At the 9/11 memorial, remembrance turns to the next generation

Twenty-five years after the attacks of September 11, 2001, Sunset Park gathered at the Living Memorial Grove for an evening commemoration honoring those who died and those who still live with the consequences of that day.

Police officers joined the ceremony as photographs of people connected to the community who died in the tragedy stood as testimony to a profound loss. A guest book also offered a place to leave words and memories.

The commemoration began with a prayer from Rev. Felix Burgos, who spoke of those who died as a community of brothers and sisters and asked for strength to remain united. Capt. Mobeen Yasin of the NYPD’s 72nd Precinct then shared his memories of that day and the weeks that followed, recalling neighbors, small businesses, police officers and firefighters coming together to help one another.

For Yasin, that solidarity is a fundamental part of what must not be lost. He recalled businesses near the World Trade Center providing water, food, clothing and other supplies to people working in the area, and spoke about colleagues who died and the families they left behind.

State Sen. Andrew Gounardes turned the remembrance toward another question: What happens when those who lived through that moment begin to become a minority among New Yorkers? He noted that many people living in New York today were not in the city in 2001 and that millions had not yet been born.

“We have the responsibility to make sure the younger generation of New Yorkers understands the tragedies that occurred that day,” Gounardes said. “More and more young people are growing up without their own memories of September 11, and Sunset Park’s Living Memorial Grove gives us a place to come together and honor those we lost. It’s up to all of us who remember that day to keep telling those stories and pass that history down to the next generation.”

New York State Sen. Stephen Chan, a retired NYPD sergeant, focused on what came after the attacks.

“I’ll never forget September 12th, September 13th, and the 14th, and the following weeks and months,” Chan said. “We put our differences aside and everybody came together.”

That spirit of mutual care, he said, is part of what people should remember.

That emphasis on solidarity carried through other remarks. Kim Council, speaking on behalf of Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, recalled how the pain also produced a sense of unity rarely seen. Council spoke of people running toward danger to save others while everyone else tried to get to safety, and of how the community supported one another after the tragedy.

Council Member Alexa Avilés similarly focused her remarks on memory, sacrifice and a community’s responsibility to remain united.

Pat Ruiz, first vice chairperson of Brooklyn Community Board 7, recalled working in Lutheran Medical Center’s Community Relations Department and serving on its emergency management team that day, when staff prepared for a large influx of injured people that never came. She remembered how quickly people reached out to one another, asking, “What do you need?” and “How can I help?” Even “a hug, a nod, or even a shared glance,” she said, offered a measure of comfort.

Jerry Chan, CB7 treasurer and a board member of the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, brought the focus back to younger generations and the importance of teaching children what happened.

“Most kids today weren’t even born yet, so if they don’t hear the story from us, history dies with our generation. It only stays alive if the next one carries it,” Chan said.

For Chan, remembrance should not be limited to an annual ceremony. It also means teaching, serving and thanking police officers, firefighters and veterans throughout the year.

“One ceremony a year isn’t enough. Appreciation has to be a habit, not a holiday,” he said.

That focus on younger generations stood in contrast to the audience: relatively few young people were present. The crowd was substantial but consisted mainly of adults, community leaders, park workers, police officers and people who retain direct memories of that day.

Their limited presence left an open question: How do you pass on a historical experience to people who have no memory of it themselves?

Melissa del Valle Ortiz, founder of the 9/11 Living Memorial Grove of Brooklyn committee, spoke about keeping the site active as a place of healing. Her work now includes grief and PTSD, veterans and first responders, and people affected by 9/11 loss and illness. The trees themselves serve as a 9/11 memorial, and some have QR codes explaining their significance.

“The goal is moving forward, not holding on to the past. We move forward together,” she said.

Twenty-five years later, the Sunset Park commemoration was not only a look back. It was also an effort to decide what to do with that memory. The photographs, the guest book and the stories of those who were there help keep the remembrance alive. But the larger challenge may lie elsewhere: making sure those born afterward also want to know these stories and, one day, become the people who tell them.