In order to ensure the safety of all, Borough President James Oddo will host a virtual 9/11 Memorial Ceremony to remember the Staten Islanders we lost 19 years ago and to pay tribute to those First Responders who have subsequently died from their service at Ground Zero on Friday, Sept. 11, 2020 at 6:30 PM.
This live-streamed virtual ceremony will reflect the performances of previous years’ ceremonies, reading of the names of the Staten Islanders who were lost on 9/11, as well as a reading of the names of the First Responders who have perished since that day by family and friends, recorded last week. A new video tribute will honor those we lost.
This ceremony can be viewed at 6:30 PM on our website statenislandusa.com/Sept11, on our Facebook Page @StatenIslandUSA, or on our YouTube Channel youtube.com/SIUSABP. It can also be viewed on Staten Island CTV.
As always, the Postcards Memorial site and the Staten Island First Responders Memorial is open to the public and will be so on Friday, September 11th. While at the site, masks must be worn and social distancing must be practiced. We will have designated times for both quiet reflection and socially distanced gathering on that day for those who wish to visit:
- 9am to 12pm: Site open for quiet reflection
- 12pm to 6:30pm: Site open; roses available from Borough Hall staff to be laid on the monument; musical selections playing nearby from past memorial ceremonies, designed to bring comfort
- 6:30pm: The names of those lost will be read by family members and friends via broadcast on television screens at the memorial site; following the Tribute Readings, the Memorial Tribute Video will also play
- 7pm: Quiet reflection, monument lit in red, white and blue
We want to extend a special thank you to those who have read the names of those we lost, which will be a very special part of this year’s virtual ceremony.
“As you know, it will be my great honor to host the Staten Island 9/11 Memorial Ceremony again this year, although we will do so virtually, as that is the only way to ensure the safety of all,” noted Borough President Oddo. “Although the event will be in a different format for this year, we will still join together to honor those we lost on that terrible day 19 years ago, and the First Responders who have passed since then as a result of their bravery on that day and in the days that followed. COVID-19 has presented us with an extraordinary challenge this year. We want to thank you for your understanding and cooperation and look forward to a time when we can be together again. Right now, I truly hope you find solace in the arrangements we have made.”
Please note that virtual ceremony will not be played at the site. The virtual ceremony, in its entirety, is available via the Internet and CTV.