Friday marks the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, which killed 2,977 people aboard two hijacked commercial airplanes that flew into the World Trade Center in New York City, aboard a United Airlines flight that crashed into a farm field in Shanksville, Penn., and when a fourth American Airlines plane crashed into the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.
Pictured Above: Led by members of the Greenport Fire Department, a hefty crew of North Fork volunteer firefighters took their annual six-mile hike, in full turnout gear, from the Greenport Firehouse to the townwide Sept. 11 memorial service at Jean Cochran Park in Southold in 2025.
Long Islanders have many close connections to the attack in New York — many city firefighters and employees at the World Trade Center called Long Island home, and many local fire departments responded to assist with the recovery efforts that day and in the weeks after the attacks.
Pieces of steel from the World Trade Center have become monuments throughout Long Island, and many will be the sites of commemorations on Sept. 11. Below are the details of local commemorations we’ve been able to confirm so far. All of these events are free and open to the public.
We will update this post if we receive more information. (If you have more details, please email them to us at editor@eastendbeacon.com)
Riverhead
Riverhead Town will hold its annual memorial ceremony, led by Town Clerk Jim Wooten, at 10 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 11 at the Calverton 9/11 Memorial at the corner of Edwards Ave. and Riley Ave. Town hall will have a delayed 11:30 opening so town employees can attend.
The Sound Park Heights Civic Association hosts its annual Candlelight Walk and Remembrance on Sept. 11. A procession will begin at 6 p.m. from Marine Street in Reeves Park and proceed to the 9/11 Memorial Park on Sound Avenue and Lt. Thomas Kelly Memorial Road (Park Road).
Flanders
The Flanders Fire Department also holds an annual memorial service at the Flanders Memorial Park on Flanders Road and Fanning Road at 6 p.m.
Calverton
Twenty-five years after the September 11 attacks, volunteers from Long Island and the surrounding area will gather at Calverton National Cemetery on Sept. 12 to take part in a one-day nationwide event designed to turn remembrance into action, Carry The Load’s “9/11 Day of Service & Remembrance.”
Calverton National Cemetery is one of the largest cemeteries in the U.S., holding the resting place of over 300,000 veterans and their family members. Volunteers will be joined by Carry The Load’s COO Matt Fryman and Under Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Memorial Affairs Samuel Brown as they restore headstones and beautify the grounds. It is a tangible act to honor the nearly 3,000 people who lost their lives on Sept. 11, 2001, as well as the military members and first responders who answered the distress call in the days and years that followed.
The event is organized by Carry The Load in partnership with G.E.H.A. and the National Cemetery Administration. Participation is free, family-friendly and open to the public. Registration is required at CarryTheLoad.org/patriot-day.
Southold
The Southold Town Fire Chiefs’ Council will hold its remembrance ceremony on Sept. 11 at Jean Cochran Park on Peconic Lane in Peconic. Attendees will gather beginning at 5 p.m., with the official ceremonies to start at 6 p.m.
The Southold 9/11 Memorial Committee and members of the community place 2,977 American flags throughout the park prior to the ceremony in honor of the people who were killed in the terrorist attacks.
During the ceremony, members of the Mattituck, Cutchogue, Southold, Greenport, East Marion, Orient, Plum Island, Fishers Island, and Shelter Island Fire Departments will pay their respects and lay wreaths honoring the fallen.
•CAST in Southold will host a special screening of “9/11: An American Requiem,” a documentary presented by the Stony Brook WTC Health & Wellness Program, this Friday, Sept. 11 at 3 p.m. The film features firsthand stories from 9/11 responders whose experiences continue to shape our collective memory. Find Out More about this event.
Southampton
The Southampton Fire Department will hold a memorial ceremony at 470 Hampton Road, beginning at 8:15 a.m., with prayers, music and remarks by fire department personnel through 10:28 am., the time the North Tower collapsed. Here’s a schedule of events.
East Hampton
The East Hampton Town Fire Chiefs Association is slated to hold its annual memorial service at American Legion Post 419 in East Hampton on Sept. 11 at 6 p.m.
Greenport
The Greenport Fire Department will hold a ceremony of remembrance at the Third Street Firehouse at 11 a.m. on September 11.
The retired FDNY fireboat Fire Fighter, which responded on September 11, 2001, will be on the pier in Greenport offering tours at least through Maritime Festival Weekend (Sept. 26-27).
Sag Harbor
Sag Harbor’s Old Whalers’ Church will be open “for personal or quiet prayer from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sept. 11.
“All are welcome to drop by for silent prayer and remembrance,” according to the church.
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