Twenty years after 2,753 people were tragically killed when two hijacked jetliners crashed into the World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan on 9/11, family members, friends and strangers once again paused to remember them at gatherings held across New York City on Saturday, Sept. 11, 2021.

Those who gathered at the memorial reflecting pool, and around the 16-acre site where the Twin Towers once stood comprised a much smaller crowd this year than the tens of thousands who have come to pay their respect in years past.

 

Joined our first responders at @NYPDTransit Transit District 11 to reflect and remember our fallen Transit Officers who made the ultimate sacrifice. We reflect. We remember. We honor. We will never forget. #Bronx #911Memorial #911NeverForget pic.twitter.com/lsGg4cRUjU

— Hon. Vanessa L. Gibson, MPA (She, Her, Hers) (@Vanessalgibson) September 12, 2021

 

This was likely due to the need to socially distance amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic that has, so far, killed 4.5 million people worldwide, and has all but paralyzed New York City’s tourism trade.

 

At least two protesters outside the heavily guarded 9/11 memorial site held signs protesting U.S. President Joe Biden’s attendance on Saturday. They said they blame the president for the deaths of 13 U.S. service members which occurred during the seemingly abrupt withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan in late August, reportedly leaving several hundred Americans and thousands of Afghans behind as the Taliban, once again, took control of the country.

 

In the Bronx, residents also gathered, once again, for an annual memorial ceremony at the 9/11 monument erected on the grounds of Jacobi Hospital, on Pelham Parkway. Elected officials, State. Sen. Jamaal Bailey (S.D. 36), Assembly Member Nathalia Fernández (A.D. 80), Assembly Member Michael Benedetto (A.D. 82), City Councilwoman Vanessa Gibson (C.D. 16) and City Council Member Mark Gjonaj (C.D. 13) were in attendance.

 

Family, friends and residents of the community turned out to honor the more than 140 Bronxites killed in the September 11th attacks.

 

Joined our FDNY first responders at Engine 92, Ladder 44, in our #Concourse community to reflect and remember our firefighters whom we lost on #September11th. Twenty years later, we vow to #NeverForget our heroes and those who made the ultimate sacrifice. #911Memorial #Bronx 🙏🙏 pic.twitter.com/ikXJltqYJk

— Hon. Vanessa L. Gibson, MPA (She, Her, Hers) (@Vanessalgibson) September 12, 2021

 

Around the same time, a separate gathering took place outside the 49th precinct on Eastchester Road, where officers paid homage to the 23 NYPD officers who died that fateful day, and to the countless others who have since died from 9/11-related illnesses.

 

On Saturday afternoon, nearly 100 residents in Parkchester gathered along Unionport Road as Community Board 9 held a remembrance event for those who perished. Many of the attendees who showed up for the event were members of the local Bengali community, who were joined by a troop of local cub scouts, other community residents, as well as members of EMS and the NYPD.

 

Another gathering was held in the borough on Saturday evening outside the headquarters of FDNY’s Engine 72 on East Tremont Avenue in Throggs Neck, as attendees paid their respects to the 343 FDNY firefighters and one volunteer fireman who perished twenty years earlier on 9/11.

 

On Sunday morning, Sept. 12, a 9/11 charity run / walk was held along Pelham Parkway in honor of 49th precinct, Lt. Thomas Clesse, who succumbed to cancer in 2000.

 

On Monday, Sept. 13 at noon, Bronxites will, once again, gather for another memorial event outside Bronx Borough Hall.