Remembering September 11: Commemorating The 24th Anniversary Of The September 11, 2001 Attacks

A special event will be held in Queens to honor and remember the lives affected by the events of September 11, 2001.

Zev Brenner

Yoni Hikind

Guest Speaker: Curtis Sliwa, NYC Mayoral Candidate and Founder of the Guardian Angels; Host: Zev Brenner, CEO of Talkline Communications; Participants: city leaders, including Councilman Bob Holden and Yoni Hikind, will join the Jewish community in reflection. Q & A: Curtis Sliwa and Tzippy Feldman.

Location: Young Israel of Kew Gardens Hills, 70-11 150th Street, Kew Gardens Hills, NY 11367

Date and Time: Wednesday, September 10, 7:00 p.m.

Registration: Required for attendance

Sponsor: Friends of Curtis Sliwa

See ad on page 24 for registration information. n

{Supervisor Ferretti, Hempstead Town Board to Host Long Island’s Largest 9/11 Memorial Ceremony

{IMG Town of Hempstead 911 Memorial

Twenty-four years ago, many residents came to Town Park Point Lookout to confirm with their eyes what their televisions and radios were reporting about what had just taken place in New York City on September 11, 2001. From the beach along the Atlantic Ocean, they stood in disbelief as they saw smoke billowing from the site where the once-majestic Twin Towers once stood, the result of horrific terrorist attacks carried out against the United States of America.

On Thursday, September 11, 2025 at 7:30 a.m., from that same beach at Town Park Point Lookout, Supervisor John Ferretti and the Hempstead Town Board—along with area fire departments, esteemed members of clergy, and other patriotic participants—will hold Long Island’s largest 9/11 Memorial Ceremony to remember the many victims from that day, those who have passed from various 9/11-related illnesses, and support those families who continue to suffer from the unimaginable loss of family, friends, and loved ones. All residents are invited to attend and join in the moving ceremony that, for the past two decades, has served as a place of remembrance, reflection, and healing.

“Nearly a quarter century has gone by since that tragic day, but the passage of time will never truly heal the deep wounds and profound loss felt by the families of the victims of September 11, 2001,” said Supervisor Ferretti. “We invite all residents to join us on September 11, 2025 to remember and pay tribute to the fallen.”

The beachside 9/11 memorial incorporates replica steel Twin Towers, and a remembrance wall on which residents can write messages in honor of their loved ones. Following the memorial service, attendees are invited to cast carnations—donated by ReWorld and Stop and Shop of West Hempstead—into the waters of the Atlantic in memory of the ones they lost.

Attendees will be welcomed to Point Lookout by patriotic American flag arches provided courtesy of the Levittown, Franklin Square and Munson, Woodmere, Island Park, Point Lookout-Lido, and Baldwin fire departments. The color guard will be provided by the Rockville Centre Fire Department, led by bagpiper Bobby Hughes of the Nassau County Firefighters Pipes and Drums.

The Gregorian Consortium from Kellenberg Memorial High School, which has been a longtime participant in the ceremony, will return for this year’s event. Remarks will be offered by Rev. Michael Duffy, Rector at St. Agnes Cathedral in Rockville Centre, and Senior Rabbi Elie Weinstock of the Jewish Center of Atlantic Beach on Long Island.

The Keynote Speaker of this year’s event will be Bellmore resident and retired FDNY Chief Steve Marsar, a 9/11 first responder who has dedicated a large part of his career to providing mental health and traumatic stress counseling to firefighters across New York State, many of them men and women who responded to Ground Zero 24 years ago.

Supervisor Ferretti and the Hempstead Town Board will also recognize the efforts of Long Island residents who worked at Rikers Island on September 11, 2001. Often referred to as the “forgotten heroes of 9/11,” Supervisor Ferretti will detail the incredible acts of heroism and bravery exhibited by these corrections officers on September 11th and in the weeks and months following the attacks.

Closing out the ceremony will be Rev. Dr. Eric C. Mallette of the Greater Second Baptist Church in Freeport, who has offered powerful and inspirational remarks for many years at this event.

At the conclusion of the ceremony, guests will be invited to cast white carnations into the Atlantic Ocean, write messages on the Remembrance Wall, followed by a post-event visit to the town’s adjacent 9/11 Memorial Park. The park features an elevated memorial walkway with the names of the victims of the terrorist attacks (including those who have died in recent years) memorialized in granite on the edifice of a pedestrian bridge. The Town will provide paper and pencils so residents can conduct “name rubbings” of their beloved friends and family members. The memorial also includes a 30-foot-tall beam from the north tower of the World Trade Center, and a giant memorial table inscribed with Walt Whitman’s “On the Beach at Night.”

“The Town of Hempstead will never forget the victims of September 11, 2001,” concluded Supervisor Ferretti. “Our township is committed to hosting this event on the beaches of Point Lookout every year, and we will continue to facilitate patriotic street dedication ceremonies throughout our community to honor the many first responders who have lost their lives to 9/11-related illnesses. We encourage all families who have lost someone to the 9/11 tragedy, as well as first responders and members of the community, to attend Long Island’s largest 9/11 Memorial Ceremony.”