Drone show, FDNY ceremony also part of observances
The Mamdani administration released more than 170,000 documents this week related to health concerns, air quality and the city’s response to the September 11, 2001 attacks, as the United States marks the 25th anniversary with ceremonies at the three attack sites and memorials across the country. The records include materials suggesting that New Yorkers were misled about the safety of the air quality after the attacks, according to the Guardian.
In New York City, the National September 11 Memorial and Museum’s 25th commemoration ceremony is scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. at the 9/11 Memorial Plaza. The ceremony includes the reading aloud of the names of those killed in the 2001 attacks and in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, according to the museum. Seven moments of silence will be observed, marking the times when each of the towers was struck and fell, as well as the time of the attack on the Pentagon and the crash of Flight 93, and to honor those who lost their lives to 9/11-related illness and injury in the years since, according to the museum.
New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani is expected to attend the ceremony. The New York Times reported this month that former president Joe Biden and former first lady Jill Biden, as well as former presidents Barack Obama, George W Bush and Bill Clinton, and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, also are expected to attend. President Donald Trump is expected to commemorate the anniversary at the Pentagon Memorial in Arlington County, Virginia, where American Airlines Flight 77 crashed after being hijacked. Vice President JD Vance is expected to attend the New York ceremony.
On Wednesday night in New York City, a drone show featuring 2,977 lights — one for each person killed in the attacks — illuminated the skies over New York Harbor before forming the outline of the twin towers.
On Friday morning, New York City firefighters are scheduled to hold a ceremony at the FDNY firefighters memorial on Manhattan’s Upper West Side to honor the 343 members of the department who lost their lives on September 11, 2001.
The National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial in Virginia will be closed to the public from 3 a.m. through noon Friday for the Pentagon’s 25th anniversary observance, with the exception of victims’ families, survivors and survivors’ families.
In Pennsylvania, a morning observance is planned at the Flight 93 National Memorial, where United Airlines Flight 93 crashed after being hijacked. The ceremony will include a reading of the names of the passengers and crew members, followed by the ringing of the bells of remembrance, according to the National Park Service. An afternoon ceremony will feature remarks, keynote speakers, music and a public wreath-laying at the Wall of Names. On Saturday, 40 candle lanterns will be carried to the Wall of Names and placed beneath the names of each passenger and crew member.
Communities across the country have scheduled additional memorial events on Friday to mark the 25th anniversary.