A dozen years have not dimmed the memories of those who lost loved ones on 9/11.
“No matter how many years pass, this time comes around each year — and it’s always the same,” said Karen Hinson of Seaford, who lost her 34-year-old brother, Michael Wittenstein, a Cantor Fitzgerald employee.
“My brother was never found, so this is where he is for us,” she said as she arrived for the ceremony with her family early Wednesday.
Hinson was among thousands gathered near Ground Zero to mark the 12th anniversary of the deadly Al Qaeda terror attack, now a familiar but still powerful ritual that unites Americans across the US.
At the ceremony during a warm, humid morning on the 2-year-old Memorial Plaza in Lower Manhattan, relatives recited the names of the nearly 3,000 people who died when hijacked jets crashed into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and near Shanksville, Pa.
The event started with the solemn tolling of a bell and a moment of silence at 8:46 a.m., when the first plane hit the Twin Towers on a clear, sunny day in 2001.
Kathy Swift, 54, of Jersey City, softly touched a tree that she said was planted for her brother, Thomas Swift, who worked for Morgan Stanley and was in the south tower when he died at age 29.
“This is his tree. I come here every year. I feel closer to him being here. I feel like I’m with him. I feel guilty leaving because you feel like you’re leaving him here,” she said, fighting back tears.
“Everybody from his office got out except for him. It’s harder to come back for this every year. Where did 12 years go? It’s getting harder, not easier. We have no place else to go,” she said about herself and her relatives.
Nick Chiarchiaro, 70, lost his wife Dorothy, 62 and niece Delores Costa, 52, who worked for Fred Alger Management on the 93rd floor of the WTC.
“She was beautiful and sexy. She wore a bikini at 58 years old,” he said, before recalling the day they met
“We were at a Christmas Party and I was kissing everybody and she said, ‘How about me?’ I went to kiss her on the cheek and we accidentally kissed on the lips and my stomach flipped. I fell in love that moment,” he said.
Denise Matuza, 46, of Staten Island lost her husband Walter, then 39, who worked for Carr Futures.
“I come here every year with my three boys. We find comfort coming here. We get support from each other. No one understand what we go through. We hurt everyday,” said Matuza, who rode a bus in with 55 other Staten Islanders who lost people in the attacks.
“I spoke to him that morning. He called and said he would be home in a little while. He never came home.”
At One Police Plaza, families of cops who died on 9/11 came streaming in at daybreak before heading to Ground Zero.
On-duty cops, some in full-dress uniform, assembled with civilian employees for a memorial ceremony at the NYPD’s headquarters.
While preparations for the ceremony were underway, with police barricades blocking access to the site, life around the World Trade Center looked like any other morning, with harried workers rushing to their jobs and construction cranes looming overhead.
Tributes were also held at the Pentagon and at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville.
Continuing a decision made last year, no politicians spoke at the New York’s commemoration, including Mayor Bloomberg.
Plenty were on hand, however, including Bloomberg, Cuomo, former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, ex-Gov. George Pataki, Democratic mayoral primary winner Bill de Blasio and runner-up Bill Thompson.
Memorial organizers expect to take most responsibility for the ceremony next year and say they plan to continue concentrating the event on victims’ loved ones.
“As things evolve in the future, the focus on the remembrance is going to stay sacrosanct,” memorial President Joe Daniels said.
While the memorial honors those killed, the planned museum will present a broader picture of 9/11, including the experiences of survivors and first responders.
But the organizers expect they “will always keep the focus on the families on the anniversary,” Daniels said.
Meanwhile, the city DOT says some streets will remain closed around Lower Manhattan until 5 p.m. due to the anniversary activities.
They include areas bounded by Vesey Street on the north; Battery Place on the south; Broadway on the east; and West Street.
The closings also include State Street between Battery Place and Whitehall Street.
With AP