9/11 Memorials Unfold Amid Coronavirus Pandemic

NEW YORK CITY — A pair of national tragedies — the Sept. 11 terror attacks and the ongoing coronavirus pandemic — soon will converge in New York City.

On Friday, it will be 19 years since the former World Trade Center’s towers fell, the Pentagon burned and Flight 93 crashed into a field.

Memorials that day will honor the 2,983 people who were killed in those attacks, as they have every year since. They’ll also unfold amid the coronavirus pandemic that has so far claimed 190,000 lives across the country and claimed the city as its epicenter.

COVID-19 nearly scuttled memorial services and iconic “Tribute In Light” at the World Trade Center site. But they will go on.

Here’s how New York City will honor the victims of the 9/11 attack, as well as those who died in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.

9/11 Memorial Commemoration

Every year, beginning at about 8:30 a.m. the National September 11 Memorial & Museum holds its the official memorial. Family members have read the names of those lost beginning at 8:46 a.m. after a moment of silence, when the first plane struck the the north tower in 2001.

But this year, the Memorial will be different to avoid spreading the new coronavirus.

“This year, the names, read by family members, will be broadcast via speakers placed at multiple locations across the Memorial plaza,” the Memorial’s website states. “Families may choose to stand near their loved ones’ names on the Memorial pools or sit on benches under the trees, without fear of being too close to others, as they listen. The names they will hear were beautifully and lovingly recorded by family members for the Museum’s memorial exhibition, In Memoriam, which honors—with emotion and devotion—every individual killed in the 9/11 and 1993 attacks.”

The decision prompted Tunnel to Towers — a foundation that supports first responders — to organize their own live reading of names near Ground Zero. This alternative event will be attended by Vice President Mike Pence and Second Lady Karen Pence, a foundation release stated.

“The horrific loss of life, from the largest attack on US soil, a terrorist attack, requires that we read these names out loud, in person, on this day, every year. We can never minimize that fateful day,” said Frank Siller, the foundation’s chairman and CEO, in a statement. Siller lost his brother FDNY Firefighter Stephen Siller in the attack.

Tribute In Light

The twin beams of light commemorating the fallen World Trace Center towers will shine Friday night.

Coronavirus concerns once threatened to blot out the display — and Tunnel to Towers also promised to carry on the tradition — but it was resurrected after an outcry and Gov. Andrew Cuomo stepped in.

“The sheer volume of calls to shine the Tribute in Light on the 19th anniversary was humbling,” said Alice M. Greenwald, the Memorial & Museum’s president and CEO, in a statement. ‘There were multiple offers of assistance to help us stage the tribute in a safe and appropriate fashion and mitigate the legitimate anxieties of the production team and technicians. Governor Andrew Cuomo agreed to provide resources, including health personnel, to help ensure the safety of the crew and production staff. We are now able to go forward as a result of this outpouring of concern and good will, with confidence that we are not placing anyone at personal risk.”

The lights will shine up from Lower Manhattan from dusk Sept. 11 until dawn Sept. 12.

The Museum

The 9/11 Memorial Museum will open only to 9/11 family members on Friday.

The following day it will reopen to the public after a months-long closure,the museum’s website states.

All Museum tickets — whether for the family event or the five-day-a-week reopening — must be purchased in advance for social distancing, according to the website.

For more information about the 9/11 Memorial & Museum click here.