New York City Council leaders announced a $1 million investment in educational programming aimed at teaching city students about the events of September 11th.
In collaboration with the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, the funding will support field trips to the site in Lower Manhattan for up to 20,000 students, according to councilmembers. Officials said the effort is intended to reach a new generation of children who are now learning about terrorism and the lives lost.
It comes as the city marks nearly 25 years since the attacks.
In a ceremony Thursday, City Council Speaker Julie Menin and other members of city council placed a wreath at the Survivor Tree at Ground Zero to honor the nearly 3,000 victims and mark the upcoming anniversary. The Survivor Tree became a beacon of hope after surviving the attacks.
Meanwhile, the number of people dying due to 9/11-related illnesses continues to increase. The FDNY added 36 more names to its 9/11 Memorial Wall, reflecting the growing toll the World Trade Center terror attacks continue to take on NYC’s first responders.
More than 600 have died in the years since the attack, according to fire department officials, nearly double the number of FDNY members who died on the day of the attacks. FDNY officials said the updated Memorial Wall serves as a reminder that the legacy of what happened does not end on a single date of infamy, while vowing to never forget.
This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC New York. AI tools helped convert the story to a digital article, and an NBC New York journalist edited the article for publication.