Workers have fully installed the spire atop One World Trade Center on Friday morning, bringing it to a symbolic 1,776 feet and making it the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere.

The 408-foot spire will serve as a world-class broadcast antenna. The LED-powered light emanating from it will be seen from miles away, the Associated Press reports.

Weighing 758 tons, the spire was raised to the roof of the building last week covered in an American flag.

The tower is located at the northwest corner of the site where the twin towers were destroyed on Sept. 11, 2001. The 72-story Four World Trade Center and other buildings are also on their way to being completed.

One World Trade Center is expected to open for business in 2014.

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First responders at the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks face cancer rates 15 percent higher than the rest of the population, a new study found.

The Mount Sinai Hospital’s World Trade Center Health Program reported the findings Tuesday in the Environmental Health Perspectives journal.

Researchers noticed cancers in places like the thyroid, prostate and blood. Rates were highest in responders who were “trapped in the dust cloud” or worked most days at the site, according to the study.

Many 9/11 responders have developed cancers that doctors suspect are related to extended hours breathing in toxins while cleaning up Ground Zero. According to the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, about 65 officers have died of cancer since 9/11, and about 300 have been diagnosed.

The study included data from nearly 21,000 participants, finding a total of 575 cancers in 552 people.

These people, the report stated, “sustained exposures to a complex mix of toxic chemicals.”

About 43 percent of the participants were exposed to the dust cloud on Sept. 11, according to the report, and the median number of days they worked on what many called “the pile” was 57 days.

Study co-author Dr. Philip Landrigan said for the first time, the study considers a link between several types of cancers in recovery workers and their levels of exposure to dust at the debris pile.

“Our findings strongly highlight the need for continued follow-up and medical surveillance of WTC responders,” said Dr. Samara Solan, who also authored the study.

Researchers also found responders battling persistent health problems like asthma, depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder.

This new data is even higher than the program’s earlier data, which showed responders’ cancer rate at 14 percent higher than expected. The study also echoes one by the FDNY, which said firefighters who had worked at Ground Zero were more likely to develop cancer.

The City Council has requested more information about the link between cancers and responders, and last fall federal officials announced that they would cover about 50 cancers for rescue workers and others who were affected.

Many responders are still waiting for financial help for their illnesses, two years after the Zadroga Act secured funding for their recovery.

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After intense political pressure, Mayor Michael Bloomberg promised yesterday he would give doctors at Mount Sinai Hospital a list of the names of officers at Ground Zero and request the police officers’ permission to reveal cancer diagnoses.

And at a hearing yesterday, Dr. Philip Landrigan at Mount Sinai’s World Trade Center Medical Monitoring and Treatment Program said that out of 20,000 responders in their program, the cancer rate was 14 percent higher than he expected.

The Zadroga Act provides care for people with 9/11-related illnesses, but that list does not include cancer. Federal officials will decide in March whether to add cancer, but say they need a proven link first.

Meanwhile, many responders report they are getting rare cancers that their doctors tell them can be linked to inhaling toxins. 

Federal officials will decide in March whether to add cancer, but say they need a proven link first.
At a meeting of the World Trade Center Health Program, which administers the Zadroga funding, several responders described rare cancers they developed after inhaling Ground Zero dust.

“My daughter will never see me walk down the aisle,” John Walcott, a retired NYPD detective with leukemia, told the panel.

Responder and advocate John Feal said he has been to 55 funerals for first responders who died of cancer since 9/11. Before that, he said, none.

This week, the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association said 65 officers have died from cancer, at an average age of 44. An FDNY study found that firefighters were more likely to develop cancer after working on Ground Zero.

Marc Wilkenfeld, a physician at Winthrop-University Hospital on Long Island, tells responders their diagnoses.

“I have to tell people that you have cancer, but it’s not on the list of covered treatment,” Wilkenfeld said. “It’s really hard to tell them, to explain.”

Tons of asbestos

The air had 1.2 million tons of building materials in it, said a doctor at yesterday’s hearing.
   
This included as many as 400 tons of asbestos. “The government has an obligation to cover cancer treatments because they told first responders the air was safe,” Councilwoman Margaret Chin said. Elizabeth Ward, at the WTC Health Program, said yesterday that some members supported adding some cancers, like lung cancer, if linked to inhaling toxic dust.

Steep price for responders

Electrician Bruce Edwards said two of his eight-person team restoring electricity Sept. 14 developed cancer. One died. He is in remission. “Would I do it again? My first instinct is yes,” he said. “But the price I paid was steep.” Reggie Hilaire, 40, an NYPD officer still on the force, spent 850 hours at Ground Zero and has been diagnosed with both thyroid cancer and multiple myeloma, a cancer he said he shares with four other responders he has never met. “I’m not a scientist, I’m just a cop,” he said. “I don’t think it’s a coincidence.”

It’s not just New Yorkers

Arthur Noonan, a Chicago firefighter, came to New York to help after 9/11, and developed leukemia, which is now in remission. He has almost maxed out the funds from his health insurance, he said, and he will not have much left if he gets cancer again. “After that, I don’t know what I’ll do,” he said. “People that came to help don’t need to have that constant worry in their mind that they won’t be able to get treatment.”

Follow Alison Bowen on Twitter @AlisonatMetro

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Eleven years later, after finding nodules on his lungs, he sent the uniform for testing to see what toxins might be inside.

The uniform showed a disturbing level of cancer-causing chemicals, including asbestos, a doctor said Sunday.

According to the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, 65 officers have died from 9/11-related cancers.

Nearly 300 have been diagnosed, at an average age of 44, said PBA president Patrick Lynch, adding, “Sadly, there will be many more to come.”

“The formula is clear and simple,” he said. “A vast array of carcinogens plus extended exposure equals dead and dying police officers.”

The PBA is one of several responders’ groups pushing for cancer data to be released. In September, an FDNY study revealed that firefighters who worked at Ground Zero were more likely to develop cancer.

The city is conducting its own study, which Health Department officials said they will submit to a journal by March.

This morning, Public Advocate Bill de Blasio said he requested cancer-related research from Mayor Michael Bloomberg on officers who worked on Ground Zero.  

He asked for a list of all NYPD officers who worked at the World Trade Center, and a list of those who have cancer, by Feb. 24.

Bloomberg told reporters last week that the city will release the data, but they are balancing privacy issues involved.

Tomorrow, responders will appear at a World Trade Center Health Program committee hearing to discuss health problems, including cancer. Federal officials will decide in March whether to include cancer in its coverage provided by the Zadroga Act.

Call to reveal findings

Public Advocate Bill de Blasio called on Mayor Michael Bloomberg to “loosen the city’s grip” on its 9/11 cancer findings. Assemblyman Micah Kellner wrote a bill that requires the NYPD to give the names of anyone who worked at Ground Zero to medical institutions studying cancer. 

What’s in that dust?

Dr. Richard Lee, who
tested Police Officer Alonzo Harris’ uniform, said the contaminants
found in the World Trade Center dust were “created by the extreme forces
acting on building materials, such as insulation during the collapse of
the buildings, and by the ensuing fires that consumed the spilled
fuels, building contents and construction materials.”

He said the
dust includes heavy metals, asbestos, concrete particles and chemicals
produced by burning.

Each of these, he said, can “cause various
harmful effects on the body.”

In addition, he said, asbestos fibers
found in the dust around the World Trade Center — and in Harris’ uniform
— were three to 50 times more toxic than fibers found in other
asbestos-containing buildings.

By the numbers
   
65 officers have died from cancer.

297 officers with the NYPD?have been diagnosed with cancer.

9,853 An FDNY study of 9,853 firefighters found    that those who worked     at Ground Zero were     more likely to develop  cancer.

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Last year, a report released by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health found there was not enough evidence to determine the inhalation of World Trade Center dust caused cancer.

The city Department of Health and Mental Hygiene is currently conducting its own cancer study, but Dr. Carolyn Greene from the department testified at a Council hearing yesterday that the city needs more resources to conduct its research.

Manhattan Councilman Fernando Cabrera blamed the lack of funding squarely on Bloomberg.
“I agree with you, you should receive this funding and that’s the job of the mayor,” said Cabrera. “The mayor had 10 years to be able to get enough funding.”

Bronx Councilman Oliver Koppell agreed, saying the mayor should be fighting harder to get cancer included as one of the health conditions covered under the Zadroga Act. “The mayor’s the head of the city administration. I understand that it’s not the city’s decision but the city could recommend it,” Koppell said.

“The city has always stood up for our first responders and supported the Zadroga bill, which requires the federal government to review health studies on a regular basis to determine if there was a link between 9/11 work and cancer,” said Bloomberg spokeswoman Samantha Levine. The bill also provides funding for the WTC Centers for Excellence, three centers in New York City that provide free testing and care for first responders.

The FDNY published its own cancer study in September, showing that firefighters who responded to 9/11 are more likely to contract cancer than those who did not. Mt. Sinai Medical Center is also working on a study about a possible 9/11 cancer link, said Levine.

Not on the list

The administrator of the World Trade Center Health program, Dr. John Howard, determined in July there was not sufficient evidence for cancer to be added to a list of covered medical conditions, even though many particulates from the fallen towers are carcinogens.

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In the study of about 4,000 police officers interviewed four to six years after the attacks, 17 percent showed probable PTSD. This was double the number of eight percent reporting PTSD two or three years after 9/11, said Dr. Rosemarie Bowler, a psychology professor at San Francisco State University.
“The overall rate of probable PTSD in police worsened over time,” Bowler said while presenting the findings at a conference on 9/11 health in Lower Manhattan.

While researchers aren’t exactly sure what’s causing the increase, in 2001 and 2002 fewer responders sought help because they did not think they needed it, according to the city Department of Health’s Dr. Robert Brackbill. But as the years went by, Bowler found more officers reporting that memories of 9/11 continued to haunt them.

One new therapy now in use involves virtual reality, said Dr. JoAnn Difede, a psychology professor at Weill Cornell Medical College.

Patients wear goggles and headgear, which takes them through a virtual tour of the World Trade Centers and their collapse.

“It creates this sense of immersion, that you’re there again,” she said, which helps them summon and address memories.

Follow Alison Bowen on Twitter @AlisonatMetro.
 

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In the Committee on Civil Service and Labor meeting this morning, members will address a resolution asking Dr. John Howard, director of the World Trade Center Health Program, to “examine new evidence indicating a link between exposure to Ground Zero toxins and cancer.”

Council members want cancer added to the list of Ground Zero illnesses covered under the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, such as asthma and chronic cough.

In July, Howard announced that cancer would not be included, saying not enough medical findings exist to prove that responders’ cancer was caused by toxic fumes they inhaled in cleaning up Ground Zero.
Responders hope that will change in the face of new research, such as an FDNY study released last month that showed that responders who worked on Ground Zero have increased rates of cancer.

Follow Alison Bowen on Twitter @AlistonatMetro.

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“We have never received anything,” Russell Mercer said. “That’s still true even today.”

Now they can visit the Sept. 11 memorial, which opened Sunday to the families, and touch the letters of his name. But without remains, the couple could not even have a funeral, holding just a memorial mass and constantly hoping the city would call them with news.

The Mercers are two of thousands of family members waiting for a call from the medical examiner’s office. More than 1,000 World Trade Center victims’ remains have still not been identified -— at last count, 1,632 of the 2,753 names have been established through DNA testing.

Last month, Ernest James, 40, a Marsh & McLennan employee, became the latest victim identified. He was the first victim to match remains to DNA since 2009.

Mercer said he holds out hope for a similar phone call. “You can’t give up on hope.”

Follow Alison Bowen on Twitter @AlisonatMetro.

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Walking through the two memorial pools and finally finding her brother’s name, etched in bronze, she saw him memorialized as “Jeffery,” not Jeffrey, Schreier.

“I couldn’t believe it,” she told NBC. “This is the only place we could go to have some solace, and to see his name engraved incorrectly was very distressing to us.”

The memorial promised to fix the name this week.

“We are extremely sorry for the pain this mistake has caused Jeffrey’s family,” said memorial spokesman Michael Frazier. “As soon as we found out about this error we began working on how to make it right.”

Schreier worked in the mail room at Cantor Fitzgerald, which lost more people — 658 — than any other company.

What’s it going to take to fix?

To fix the name, workers will need to re-etch the letters into the half-inch-thick bronze panels that line the pools.
   
Each bronze panel took five hours to put in place, according to the museum, and it takes 45 seconds to water-jet cut each letter.

Follow Alison Bowen on Twitter @AlisonatMetro.

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The show, which opened Sunday, moves around the subject of 9/11 rather than approaching it directly — to wit, it takes place in Rhinebeck, an hour outside of Manhattan. Given this perspective, the messages won’t be outdated when the play’s run ends Sept. 25.

The Apples, introduced by playwright-director Richard Nelson in “That Hopey Changy Thing,” get together for the first time since we met them last year when they gathered on the eve of midterm elections in 2010. The original cast fully reprises previous roles. Dining together on Sept. 11, 2011, the Apples catch up, revisit history and poke fun at each other, fondly.

The small stage, with seating on three sides, loans to the atmosphere of intimacy. Its dressing is simple, with only rugs, tables and chairs. But, like the cleverly restrained acting (notably Jay O. Sanders as Richard Apple) and naturalistic dialogue, the staging makes a lot out of a little.

Seeing how the Apples have grown since last year helps qualify how all New Yorkers have changed since Sept. 11, 2001. Our rituals, remembrances and capacity to move forward seem manageable through the lens of this microcosm. Don’t worry if you haven’t seen the first Apple play; like the immediately likeable Uncle Ben (Jon Devries), who suffers amnesia, you may even benefit from looking on without former knowledge and with an open mind.

The post ‘Sweet and Sad’: Intimate reflections on a tragedy, 10 years later appeared first on Metro.us.

Jelena Watkins, her husband, her parents and her two young children were the first guests to enter.
They were greeted by Mayor Michael Bloomberg and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn.

“It was a huge relief to see that it’s actually beautiful,” Watkins said to a pool reporter. “It’s the right feel. It’s just so right. It’s so spacious.”

This was Watkins’s second day visiting the memorial. She attended Sunday’s ceremony to honor her brother, Vladimir Tomasevic, who died 10 years ago in the attacks.

After Watkins, nearly 7,000 visitors had tickets for the memorial. Each was thoroughly screened by security after waiting for as long as 30 minutes.

Some reported they found the sound of the rushing water comforting, and others ran their hands across the bronze names of the victims.

Jim Brown, who lost his cousin in the attacks, said the memorial helped him find peace.

“I felt better now that I’ve seen their names and taken a rubbing,” he said to a pool reporter, referring to the pencil-and-paper rubbings over the names many family members made. “His spirit will always be here in this part of Manhattan.”

Others said that finally being able to view the tower’s “footprints” helped blot out a decade of visions of war, violence and the sight of people fleeing for their lives.

“When we walked in, those images were popping in my head from 10 years ago,” Las Vegas researcher Laura Pajar, 23, told a pool reporter. “But when I saw the memorial, all of that went away.”

Follow Emily Anne Epstein on Twitter @EmilyatMetro.

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If you missed the story out of the Mets-Cubs game last night, you can be forgiven. The Jets were playing, the weight of the 9/11 anniversary and accompanying tributes was still lingering and you probably just watched 8 hours of football. It was mentally exhausting. So maybe you missed this gem from MLB — when the Mets tried to wear their FDNY, NYPD, PAPD hats during the game, the hats were literally, physically taken away from the team.

Read that last sentence again. Not only were the players told not to wear them, and threatened with fines if they did, MLB literally took the hats away after the pre-game tribute so the players couldn’t wear them.

“For all those upset that we didn’t wear the hats, I understand your
anger,” Mets pitcher R.A. Dickey tweeted last night after the game  “However, they physically took them from us after the ceremony.”

There are no words to describe how stupid MLB was in making this decision. Dickey continued.

“We had conspired to wear them but we got found out and MLB got involved.”

You had to conspire to wear them?!

MLB commissioner Bud Selig should have personally handed them to you as you took the field. He, nor anyone in the big office in Manhattan, has even ventured to say why they wouldn’t allow it. Was it due a marketing deal? No profit from selling them, like the American flag hats worn on Memorial Day and July 4?

It doesn’t even matter. There is no discernible reason why the Mets should not have been allowed to wear the hats.

None. Zero. Zip. Zilch.

MLB should apologize not just to the Mets, but also the fans, members of
the police and fire departments in New York and the families of those
lost on 9/11. And they should do it now. Like right now. Not tomorrow,
not in a couple days. Now. Then they should make a substantial donation to various 9/11 charities. That’s a good start — and only a start — to make up for this.

David Wright apparently tried to sneak a hat on in the fourth inning — and had it taken away before the next inning. This isn’t the players’ fault, but they still should have physically made MLB pry the hats from their hands. Walk out onto the field, holding the hat in your hand for the entire crowd to see, and stare down the poor security guy MLB was forcing to wrestle an FDNY hat from your clutches.

Bears linebacker Lance Briggs had threatened to wear American flag gloves and shoes in yesterday’s game and also tweeted that the NFL should be ashamed for threatening to fine him. That league famously fined Peyton Manning for wearing unapproved white cleats to honor Johnny Unitas after his death (coincidentally on Sept. 11, 2002). NFL realized fines was uncalled for in this situation and allowed the players to make any tribute they wanted.

So what was MLB’s problem? And when I say what was MLB’s problem, I don’t mean what was their problem with the players wearing the hats.

I mean what physical ailment caused them to be so stupid.

Follow New York sports editor Mark Osborne on Twitter @MetroNYSports.

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Ed Anzalone lived and grew up in Queens and is proud of his career as a fireman which began in Brooklyn before moving on to Harlem. He had just ended a shift that morning and was home when one plane — then two — slammed into the World Trade Center towers. There was no immediate call for Anzalone or his truck to report to Ground Zero, but as Anzalone watched the smoke pouring from the buildings, he quickly grasped the tragedy.

And as he feared for those in the buildings, the danger his fellow firefighters would face came to light.

“I knew when those buildings were hit, a lot of our guys were going to die that day,” Anzalone told Metro.

Stations in Lower Manhattan were the first to respond, then Midtown and Brooklyn. His station in Harlem waited in frustration for a phone call sending them down to help in the search for survivors. The phone finally rang and his truck drove down to the pile of twisted concrete and rubble the following night.

As Anzalone stood there, surveying the site where two towers stood, the full magnitude of the loss enveloped him. He calls it “tragic” to do this day and “overwhelming.”

“What can you say? You know what will stay with me forever? There were 1,500 people whose remains were never recovered. People, when they knew their loved ones weren’t coming — people had a service or a wake with a closed casket, to get some sort of closure,” Anzalone said. “They found the remains, and they have another service. I never got over that.”

Three hundred and forty-three firefighters were lost. Like his brethren, Anzalone attended more funerals than he can remember. He can’t even begin to count how many friends and people he knew that he lost on that day. There were friends he grew up with, went to academy with, played against in different leagues and of course, the firefighters who befriended him and sought him out at Jets games.

“Going to so many funerals, that was tough,” Anzalone said. “You watch the kids grow up, growing up without a father. You try to do what you can to help, whatever you can.”

And on Sunday, Anzalone’s passion for the Jets came face-to-face with a poignant day for him and those firefighters like him who responded to help save lives. There was never a point where Anzalone didn’t consider spending three hours on Sunday night inside MetLife Stadium as “Fireman Ed.”

“The anniversary of 9/11 will always be with me all year,” Anzalone said. “The sensation you see now, it will leave. The press? They will leave. How I honor that day, remember it — it has nothing to do with football or the game that night.”

Follow Kristian Dyer on Twitter @KristianRDyer for Jets news all season long.

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But those names may not be heard at future 9/11 memorials.

The city and the National September 11 Memorial & Museum board of directors — of which Mayor Michael Bloomberg is the chair — said they will begin surveying family members to see if they want the names of those killed read in future years.

“A decision has not been made and family members will be consulted before one is,” said mayoral spokesman Andrew Brent yesterday.

One proposed idea is that there will still be a ceremony in years to come, just one without the hours of name-reading.

The family members who lost loved ones were mixed on the idea of nixing the names.

“I think it’s important to this family [to read the names],” said Sandy Williams who lost her nephew, Brian Patrick Williams, on 9/11. “I think the name is important because it’s recognizing what they went through.”

But other family members said they wouldn’t mind if the names weren’t read again in future ceremonies.

“I think I’d be okay with it,” said Kelly Mladenik, the daughter of American Airlines Flight 11 passenger Jeffrey Mladenik. “Life goes on, as awful as it is and the cards that are dealt … life goes on.”

We asked:?How do you feel about a discontinuation of the 9/11 name-reading ceremony?

Morell Cole, a Brooklyn resident, lost her uncle in the attacks.
“They’ve said the names for 10 years. I appreciate it and it’s been done, but I think we can move on to different types of ceremonies.”

Kelly Mladenik lost her father on board American Airlines Flight 11.
“Life goes on, as awful as it is and the cards that are dealt … life goes on. We learned to cope and live our lives, the way he’d want us to.”

Andrea Villa lost her sister-in-law, Sharon
“Even though it’s a long time that it takes, we still have a special feeling when we hear her name. One of my children would like to do that — read her name — now that she’s old enough to do it.”

Alonzo Davis lost his brother, Clinton Davis, a Port Authority police officer, in the attacks.
“It’s getting tiring. This will be my last event, the 10th year, because it’s too much, really … drama for the whole family.”

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Industries halted as the world watched the unforgettable images that emanated from Manhattan. Included was Major League Baseball, which suspended play for five days. 
  
On the night of Sept. 21, the Braves and Mets contested the first games in New York City since the attacks. Shea Stadium had a visible police presence.

The game was secondary until the bottom of the eighth inning though.

The Braves had a 2-1 lead and Queens-native Steve Karsay was pitching. Matt Lawton led off the frame for the Mets with a groundout to Rey Sanchez. The next batter, Edgardo Alfonzo, worked a walk before being replaced by pinch-runner Desi Relaford.

To the plate came Mike Piazza.

A decade later, the only relevant detail of the Mets’ 3-2 win is Piazza’s game-winning, two-run home run.

“Certainly, in retrospect, if anyone was going to have a moment for the Mets in those days, it had to be Mike. It absolutely had to be Mike. It typified who he was, what he meant to that team, to be the guy to step forward to deliver the hit that won that game and refocus people, even for the most fleeting second, back to the pennant race,” WFAN Mets radio play-by-play announcer Howie Rose told Metro.

Piazza’s home run has been credited in many circles with helping New York begin to redevelop its sense of normalcy after 9/11.

“One of the functions of sports is to bring people together and help a society heal. And we saw that occur with the games that the Mets and Yankees played after the events of 9/11. I can remember watching those games with a lump in my throat,” professor of Sociology at Queens College and Queensborough Community College Thomas Gorman (no relation to the writer of this story) wrote in an email to Metro.


Piazza caught a ceremonial first pitch from former teammate John Franco prior to the Mets’ game last night.

“I think he has a deeper appreciation for what that night and specifically what that home run meant every year since,” Rose said.

Follow Denis Gorman on Twitter @DenisGorman.

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“I needed to be here to support the families of the victims,” said Angela Forrey, 30, who flew to New York from Cleveland, Ohio, specifically for the memorial service, which she watched from the street. She got to Lower Manhattan early in the morning to secure a spot in the front of the space roped off for public viewing. “It sounds cliche, but I’ll never forget. I wish I could have been here to help.”

Forrey is not alone. Students Denislav Eftimo, 26, and Weichiao Lin, 22, flew from Bulgaria to be in Manhattan for the 10th anniversary.

“When I heard the names,” Eftimo said of his experience. “It felt like I lost someone in my family.”
Jill Gwen and Stanley Bernard, the founding minister and the president of Go Soular, a non-profit religious aid organization, flew in from California.

They wept uncontrollably during the reading of the victims’ names — yet knew no one who perished.
“My heart bleeds for people still in pain,” said Gwen. “We wanted to be a part of history.”

Antonio Ricman was in town from Switzerland.

“I’m really touched by what’s happening today; to see how the families are grieving,” he said. “I understand it’s a very big day for America.”

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By 10:03 a.m. — the moment when the Boeing 757 passenger jet slammed into the field in Shanksville, Pa. — the sun warmed the faces of those who marked the anniversary.

President Barack Obama arrived at midday to lay a wreath.

The president and the first lady, Michelle Obama, walked to the boulder that marks the approximate site where the airplane crashed and then spent about 45 minutes talking with family members of the passengers and crew members who died.

Flight 93, bound for San Francisco from Newark, N.J., never hit its intended target — investigators believe the hijackers were planning to crash into either the U.S. Capitol or the White House — because some of the passengers stormed the cockpit and attempted, unsuccessfully, to regain control of the aircraft.

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett said their actions, which caused the plan to crash, “set a new standard for American bravery.”

Paul Greengrass, who directed a feature film about Flight 93, said the passengers’ achievement seems even more extraordinary today than it was a decade ago.

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“So many names, there is barely room on the walls of the heart.”
Former Poet Laureate Billy Collins, “The Names,” read by former New York Gov. George Pataki at the service

“Moira sacrificed all that she had and all the richness of life that still lay in front of her in order to save just one more person. Moira was killed when the south tower collapsed … Today, we choose to remember and share the joy Moira brought to all of us, and we vow that she will always live in our hearts.”
Retired New York Police officer James Smith, whose wife, New York Police officer Moira Smith, was killed on Sept. 11, 2001, speaking in New York

“May your soul finally rest in peace. Your son Nathan and I, as the years go by, grow strong. Goodbye, my dear friend, my teacher and my hero.”
Candy Glazer, whose husband Edmund Glazer was a passenger on American Airlines Flight 11, speaking at the memorial service in New York

“For our family, Steve, the sound of your absence is deafening but I think you would agree that both our children have lived the lives we had hoped for. I am missing you now more than ever as I watch our son with our grandson Nicholas who was born just a little more than two weeks ago. With birth, there is hope.”
Jane Pollicino, whose husband Steve Pollicino died in the World Trade Center, speaking at the memorial service in New York

“God bless every soul that we lost. God bless the families who have to endure that loss, and God guide us to our reunion in heaven, and God bless the United States of America.”
Former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, speaking at the memorial service in New York

“We never had a funeral because there was no body, so there was absolutely no closure. When we came out here 10 years ago, there was a hole in the earth and that’s how we felt. Now, 10 years later, there is grass and water, and it feels kind of like a new beginning.”
Dakota Hale of Denver, whose stepfather Alfred Marchand was a flight attendant on United Flight 175, speaking outside the memorial service in New York

“My son firefighter Leon Smith Jr., who was the sunshine of my life. He gave his life so that others could live. I love you, I miss you and we’ll meet again soon.”
Irene Smith, whose son was a member of the Fire Department of New York Ladder Co. 118, speaking at the memorial service in New York

“Roy, you left the girls and I surrounded by love. Our families and friends have been amazing. We love you and we miss you so much.”
Susan Wallace, whose husband Roy Wallace died in the World Trade Center, speaking at the memorial service in New York

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The memorial officially opened yesterday at the Sept. 11 ceremony, but only family members of those who perished in the attacks were allowed in.

Today the memorial opens, but only to those visitors who have reserved passes in advance. Sign up began back in July for the more than 1,000 visitors expected to stream into the site daily.

Along the memorial walls yesterday, which are inscribed with the names of those killed, some family members touched their relatives’ names and left flowers by the etched letters. Many rubbed over the names with white paper and pencil.

One family member spoke privately to Metro about her satisfaction at finally seeing the long-awaited memorial completed.

“We were finally able to have a little bit of rest because we saw her name at the waterfall and they never had found her. So it was something for us to go on,” said Andrea Villa, a Long Island resident whose husband’s sister, Sharon Villa, died in the 9/11 attacks. Sharon Villa is one of the nearly 1,000 9/11 victims whose remains were never recovered.

The National September 11 Museum, which is located on the memorial, is slated to open in one year, in September 2012.

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Responders told Metro that hearing the names of those killed brought back vivid scenes of helping — and being helpless.

“I saw the south tower fall first, which blew me into One Financial Center,” recalled first responder Kevin Frazier, who said he was one of the first at the foot of the World Trade Center as the two towers burned.

He comes every year to the service to pay his respects, he said, and remember.

Upstate paramedic Jeff Sitterly arrived the week after Sept. 11 to help firefighters as they combed through the wreckage. “At that point we were just there for the recovery,” he said.

He tries to attend the memorial services every year. “It’s been very emotional for me to be here, and it’s something I feel like I should do as often as I can.”

Some responders like FDNY veteran James O’Brien, moved to Florida after the 9/11 attacks, where his wife Tina said she now feels safe. They returned to the city for the anniversary. “There’s no place else,” she said. 

Watching outside the walls

Many responders were upset they could not attend the actual ceremony. Mayor Michael Bloomberg said family members were the priority, and so many of them wanted to attend it left little room for anyone else. First responders instead gathered at Zuccotti Park near the World Trade Center, where the city set aside space for them to watch. The FDNY also hosted their own 10-year anniversary ceremony Saturday at St. Pat­rick’s Cathedral. Others chose to honor the 343 fallen at their own fire houses. The NYPD held its memorial ceremony Thursday. 

The post First responders join to remember victims appeared first on Metro.us.

“It’s been hard for the family. I moved out of the country for six years because of 9/11,” said Shana Skinner.

Skinner, a New York City resident, recalled lifting the miniblinds in the window of her Manhattan apartment just in time to see the second plane crash into the South Tower. It’s a memory that is just as vivid today as it was on Sept. 12, 2001.

Her uncle, Walter Arthur McNeil, was killed that day.

It’s still too painful for McNeil’s daughter to attend the memorial service, said Skinner.

“His daughter is still going through it,” she said. “That’s why she’s not here today.”

It is not just family members of victims who continue to be profoundly moved by the memory of 9/11. Sunday’s service drew people from across the country and across the world who came to mourn the lives lost that day.

“It’s been like this for 10 years,” said Ernesto Perez of the intense emotion connected to the date of 9/11. He traveled to New York City from Placerville, Calif., to mark the anniversary.

“I just wanted to feel whatever it is we all feel in mourning,” he said.

Outside the ceremony in the public viewing area, firefighter James Brady, a New Jersey resident, was one of the first responders to the scene on 9/11. He cried openly yesterday as the names of the dead were read.

“Year to year, it doesn’t get any easier,” he said. “But it’s not about us.”

Sunday’s ceremony at the World Trade Center began just after 8:30 a.m. with a processional.

President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama were joined by former President George W. Bush and former first lady Laura Bush.

Bells tolled during moments of silence observed throughout the morning to mark each time a plane struck a tower, the Pentagon, the field in Shanksville, Pa., and when each tower fell.

The name of each victim was read aloud by family members in between performances by musicians including Yo-Yo Ma, James Taylor and Paul Simon.  Thousands of people migrated in and around the World Trade Center to observe the ceremony, many of them clutching photos of loved ones who were lost, but not forgotten.

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1: Esther Carpenter raised $1,200 for the FDNY Burn Center and ran the race in 2:15.

2: Rob Hawthorn raised $2,000 for the Semper Fi Fund and came in 27th place overall.

3: Sean Smith raised $1,500. He completed the race in 2:49.

The post 9/11 Metro Challenge appeared first on Metro.us.

The terror threat concerns a possible vehicle-borne attack, sponsored by al-Qaeda, against New York or Washington.

President Barack Obama met with his national security team yesterday morning, to review the intelligence and ensure U.S. officials were pursuing all possible leads, Brennan said.

Over the weekend, the NYPD investigated the theft of three vans in possible connection with the terror threat, as two of the vans were stolen from a contracting company that did work at the World Trade Center site.

One of the vans was recovered yesterday in Queens. Police believe it was stolen not for terrorism purposes, but rather for the $60,000 worth of tools and equipment inside.

Police in Massachusetts yesterday also canceled a statewide search for a rental truck after it was found.

On Saturday night, someone saw men loading 55-gallon drums into a Penske truck and called police, who then raced to find the truck.

But it was determined that the truck was merely picking up charitable goods and donations, from different parts of the city, according to Boston police.

The post 9/11 over, terror threat still stands appeared first on Metro.us.

Wilkerson was learning for the first time about the terrorist attacks taking place on that day, Sept. 11.

His hometown in Union County, N.J. is located 20 odd miles from the site where the World Trade Center towers used to stand and Wilkerson remembers sitting at his desk, watching on television as the devastation unfolded. Three members of the Jets lived in New Jersey at that time and Wilkerson was the closest of them all. He didn’t lose any family or friends on that day, but the senselessness of it all is still something the defensive end can’t wrap his arms around.

“Just being here, near New York, I mean, Jersey is close, it just really sort of shook you,” Wilkerson told Metro. “It was really disturbing news. It didn’t make sense then; it doesn’t make any more sense now to tell you the truth.”

Wilkerson sat in school, watching the events unfold. On the cusp of being a teenager, it didn’t make sense what he was seeing and like the rest of the nation, he wasn’t sure what was going to happen next. Parents were rushing to school to pick up classmates as everyone cautiously waited to see what was the next piece of news to break.

Later that night, Wilkerson drew strength from his parents after the confusion of the day.

“My parents were talking to me, telling me to have faith, to keep my faith central and strong,” Wilkerson said. “It saddened me that day, to see so many people go to work and lose their lives, to see all the devastation.”

To the south, one of Wilkerson’s future teammates was going through similar emotions.

In Camden County, in the tiny town of Sicklerville, N.J., Shonn Greene was then a sophomore in high school as he too watched the aftermath of the attacks from school. Teachers rolled televisions to the front of the classroom for the students to watch and Greene sat there, transfixed as smoke poured from buildings and eventually, he saw the Twin Towers fall.

Greene remembers the thoughts and his emotions of fear to this day. Being in South Jersey, he didn’t know much about the Twin Towers at the time, but was still shocked at what he was watching.

“I didn’t understand it, why people would do that to other people but as I watched, I learned more about it,” Greene said. “It was sad to see so many people die there that day and it is something I still just can’t fully understand.”

It is a somber mood that translates to the rest of the team as the team works its way towards Sunday’s home opener against the Cowboys, played on the 10th anniversary of the attacks. Last week, the Jets visited Ground Zero following an event in New York City, and the players had the chance to absorb the site and the monumental loss of life.

“It was special, because I think for a guy like me who was on the West Coast at the time, I really didn’t get a chance to see it up close. When you go there, there’s a certain aura that you have when you stand there and you just imagine that day and just the chaos and everything that so many families and people went through,” running back LaDainian Tomlinson said. “It just gave you that feeling that you’re special. You’re lucky to be standing on that spot but at the same time you’re special because you get a chance to do something that a lot of people don’t get to do. But it’s very humbling at the same time.”

Tomlinson’s remarks echo a similar sentiment to what his teammates have been saying, but Sunday means a bit more for the Jersey boys on the Jets.

After all, in the days and weeks following the attacks, the region was transfixed by the search and recovery efforts at Ground Zero. Headlines every day provided updated death tolls and stories of lives found and those lost. Wilkerson said his aunt, who works in New York City, lost friends in the terrorist attack.

Much like his head coach, who on Monday said the significance of the game “is stronger than any game I’ve ever felt,” Wilkerson will play with some extra motivation on Sunday night.

“For me, I just want to go out there and play – play as if I was playing for all the people who lost loved ones that day,” Wilkerson said. “That’s how I want to play.”

Follow Jets beat writer Kristian Dyer on Twitter @KristianRDyer.

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Blake Rymer, Etowah, TN: So much has changed in 10 years, I’m so proud to be an American! I hope we all can reflect back on that day, and remember the sacrifices that have been made and will continue to be. Thank you to all the troops who have served and will serve!

Per Mikael Jensen, London, UK: Will never, ever forget, for obvious reasons. Having visited NYC probably 40 times it really was incomprehensible to watch the footage coming out of NYC, just could not believe the pictures. Till this day, passing by Ground Zero every time I’m in NYC, always makes me stop for a while and think about all these people who either died or lost their beloved ones or friends. Ground Zero made a lot of sense as a place to mourn. It will forever be one of the strongest Landmarks to me.

Luisa Caro-Taveras, Bronx, NY: sigh..10 yrs still seems unreal. I can remember that morning, as if it were yesterday….and the days that followed, how hope became despair & then hope again; when strangers became friendly faces & we all shared the same pain and the same strength. All those beautiful souls watch over us now.

Troy Moslemi, New York, NY: My son’s due date was on 9/11, and I was at a court hearing trying to get a case continued so I could attend the birth of my son. A few minutes before 9am, I was listening to a Miami DJ talk about an “airplane accident” in New York, but I had to rush into the courthouse to be at the hearing on time. There was horrible traffic heading toward the hospital from downtown after the hearing. Another lawyer later told me that the Miami police had gone into every tall building downtown and told people they had to leave.

Nicole Nordeste, Northeastern: This is one of the only days in my life for which I can say I remember exactly where I was, what I was doing and what I saw on TV. I wish I could say that about something to celebrate…but this was and is an incredible tragedy. My ongoing condolences to the families of the men and women who were lost on 9/11.

Michael Meloni, Astoria, NY: I was a Freshman in high school that year. My second full day of classes. I could see Manhattan from the North side of my school. the shades were drawn in the morning due to the sun but in the afternoon I will never forget seeing the cloud of smoke billowing from downtown. It is hard to believe 10 years have passed and I will never forget those people who lost their lives for each and every one of us. I have also watched the cleanup and rebuilding of the WTC site. It will one day be a beautiful place again. For all of those watching down on us may God Bless You and God Bless America!

Michael Gregor, Philadelphia, PA: I remember 5-6 fraternity brothers cramped into my room listening to Howard Stern (who far and away had the best coverage that morning) describe the carnage in tragic and horrifying detail. No one even drank that night, we just stared up at a quiet, motionless sky. Never forget.

Jennifer Utterback, Mexico City, Mexico: Being an American living abroad for the last 16 yrs, didn´t make it any less painfull, as I remember getting out of the shower and thinking that some “pilot” had made a terrible wrong decision. I still remember going to my office in Mexico and crying as I cont´d to watch the coverage with huge speculation and looking to make some sense out the unthinkable. My heart went out and continues to go out to all of the families´. The amazing display of courage and solidarity is the only lesson I can find in this great tragedy.

Annmariee Heeran, Belle Harbor, NY: Never Forget my brother Charles Frances Xavier Heeran…Tower 1..Cantor Fitzgerld…GOD BLESS all the 9-11 Families. I lost my brother when I was a junior in college…hard to believe it will be 10 years! My wish is to have one more conversation with him to tell him I love him. I would never in my life think this would happen to my family. This has changed me so much. LIVE, LAUGH & LOVE! NEVER FORGET!

Demetra Balodimas, Queens, NY: I was working in Manhattan at the time, and remember walking over the bridge with my sister who was pregnant…trying to keep her calm, but really not knowing what would happen next, kind of frozen. I grew up being able to see the Twin Towers from Queens, and at that moment it was like all those memories were erased. What I do remember clearly though on that day, and the days following 9-11, was that New York suddently became a very small town, where people said good morning to strangers and held the door for each other…it was weird…but really nice… and it made me proud to be a New Yorker. My heart goes out to all the grieving families on this 10th anniversary…

Erik McKay, New York, NY: Ten years ago I was running for my life some 6 blocks away, knowing that my ex-girlfriend, whom we were still friends worked for Cantor, Jacqueline P. Sanchez. I even applied for a job there myself 2 years before. But morei importantly she lost her life and I think about her everyday. Sometimes, I still cry wishing things were so much different. She is my inspiration to keep moving on, keep living and loving. 10 years still feel like 10 days ago.

The post 9/11: Your reflections appeared first on Metro.us.

This illustration, commissioned by Metro, shows people of different backgrounds, colors and cultures coming together to remember September 11.

On the other side of the illustration, you will find the names of all the people who lost their lives that day.

“In our opinion, its people that are important, not buildings,” the pair wrote about their drawing. “These are the people that make New York special.”

Find it in today’s Metro!

Learn more about the artists here.

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The post PHOTOS: The Tribute in Light ahead of 9/11 anniversary appeared first on Metro.us.

Here is a schedule of some events happening at colleges in NYC, Boston and Philadelphia.

NYU

9/11 Arts: A Decade Later

This event commemorates the 10th anniversary with an art exhibit that includes works by first responders and other populations directly impacted by the terrorist attacks.  In addition, the exhibit space will include interactive components for viewers who wish to become more deeply immersed in their own feelings and reflections about 9/11. It will run Sept 11 through Sept 18.

Columbia University

Ten Years After: The Legacy of 9/11 in American Culture

The Center for American Studies at Columbia University presents a discussion introduced by Adam Kirsch and moderated by Sam Tanenhaus with Deborah Eisenberg, Claire Messud, Joseph O’Neill, and George Packer. It will be held on September 11 at 5 p.m. in the Italian Academy at Columbia University. This event is free and open to the public.

CUNY

Responses to 9/11

A panel discussion sponsored by the CUNY Dispute Resolution Consortium at John Jay College that will focus on responses 9/11 and on the design of the National 9/11 Memorial Museum. Participants will include the team who telescoped and contained the traumatic and grieving stories of families, first responders, survivors, etc. into museum space. It will happen on September 11 at 5 p.m. at Haaren Hall.

Boston College

“The Guys” to Commemorate 9/11

A staged reading of Anne Nelson’s powerful play, “The Guys,” which honors New York City firefighters, will be presented to commemorate the 10th anniversary of 9/11. It will happen on September 11 at 7 p.m. in Gasson 100.

Emerson College

9/11 remembrance vigil

This is the longest running vigil in remembrance of 9/11 in Boston. In addition to the Emerson community, students from other Boston-area colleges, as well as 4th graders from Boston grade schools, will be attending. It will happen on September 11 at 7:30 p.m. at the Bandstand on Boston Common.

Harvard University

9/11 Interfaith Community Service Project

In conjunction with a diverse group of Harvard faculty, staff, and student groups, as well as local congregations and organizations, the Humanist Chaplaincy at Harvard is organizing an interfaith community service event to package 9,110 nutritious meals to be distributed to food-insecure children in the Boston area. The event will take place on September 11 at 5 p.m. in Ticknor Lounge at Boylston Hall, in Harvard Yard.

Drexel University

9/11 Remembrance Event

Through Thursday, September 15, 2011 members of the Drexel community are encouraged to add written messages inspired by the anniversary to a banner that will be set up in the lobby of the Drexel Recreation Center. Also, a display case near the front desk in the Creese Student Center will be dedicated to a memorial to the Drexel alumni who died in the attacks— Timothy P. Soulas ‘89 and Charles E. Sabin ‘69.

University of Pennsylvania

Making a Monument: The World Trade Center

Like monuments in all ages, the World Trade Center has had its meaning defined and changed several times in response to the needs, expectations, and memories of the people. Dr. David Brownlee, Shapiro-Weitzenhoffer Professor of the History of Art at Penn, recounts the story of the World Trade Center as he explores the making of monuments in the modern world. This event will happen at 1 p.m. on September 11 at Penn Museum.

Rosemont College

Recognizing the 10th anniversary of September 11

The offices of Campus Ministry, Student Life and College Relations invite Rosemont College students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends to serve the community and honor those we lost in remembrance of the 10th anniversary of the September 11th attacks. There will be a Mass and candlelight vigil to remember the fallen and honor those still serving on September 11 at 7 p.m. in the Immaculate Conception Chapel.

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She had her hand on the throttle of an F-16 and she had her orders: Bring down United Airlines Flight 93. The day’s fourth hijacked airliner seemed to be hurtling toward Washington. Penney, one of the first two combat pilots in the air that morning, was told to stop it.

The terrorist attacks were unfolding so quickly, that there was no time to arm the jets with the proper ammo. They were still armed with dummy bullets from a training mission. It would have taken an hour to properly arm the planes.

“We wouldn’t be shooting it down. We’d be ramming the aircraft,” Penney told the Washington Post. “I would essentially be a kamikaze pilot.”

Penney, who was the first female F-16 pilot at the 121st Fighter Squadron of the D.C. Air National Guard, said she knew it was war as soon as she heard a second plane struck the second tower.

The pilots were hoping there would be a moment just before impact to eject, but nothing was certain. They never got that far, though. United Airlines Flight 93 went down near Shanksville, Pennsylvania before the pilots reached it.

Penney, who is now a major, credits the passengers aboard that flight as the real heroes. She too, though, was ready and willing to sacrifice her own life on that fateful day.

“I genuinely believed that was going to be the last time I took off,” she told the Post. “If we did it right, this would be it.”

The post Heather Penney: The untold would-be suicide mission on 9/11 appeared first on Metro.us.

NYPD announced Thursday they will be increasing security around New York City as U.S. Intelligence officials picked up information about a possible terror attack on or near the 10th anniversary of 9/11.

Janice Fedarcyk, head of the FBI’s New York office declined to provide details of the threat, including its origin.

Bloomberg said that while the threat is being taken seriously, New Yorkers should go about their business and “refuse to be intimidated.”

“I plan to be on the subway tomorrow morning,” he said.

He did, however, urge the public to remember that if they “see something, say something” and report any suspicious packages or activities.

Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said he plans on increasing patrols and the towing of illegally parked cars. He said there will also be more bomb-sniffing dogs and increased security on bridges and tunnels, according to the Associated Press.

Kelly said that there will be increased bag checks on the subway as well as additional vehicle check points.

“As we know from intelligence gathered from the Osama bin Laden raid, Al Qaeda has shown an interest in important dates and anniversaries, such as 9/11,” Department of Homeland Security spokesman Matt Chandler said in a statement. “In this instance, it’s accurate that there is specific, credible but unconfirmed threat information.”

Governor Andrew Cuomo released a statement Thursday stating that law enforcement agencies were in constant contact with federal and local agencies.

“All New Yorkers should be cautious and aware as we prepare to commemorate the 9/11 anniversary,” he said. “However, there is no reason to panic or allow our spirit of freedom to dampened as we get ready to celebrate the opening of the Ground Zero site this weekend.”

President Barack Obama and former President George W. Bush are set to attend the official 9/11 ceremony at Ground Zero on Sunday, and security was already expected to be tight downtown.

“We have pulled together as a country, and I think one of the things we’ve learned is that if we can get rid of the partisanship and focus on working together, this country – and I think this City in particular – is able to do anything,” Bloomberg concluded his speech.

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