Annual Ceremony Pays Tribute to 9/11 Heroes

With leadership from Commissioner Lynelle Maginley-Liddie, the ceremony included the addition of five fallen members’ names to the Department’s 9/11 Memorial Wall and the laying of a wreath. 

On Sept. 5, New York City Deputy Mayor For Public Safety Kaz Daughtry and NYC DOC Commissioner Lynelle Maginley-Liddie presided over the Department’s annual September 11th Remembrance Ceremony on Rikers Island. The commemoration honored the bravery, service, and sacrifice of DOC members who responded on 9/11 and in the months that followed.

The ceremony included the addition of five fallen members’ names to the Department’s 9/11 Memorial Wall, the laying of a wreath, and reflections from those who worked at Ground Zero. 

This year’s program also recognized the vital work of members of DOC’s Communications Unit, who distributed radios, set up repeaters, and enabled our partner first responders to communicate effectively as part of emergency response efforts at a command center at Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan. 

In tribute to the courageous work of NYC DOC’s Harbor Unit during the 9/11 rescue and recovery efforts, the ceremony also featured a restored DOC boat on display. On that tragic day, members of the unit put their own safety in danger, boarded our vessels and raced to Lower Manhattan to evacuate civilians from Ground Zero. In the days that followed, with normal transportation channels shut down, the Harbor Unit also transported members of our Emergency Service Unit (ESU) from Rikers Island to the World Trade Center site with desperately needed supplies and even delivered donated goods from across the Hudson in New Jersey.

Members of the Tier Rats and Blue Knights motorcycle clubs escorted the loved ones of our 9/11 heroes across the Francis R. Buono Memorial Bridge to Rikers Island.

Representatives from the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, the American Jail Association, One Voice United, as well as members of the Tier Rats, Tier Rats Empire City Chapter and Blue Knights motorcycle clubs also attended the ceremony to remember our fallen 9/11 heroes and join the Department in continued support of their loved ones. 

Retired Warden Palmer, who helped to lead DOC’s response during and after 9/11, also presented the foundation with a donation to help with efforts to support the families of fallen first responders. 

“Each year, we gather together at this ceremony to remember the lives lost on 9/11 and to honor the incredible heroism of The Boldest Family members who stood up and answered an incredible call to duty on that day and in the days and weeks that followed,” Commissioner Maginley-Liddie said. “Bravery and boldness are the hallmarks of the men and women of the Department of Correction. We do a job few understand and even fewer could do. We keep this city safe while upholding the dignity and humanity of those entrusted to our care. Our work is not easy and, as you’ve heard me say before, heroes work here. Today, we also honor our heroes by adding new names to our memorial wall. This is solemn duty, but it is also a joyous remembrance of their heroism. Our 9/11 heroes are the very best of us and they will continue to inspire DOC heroes well into the future.”

View more photos here.