The scores of people who have died from 9/11-related illnesses — many attributed to living and working in lower Manhattan after the attacks, including those involved in rescue and clean-up efforts at Ground Zero — will be center stage on this year’s anniversary.

The ceremony at the 9/11 memorial site will feature, for the first time, a moment of silence for those who have died from 9/11-related cancers and other illnesses. It also comes as New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani released scores of records appearing to show that city officials apparently misled the public about the level of toxic chemicals in the air following the collapse of the towers.

A recent report said more than 97,000 people have been afflicted with illnesses related to the attacks, including respiratory and digestive illnesses, as well as cancers.

Honoring those who died in the attacks

The 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks will be marked Friday morning with the same solemn ceremony that has been held each year: the reading of the names of those killed at the site where the Twin Towers once stood in lower Manhattan.

The ceremony, at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, will pause for the customary moments of silence to mark when the hijacked passenger jets struck the Twin Towers, when each tower fell and when planes struck the Pentagon and crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

And for the first time this year, as Newsday has reported, the ceremony will include a moment of silence for those who have died from 9/11-related illnesses.

Of the nearly 3,000 souls lost on 9/11, 497 were Long Islanders.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is expected to attend the ceremony, as well as former mayors Michael Bloomberg and Rudy Giuliani. Vice President J.D. Vance, former presidents Joe Biden, Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton are also expected to attend. President Donald Trump is expected to attend a ceremony at the Pentagon.

Patricia Smith, whose NYPD mom was killed on 9/11, shares emotional journey

For nearly 25 years, Patricia Smith has been frozen in time as the little girl in the red dress.

She wore it on Dec. 4, 2001, when she was 2, as she toddled across the stage at Carnegie Hall, holding her father's hand, and accepted the Medal of Honor for her late mother.

Nearly three months earlier, NYPD Officer Moira Smith died while rescuing people from the World Trade Center. She was the only female NYPD officer killed while responding to the terrorist attacks.

The image of Patricia in her dress at the ceremony was published worldwide and instantly became a symbol of the tragedy; one that resonates to this day. As each anniversary passed, she became accustomed to the lights of cameras and questions from journalists.

Now she's 27 and pursuing a law degree from Fordham University. And she's come to terms with the truth that her relationship with Moira Smith is difficult for some to understand.

"I have been to funerals, been through the grieving process. ... I realized that that was not how I was grieving my mom, and it was a completely separate entity in itself — I was grieving a mother," Patricia said. The confidante; the one to talk to about boys, and about doing her hair.

"She was forced to grow up very early," said James Smith, her father and a retired NYPD officer.

Patricia has had an unusually close look inside the criminal justice system.

In May 2017, she went with her father to Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. There, they watched pretrial hearings for detainees that U.S. officials have accused of coordinating the attacks. But the long-running prosecution has been marred by delays.

Now, she said, frustration is what she feels most.

"It seems like things only start really moving when there’s outcry, and not even around Sept. 11 is there any outcry anymore," Patricia said. "I want people to want justice that my family and I want."

Airport security and 9/11

The creation of the Transportation Security Administration and stricter security screenings have made travelers safer, but advances in technology over the past quarter century have helped ease some of the restrictions rolled out after 9/11.

Click here to read more about how the terror attacks forever changed airport security.

What the 9/11 Memorial & Museum means to victims' families

"It's my happy place," says Monica Iken-Murphy, who has vivid memories of the fight she waged for a memorial at the site of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in lower Manhattan.

A 9/11 widow — her husband, Michael Iken, a 37-year-old bond trader, worked on the 84th floor of the south tower — she created a nonprofit called September’s Mission to advocate that the site where 2,753 people had perished be preserved as a memorial.

Read about her story and more here.

Newsday editor remembers running 9/11 coverage

Monica Quintanilla, assistant managing editor at Newsday, led the organization's coverage on the morning of 9/11/01.

Here's what she'll never forget.

Long Islanders inspired by 9/11 to a life of public service

The 9/11 terror attacks claimed the lives of nearly 3,000 people, including hundreds of firefighters, police officers and other first responders, but they also stirred a call to service that had not been seen in the United States since the attack on Pearl Harbor 60 years earlier.

Across Long Island, New York City and the rest of the nation, countless young people who watched first responders rush into the fiery buildings while everybody else was trying to get away were inspired to pursue lives of public service by enlisting in the military or pursuing careers as firefighters, EMTs and law-enforcement officers.

Here are some of their stories.

Stories of Muslims on LI, after 9/11 and now

In the weeks after 9/11, when life was forever altered, Americans came together in shared grief.

But for many of the approximately 100,000 Muslims now living on Long Island, the deadliest terrorist act ever committed on U.S. soil — carried out by 19 al-Qaida hijackers — pointed an unwelcome spotlight at them.

In interviews with Newsday ahead of the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Muslims recalled the pain they felt at the time. While many of them were U.S. citizens fully integrated into American life, suddenly, they said, they were viewed as the enemy.

Read their stories here.

New forensic technique brings hope to victims' families

Relatives of unidentified victims of the 9/11 terror attacks say they are hopeful forensic experts using a breakthrough technique called genetic genealogy will be able to identify more sets of remains.

There are nearly 1,100 sets of remains of victims from the World Trade Center that have not been identified 25 years later.

Read more here.

Remembering Garden City's many 9/11 losses

Jonathan Neff Cappello's name has been carried into an Iraq combat zone. It survives in the names of nieces and nephews he never met.

A Long Island lacrosse award bears the name of David Leistman, a Cantor Fitzgerald bond trader who had starred in the sport at Adelphi University.

More than 200 high school seniors bought new laptops, thanks to a fund honoring Australia-born computer scientist Stephen K. Tompsett.

Tributes, scholarships and a stone memorial on the Village Green are among the ways Garden City honors those three men and 20 other people with ties to the village who were killed 25 years ago in the 9/11 attacks. 

The scale of the loss in the village of about 23,000 people remains unimaginable for some. But Garden City is far from alone in its grief: About 500 Long Islanders died in the terrorist attacks, including about 350 from Nassau County, about 200 of whom came from Hempstead Town.

Long Island's 9/11 diaspora stretched from Port Washington and Valley Stream as far east as Sag Harbor and Greenport.

"The sheer number of our residents who perished is one of the things that makes it very difficult to forget," said Garden City Mayor Edward Finneran, who on 9/11 worked for Merrill Lynch in a building near the Twin Towers and watched as they collapsed.

Cappello graduated from Fairfield University in 2000. At college, he had befriended Brian Connelly, a fellow freshman. Months after his friend's death, Connelly joined the Army.

In 2004, while serving in the Iraq War, Connelly inscribed Cappello's initials and "9/11/2001" inside his Humvee. Later, he carried a Mass card from Cappello's memorial service.

"I can’t disconnect my life as it is now — it’s impossible to disconnect that from the loss of Jonathan," said Connelly, who now lives in Alabama.

The village fire department will hold a ceremony at the Garden City memorial at 7 p.m. Friday. This year, it will include the Garden City High School choir — teens born after the attacks.

How LI educators are teaching 9/11 to a generation that didn't experience it

After 25 years, educators on Long Island are finding new ways to teach today's students about the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Teachers are using their experiences as well as newspapers, YouTube clips and testimonies as ways to illustrate impact and aftermath of the historic day.

In Bethpage, for instance, students and staffers interviewed more than two dozen school employees, from educators who were teaching in New York City schools as the events unfolded to security personnel who were working as city police officers or firefighters when the towers came down. The stories help paint a picture and give students a deeper perspective of history, educators say.

"We want them to take away not only the knowledge of what happened, but also the lasting impact on our country," said Erica Indenbaum, coordinator of social studies for the Bethpage school district.

'Kissed by angels': LIers born on 9/11 inspired to live meaningful lives

Nick DiPaola was born at 4 a.m. on Sept. 11, 2001, a few hours before the sun rose over the New York skyline.

His mother, Layne, cradled her baby, surrounded by her husband, Michael, and their two other children at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset.

At 8:46 a.m., not five hours into Nick's life, American Airlines Flight 11 struck the north tower of the World Trade Center. Another plane soon crashed into the south tower.

The terrorist attacks live on as among the most infamous days in U.S. history — and a point of fascination for Nick DiPaola and others born on that day.

"I’ve always felt a strange obligation to learn more about it," he said.

On Friday, DiPaola and other Long Islanders born on Sept. 11, 2001, turn 25. The group includes a Coram woman, a pair of Huntington twins, and a Great Neck woman who doesn't mind ceding the spotlight on her birthday to the victims. They hope to honor the people whose lives were lost while also celebrating a milestone birthday in their own ways.

Emily Anderson, of Coram, learned how to answer the usual line of questioning while growing up. "Yep," she would say, "I'm born on 9/11."

For twins Anne and Nina Rodriguez, the day stirs complicated emotions. Their mother, Clarice, recalls telling them: "You were kissed by angels. You have to do something great with your lives." The twins now work in helping professions.

Isabella Nicolaides, of Great Neck, said the tragedy on the day she was born has shaped how she sees her role in the world. She donates blood several times a year.

Layne DiPaola said she felt "responsible" for conveying the magnitude of what had happened to her children, including Nick — while also celebrating his special day.

"In that dark day," she said, "it brought our family a little light."

3 stories of the ongoing health toll of 9/11

Twenty-five years after Sept. 11, 2001, the number of people battling — and dying — from 9/11 related illness continues to grow.

Three Long Islanders spoke to Newsday about how they manage their chronic health conditions and remain determined to thrive.

• U.S. Customs Service special agent Frank Caramanica spent months sifting through wreckage at Fresh Kills landfill looking for remains. He lost friends and went to a lot of funerals, and had survivors guilt. Then he got cancer.

• After the 9/11 terror attacks, John Ryan oversaw rescue and recovery operations for the Port Authority for nine months. He wore a mask and reminded all first responders they needed to do the same. Some listened. Some didn’t. Some removed them to communicate with others.

• Rob Weisberg, an accountant in lower Manhattan and Commack volunteer firefighter, worked triage near the World Trade Center after the planes hit the tower. But watching a group of firefighters walk into the Twin Towers, never to return, haunted him. He battled severe depression and emerged trying to end the negative stigma around mental health.

The ongoing tragedy of 9/11

Twenty-five years after immense clouds of noxious dust from the World Trade Center terrorist attacks turned much of lower Manhattan into a toxic waste site, contaminants that police officers, firefighters and others breathed in and touched, sometimes for months on end, are still ravaging bodies and claiming lives.

Two thousand seven hundred and fifty-three people died directly from the attacks. But counting people who have succumbed to 9/11-related illnesses, the total death toll is undoubtedly much higher, and growing. An estimated 400,000 people were exposed to toxins on or after 9/11.

"The tragedy of 9/11 continues to unfold," said Dr. Craig Devoe, systems head for gastrointestinal medical oncology at the Northwell Cancer Institute. "The story isn’t over."

Click here to read more.

Jets' Aaron Glenn on his 9/11 experience and relating to younger players

Everyone who was in or around New York on 9/11 has a story. Aaron Glenn has his too.

The head coach of the Jets was still a cornerback for the Jets back then, playing in what would wind up being his last season for them. It was a Tuesday morning, which meant it was an off day, but Glenn, who was dealing with a knee injury, was in the training room at Hofstra. He also was on the phone with his wife.

“And my phone just goes off,” he recalled this past Tuesday as his team prepared for Sunday's season opener against the Titans under those same crystal blue skies that stood out 25 years ago.

He was unsure why he’d lost that signal, but in 2001 those things happened more often than now. Soon, though, he saw on television why this interruption in service had taken place.

“Just seeing exactly what was happening — it was almost live at that point — you are in this state of ‘Wow’ that you can’t believe it,” he said. “That day was a change-of-life moment.”

Increasingly, though, there are fewer and fewer players in the league who were even alive on that day in 2001, nevermind have concrete memories or personal associations with it. Eighteen of the 53 players on the Jets’ active roster are younger than 25. Two current Jets players, Andre Cisco and Jeremy Ruckert, grew up on Long Island. They were both 1-year-olds when the planes hit the towers. Defensive tackle Jowon Briggs was even younger. He was born on Sept. 1, 2001.

Which leaves Glenn and his first-person accounts of that awful day in the position of having to try to relate his experience – New York’s experience – to them.

Read more here.

Where to find LI's 9/11 memorials

There are more than 200 memorials across Long Island honoring the victims of 9/11.

Newsday took a close look at them ahead of the 25th anniversary.

Read more here and see an interactive map.

The Mets' 25-year tradition of visiting an NYC firehouse

Twenty-five years ago, on the worst day in New York City’s history, Massapequa’s Dan Dunleavy was on a firetruck bound for Ground Zero, part of a group from Inwood at the northern tip of Manhattan.

“It was still snowing out there,” Dunleavy recalled. “From all the concrete dust and paper. Certain smells just remind me of it. Like a car fire sometimes, the smell that was going on at the Trade Center, the burning steel.”

Dunleavy, now 59, is the captain at Ladder 25/Division 3/Collapse Rescue 1 located on West 77th Street, where four pillars from the 2001 Mets — Al Leiter, John Franco, Todd Zeile and Robin Ventura — along with a younger captain, David Wright, visited Tuesday morning as a continuation of the team’s quarter-century post-9/11 tradition.

Read more here.

Neil Best remembers 9/11 with the Giants and the aftermath

Neil Best was Newsday's Giants beat writer in 2001. He was in Denver on Sept. 10 to cover the team's season opener against the Broncos.

Then the world changed the next morning.

The scene at the airport departure gate was one of chaos and confusion, filled with rumors of additional attacks across the country, most of them false. Would-be passengers were herded into the main terminal area, where against all odds Best and three other Giants beat writers at competing outlets secured what seemed to be the last rental car in Colorado, a red Ford Explorer that Hertz offered for the low, low price of $250 a day. Sold!

The ensuing 28 hours were a high-speed montage across two-thirds of the continent that served as a reminder of America’s ability to come together when it has to.

Read more here.

How the Mets helped NYC heal after 9/11

Ten days after 9/11, the Mets hosted Atlanta in the first professional sporting event in New York City since the attacks. Players and coaches alike wondered whether or not the game should even happen.

“The first thing that came to mind for all of us was: why are we playing a baseball game?” former Mets pitcher Al Leiter told Newsday. “And obviously, hindsight's 20-20, and we were part of the healing process. And no question, it was the right move for Bud Selig and Major League Baseball to say we have to play baseball.

“The dichotomy in the mindset right after 9/11 for everybody — I was living in the city the whole time when I was with the Mets, on the Upper East Side — it was like you were angry. You were furious at what transpired, terrorists taking down the World Trade Center, obviously the other planes as well, Shanksville and the Pentagon. But there was a vulnerability to what we were thinking . . . You were scared. You were nervous. You were mad.

“But it all surmised that baseball was part of the healing process.”

The game not only provided a night of healing, but it also featured one of the most iconic, inspirational moments in New York baseball this century: Mike Piazza’s go-ahead two-run home run in the eighth inning.

Read more here.