As the 21st anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks approaches, memorial events are planned on Staten Island and in Manhattan, allowing borough residents to participate and ensure that those lost on that tragic day are never forgotten.
Additionally, firefighters in firehouses throughout New York City will observe moments of silence, as bells will ring to commemorate the moments tragedy struck 21 years ago.
Below is a list of memorial services and tributes taking place on the Island and in Manhattan to honor the memory of those who lost their lives on that tragic day.
ANGELS’ CIRCLE
Advance Woman of Achievement Wendy Pellegrino will host a Sept. 11 anniversary ceremony at Angels’ Circle on Saturday, Sept. 10, at 7 p.m.
Angels’ Circle, located at the intersection of Hylan Boulevard and Fingerboard Road, is a memorial garden filled with the faces of the more than 200 Staten Islanders who lost their lives on 9/11. Photographs mounted on stakes placed in the ground mingle with the angel statues that dot the memorial referencing the “angels” lost in the attacks.
Several speakers are expected, and four singers will perform at the event, at which three awards will be presented to those who have contributed greatly to ceremonies through the years.
Michael Black, owner of Jet Fresh Flower Distributers, a Florida-based company, will be honored for his 20 years of donations to Angels’ Circle for the annual Sept. 11 Anniversary ceremony.
Each year, Black has sent 250 roses to Ariemma’s Garden Center, in Dongan Hills, where staffers prepare the flowers for the ceremony and deliver them, Pellegrino said.
“It’s amazing, Pellegrino said. “For 20 years he’s been doing it. Free of charge.”
Pellegrino will present awards of appreciation to Black’s nephews, firefighters Matthew Bacchi and James Bacchi, in his absence.
Singers Ken Ryan, who has been performing for the past five years at Angels’ Circle ceremonies; and Marina Crupi, who has performed for the past 10 years, will also be recognized during the memorial event.
Additionally, a new performer, Richard Kim, will sing during the event, and James McKeon will open the ceremony with a performance of “America the Beautiful.”
Sgt. Ozzie Rosado, of the 120the Precinct, and Dennis McKeon, of the Where to Turn organization, will also address the gathering during the event.
TUNNEL TO TOWERS PRAYERS OF REMEMBRANCE
On the morning of Sept. 11, the Staten Island-based Tunnel to Towers Foundation will host its annual 9/11 Prayers of Remembrance service at the base of the America’s Response Monument in lower Manhattan.
The 7 a.m. ceremony will honor the memory of FDNY Firefighter Stephen Siller, and the nearly 3,000 victims of the Sept. 11 attacks.
The ceremony will feature FDNY, NYPD, PAPD Ceremonial Units, a pipes and drums processional and a color guard. Members of Operational Detachment Alpha 595, now known as the “Horse Soldiers” and depicted in the monument, will speak at the ceremony. The “Horse Soldiers” were the Special Forces who were the first to retaliate against the Taliban in Afghanistan after 9/11.
America’s Response Monument is located at 97 West St.
RUMC ANNUAL COMMEMORATION CEREMONY
Richmond University Medical Center (RUMC) staff will join more than 200 members of the FDNY, NYPD, military veterans and law enforcement agencies for its annual commemoration ceremony on Friday, Sept. 9, at 11 a.m.
The ceremony will take place at the hospital’s 9/11 Memorial, located at 355 Bard Ave.
Participants should use the rear parking lot entrance, off Castleton Avenue.
At the 11 a.m. ceremony, RUMC will pay tribute to the victims of the 2001 attacks and honor military and first responders
Hospital staff, NYPD, FDNY, and community leaders will participate. The ceremony will include tributes, a moment of silence, and reflections from first responders who participated in response operations.
Also in attendance will be members of various chapters of the Blue Knights law enforcement motorcycle organization and Rolling Thunder military veterans motorcycle organization.
Members of both organizations will represent chapters from across all five boroughs of New York City and various chapters from throughout New Jersey and along the East Coast.
STATEN ISLAND UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL
Staten Island University Hospital will pause to remember those lost on 9/11 with two ceremonies on Sunday, Sept. 11. The memorial ceremonies will take place at 8:45 a.m. in both the Heart Tower Garden of Staten Island University Hospital North, 475 Seaview Ave., and in the main entrance lobby of Staten Island University Hospital South, 375 Seguine Ave.
NOTRE DAME CLUB OF STATEN ISLAND
The Notre Dame Club of Staten Island will host its Eve of Solemn Remembrance on Friday, Sept. 9, at 7 p.m. in Our Lady of Pity R.C. Church, 1616 Richmond Ave., Bulls Head.
The club’s annual vigil Mass will remember the Staten Islanders and first responders lost that day as well as those who died years later of 9/11-related illnesses.
POSTCARDS 9/11 MEMORIAL CEREMONY
The annual Staten Island 9/11 Memorial Ceremony will be held at the Postcards Memorial on Sunday, Sept. 11, 2022 at 6:30 p.m.
The event, hosted by the office of Borough President Vito Fossella, will feature the recitation of the names of Staten Islanders who were killed in the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001 and the names of the rescue and recovery workers from Staten Island who have died of World Trade Center-related illnesses.
“It is an honor that we continue the ceremony at the Postcards 9/11 Memorial, which beautifully stands on the waterfront in St. George,” Fossella told the Advance when the event was announced. “We at Borough Hall are so pleased to be able to join together in person to remember those we lost during the tragedy, and those first responders who have passed since then as a result of their bravery.”
Musical performances and a video tribute will honor those lost to terrorism.
The Postcards Memorial is located on Bank Street, next to the SIUH Community Park, St. George, home of the Ferry Hawks baseball team.
9/11 MEMORIAL AND MUSEUM
Families of victims will gather for a private ceremony on the 9/11 Memorial plaza in lower Manhattan to read aloud the names of the 2,983 men, women, and children killed in the 2001 attacks and February 26, 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center.
The 2022 event will take place on Sunday, Sept. 11, at 8:40 a.m. The ceremony will only be open to family members of 9/11 victims, and access to the memorial site will begin at 7 a.m.
Six moments of silence will mark the times when each of the World Trade Center towers was struck, when each tower fell, and the times corresponding to the attack at the Pentagon and the crash of United Airlines Flight 93 in Pennsylvania.
A broadcast of the event can be viewed on the museum’s website, at 911memorial.org, beginning at 8:40 a.m.
The museum will also present its annual Tribute in Light public art installation on the night of Sunday, Sept. 11.
“Assembled on the roof of the Battery Parking Garage south of the 9/11 Memorial, the twin beams reach up to four miles into the sky and are comprised of eighty-eight 7,000-watt xenon lightbulbs positioned into two 48-foot squares, echoing the shape and orientation of the Twin Towers,” the description on the 9/11 Memorial & Museum website reads. “The installation can also be viewed from a 60-mile radius around lower Manhattan.”
RESCUE 5
At FDNY Rescue 5 in Concord, members of the community are invited to participate in a memorial prayer service on Sunday, Sept. 11, at 11:30 a.m. outside the firehouse.
Moments of silence will be held, earlier, beginning at 8:46 a.m., the moment Flight 11 struck the North Tower.
At that time, candle lighting will take place for any victims, including the 11 members of Rescue 5 who perished while responding to the terrorist attacks.
A private reception will be held in the firehouse for Rescue 5 members and families.
NEW YORK CITY FIRE MUSEUM
A wreath-laying ceremony will be held on Sunday, Sept. 11, at 11 a.m. at the New York City Fire Museum, 278 Spring St., Manhattan.
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