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Thursday marks 24 years since the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, when al Qaeda hijackers crashed four passenger jets into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
The attacks forever changed New York City and the world, and the heaviness of the loss has not dimmed over the years.
Every year, the city and nation pause to remember the 2,983 people killed in the 2001 attacks and in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. A solemn ceremony, including six moments of silence, was held Thursday morning at the 9/11 Memorial & Museum in Lower Manhattan.
It’s a day of reflection and of remembrances steeped in sorrow, as family members vow to keep their loved ones’ memories alive, fulfilling the sacred promise to never forget.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams was among the mourners gathered at Ground Zero, along with New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, former Gov. George Pataki, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, and former Mayors Rudy Giuliani and Michael Bloomberg. FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino could also be seen in the crowd.
Hochul directed more than a dozen state landmarks, including One World Trade Center and the Empire State Building, to be illuminated with blue lights Thursday in observance.
“Today I join the world in remembering the nearly 3,000 souls taken on 9/11, the people who went to work and never came home, and the brave heroes — uniformed and otherwise — who ran toward danger to save others,” the governor said in a statement.
“Many of our enemies, foreign and domestic, thought we were going to collapse as a country, but we got up 9/12,” Adams said before the ceremony. “Teachers taught, builders built. We showed the globe our resiliency, even in the midst of pain.”
Adams’ mayoral opponents, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and state Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, were also in attendance, while Republican Curtis Sliwa was scheduled to visit a different 9/11 tribute in the Rockaways.
Meanwhile, President Trump observed 9/11 at the Pentagon, but is expected to be in New York for the Yankees’ game later Thursday night. Vice President JD Vance was expected to be in Manhattan, but he is instead traveling to Utah following the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, a source told CBS News.
Family members of those killed in the attacks read through all the victims’ names. Decades later, many of the speakers were the grandchildren of those who died.
“Grandpa Eddie, even though I never knew you, I still feel your presence in my daily life — from the times when I get the hiccups and my mom says you’re visiting me, to the moments my mom gets a good parking spot and we say you’re a good parking attendant in the sky,” one young reader said. “Our family says that I have a lot of your traits, they say I’m kind and generous like you. And even though I didn’t have the chance to meet you in person, I still have a deep love and affection for you. I hope to be just like you when I grow up.”
“I never got to meet my Aunt Brooke. When I was younger, I knew that Brooke only got 23 years of life, but to a 5-year-old, 23 doesn’t sound so young. But now standing here today, as a 22-year-old who just graduated college, it weighs heavy on my heart, mind and spirit that 23 years old is a child, 23 is a young person finding their place in the world,” said another reader.
They also thanked the heroic first responders, keeping in mind more firefighters have now died of 9/11-related illnesses than on that day.
9/11 special coverage began on CBS News New York at 8:25 a.m.
The ceremony wrapped up more than four hours later, shortly after 12:30 p.m.
At exactly 8:46 a.m., the first citywide moment of silence was held to mark when Flight 11 struck the North Tower.
The 9/11 Memorial & Museum is located at the World Trade Center site in Lower Manhattan. The museum closed early Wednesday and is not open to guests Thursday, so victims’ loved ones can visit privately.
Drivers should plan for the following street closures around the area:
The memorial comes amid the United Nations General Assembly, which may bring additional closures to the East Side of Manhattan.
Jesse Zanger is the managing editor of CBSNewYork.com. Jesse has previously worked for the Fox News Channel and Spectrum News NY1. He covers regional news around the Tri-State Area, with a particular focus on breaking news and extreme weather.
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©2025 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.