Tri-State Area Pays Tribute To 9/11 Victims With Memorials, Prayer Services
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- The Tri-State Area commemorated the 12th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks with tributes, memorials and prayer services.
The busy floor of the New York Stock Exchange went quiet Wednesday morning to remember 9/11 victims. The exchange held a moment of silence at 9:25 a.m., just before the opening bell.
Staten Island honored 275 residents who were lost in the terrorist attacks with a ceremony Wednesday evening at the September 11 Memorial located along the North Shore Waterfront Esplanade.
On Long Island, the American Airpower Museum held a daylong tribute to the victims of the Sept. 11 terror attacks. The Rev. Gilbert Lapp of Our Lady of Grace Church offered a blessing and a team of pilots known as the Geico Skytypers flew in a "missing man" formation over the museum from 5 to 6 p.m.
The museum, which is located near Republic Airport, also has a "flag of honor.'' Visitors were asked to bring a rose to be placed near the flag display.
In Point Lookout, a sunrise memorial Wednesday morning marked the 12th annual pilgrimage to Lido Beach for hundreds hoping to keep alive the legacy of their loved ones.
Relatives and survivors wrote messages to loved ones on 35-foot-tall replicas of the twin towers and threw white carnations into reflecting pools.
On Sept. 11, 2001, crowds had gathered on the beach and watched in horror as smoke billowed from the west and the towers crumbled in the distance.
Some children at Lido Beach were still learning about the attacks. As CBS 2's Jennifer McLogan reported, Andree Marshall, an Island Park mother of twins, explained to her 12-year-olds Wednesday that she was seven months pregnant when she was rescued from the twin towers.
Marshall then consoled a crying teenager who lost his father on 9/11.
"I was only 4 years old," said James Sherry, whose dad, John, died in the attacks. "So I don't really remember much, but what I hear about him, he was a really good guy. So I try to be like him every day."
"It's still very fresh and very painful," said Missy Sherry, John Sherry's widow, "But this day is just about remembering them."
Five hundred Long Island residents died on 9/11.
In Westchester County, an evening candlelight ceremony was held at the 9/11 memorial in Valhalla. The ceremony Wednesday evening included the dedication of a "ground zero beam of remembrance.'' The county said 111 residents and 12 former residents lost their lives on 9/11.
In New Jersey, a "Day of Remembrance" ceremony was held at City Hall in Newark to honor emergency responders and remember victims of the attacks. Newark lost five residents during the Sept. 11 attacks.
Newark Mayor Cory Booker, as well as members of the city's police and fire departments, attended the ceremony, which was open to the public.
In Jersey City, tourists and families paid their respects at the Empty Sky Memorial at Liberty state Park.
The 750 names of New Jersey residents killed on 9/11 are engraved in the stainless steel walls of the memorial, which was dedicated to the victims two years ago on the anniversary of the attacks.
The two walls of the memorial open to a view of the spot where the Twin Towers once stood. Each wall is the exact width of the World Trade Center towers.
Danny Correa was at the memorial singing a song for his 25-year-old son, Helman, who was killed on 9/11.
"It's my way to get some relief, to get some peace," Correa told CBS 2's Christine Sloan.
"The pain is still here," he added.
At Perth Amboy City Hall Park, first responders and loved ones of those killed on 9/11 took part in a memorial ceremony.
"I'll never forget arriving at the Staten Island Ferry terminal, our first assignment," acting fire chief Abraham Petri said. "Everybody came out covered in white dust."
As he reflected on the 12th anniversary, Petri recalled the phone call from that day that he'll never forget.
Perth Amboy Holds Memorial Ceremony To Mark 9/11
"And told me a friend of ours, Port Authority Police Officer Richard Rodriguez, is missing. He went into the building, and no one's seen him," said Petri. "I'll never forget Richie Rodriguez."
Rodriguez's father, Miguel, was also at Wednesday's ceremony, wearing a gold replica of his son's badge around his neck.
"He made two, one for him, and one for his dad. So he lost his, but this one is still living," Rodriguez said through tears.
WCBS employees Isaias Rivera and Robert Pattison were engineers who worked at our transmitter site at One World Trade. They were on the 110th floor at the time the hijacked plane hit the tower.
Rivera's name is on the plaque at Perth Amboy's 9/11 memorial. Rodriguez's name is also engraved on the plaque, Putney reported.
In Connecticut, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman spoke at Middletown's annual remembrance ceremony, where the city dedicated its permanent 9/11 Memorial and Memorial Garden, a joint project of the South Fire District and the firefighters union.
Moments of silence were held at 8:46 a.m. and 9:02 a.m., the exact times when hijacked airliners struck the two World Trade Center towers.
Of the nearly 3,000 people killed, 161 had ties to Connecticut.
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