New York State Marks 25 Years Since the September 11 Attacks

New York State carries September 11, 2001, differently than the rest of the country. It happened here, in Lower Manhattan, on a morning that started with clear skies and an ordinary commute for thousands of people heading into work.

Twenty-five years later, on September 11, 2026, that morning still shapes the state in ways time has not worn down. This year's anniversary is not just another marker on the calendar. It is a quarter century, and across New York, from the sidewalks of Lower Manhattan to fire stations in the Southern Tier, communities are pausing to remember.

World Trade Center Towers Struck by Hijacked Planes

As thousands of people filed into the World Trade Center that morning, none of them could have known what was coming. American Airlines Flight 11 slammed into the north tower at 8:46 a.m., tearing a hole through the building that stretched from the 93rd to the 99th floors. Seventeen minutes later, at 9:03 a.m., a second hijacked plane hit the south tower, crashing into the 77th through 85th floors as the world watched live on television.

Pentagon Attacked in Arlington, Virginia

New York was not alone that morning. About a half hour after the second plane struck the south tower, American Airlines Flight 77 slammed into the west side of the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, tearing into the building before its fuel tanks ignited into two massive fireballs.

Flight 93 Crashes in a Pennsylvania Field

A fourth hijacked plane, United Airlines Flight 93, went down in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Investigators and historians believe the plane was headed for a target in Washington, D.C., and that the passengers aboard fought back before it reached its destination.

New York Firefighters Still Carry 9/11's Weight

For New York's fire and rescue community, September 11 never really ended. The FDNY lost 343 members that morning, and in the 25 years since, more than 400 additional firefighters have died from illnesses linked to the toxins they breathed in at Ground Zero. Every year, the department adds more names to that second list. This year, the FDNY is marking the 25th anniversary with a yearlong commemoration, including a ceremony at Staten Island's FerryHawks Stadium on September 9 and the traditional Tribute in Light rising over Lower Manhattan on the night of September 11.

Twenty-Five Years Later, New York State Continues to Remember

Nearly 3,000 people lost their lives on September 11, 2001, and hundreds more have died in the years since because of the attacks. Some victims are still being identified today, a quarter century later, as forensic technology continues to improve. That is worth sitting with. Twenty-five years is long enough for a person to be born, grow up, and have children of their own who never knew a world before that Tuesday morning. It is not long enough for New York to stop counting its losses. From Lower Manhattan to communities across the Southern Tier, this anniversary asks something simple of all of us: to remember, to say the names, and to make sure the next generation knows why that matters.

Looking Back at September 11 Through New York's Eyes

Twenty-five years after the September 11 attacks, take a moment to look through some of the photos taken that day and in the days that followed, images that continue to define how New York, and the nation, remembers.