Ceremonies Across New Jersey Mark 24th Anniversary Of 9/11

It was 24 years ago when the World Trade Center towers were struck by two planes on Sept. 11. The attacks claimed the lives of more than 750 New Jerseyans, including finance professionals, first responders, service workers, and airline crew, among others. 

Communities across New Jersey will come together for vigils, candlelight walks, and memorial services set to take place this year, honoring the names of loved ones lost. 

“The trajectory of people’s lives were completely changed that day; families still feel that loss today,” said Jersey City Public Safety Director James Shea in an interview with New Jersey Urban News. “That day was such a sobering moment when everybody realized just how devastating the attack was.”

Shea, then an NYPD precinct commander, recalled seeing a plume of smoke rising over Lower Manhattan after the first tower was struck by an airplane, followed by the second. 

He said the scale of the attack quickly became clear, and the NYPD began preparing for mass casualties.

“Nobody was ready for that day,” Shea reflected, noting how his role quickly shifted to aiding in the evacuation operation zones and helping remove casualties from the wreckage of both towers.

Nick Pastula, a New Jersey resident who was 25 at the time, recalled commuting by bus to his first job in downtown Manhattan when the attacks happened. He made a phone call to his father, who told him he “loved him,” a profound exchange that underscored for him the gravity of the moment. 

“All of a sudden, you felt like you were in a war zone,” said Pastula. “We emptied out into the streets, and there are just people running North, and you look overhead and there are stealth bombers flying above us, with no real type of direction of what to do.”

One of his college friends, Nicholas Brandemarti, was in the second building of the World Trade Center during the 9/11 attacks and was among the many victims. “Fate would have it where he did not deserve this death, and upon reflection, he was just trying to go about his day, like many others,” said Pastula.

Each year, Jersey City gathers at the waterfront area to honor the lives of those cut short on 9/11. In a dignified ritual, their names are spoken as a bell is rung, each sound a life, and flowers are laid on the Hudson River.

Several municipalities will close the day with 7 p.m. events, including Hasbrouck Heights Firemen’s Memorial/9-11 Memorial Park, with a rain site at Borough Hall, North Haledon, Montvale (on Memorial Drive) and Rockaway Township (Parks Lake Gazebo). 

In Fort Lee, residents will assemble at Constitution Park at 6 p.m. for the borough’s annual commemoration. The New Jersey Veterans of Foreign Wars state commander, Luddie Austin, is expected to attend, and all members have been invited to take part.

Nearby in Edgewater, a 7:30 p.m. service will be held at Veterans Field, at the 9/11 monument beneath the American flag. The ceremony will call out the names of three residents taken by the terrorist attacks of 9/11. The names include: Robert M. Levine, Anne T. Ransom, and Jayesh Shah.

The Morris County Board of County Commissioners will host a 9/11 ceremony at the county’s 9/11 Memorial on West Hanover Ave. in Parsippany-Troy Hills. On Sept. 10, Mahwah will gather at 7 p.m. for a service in Lisa DiGiulio Tranquility Park near the train station, according to the city’s site.

Bloomingdale and Butler will be hosting a joint candlelight walk, which is set to begin at 7 p.m. and will make its way through Sloan Park in Bloomingdale. In Basking Ridge, Bernards Township will hold its ceremony at 6 p.m. at the 9/11 Memorial in Harry Dunham Park, located at 490 Somerville Road.

Chatham Borough plans on holding a gathering at 7 p.m. The Emerson Volunteer Fire Department will host its annual remembrance at 6 p.m. outside the Emerson Firehouse, located at 120 Thomas Ave. 

Evening services are scheduled across Bergen, Passaic and Morris counties. In the borough of Hopatcong, their 9/11 ceremony will begin at 6 p.m. at the Municipal building, and Ramsey and River Edge will also be holding services at 6 p.m. The ceremony location is at the Firehouse Station. 

Prospect Park will host a candlelight vigil at the same hour outside the Municipal Building.

At 6:30 p.m., gatherings are planned in Hawthorne (Volunteer Ambulance Building), Moonachie, Woodland Park (in front of the Municipal Building), and Washington Township in Bergen County, which will host its service at the Pascack Road memorial. 

From candlelit vigils in local parks to countywide memorials, these events preserve the memory of those lost in New Jersey. With every name spoken and each moment of silence observed, residents reaffirm their promise to remember.