As New York City prepares to mark the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, many Queens residents recalled their own experiences during that fateful day.

For some, 9/11 memories begin with watching the news and learning of the attack. Others were in school or at work and scattered to check on friends and family members.

A quarter-century later, the details remain remarkably vivid. The people, the sounds, the fear, the acts of kindness and the moments of uncertainty have stayed with those who lived through them. For many, 9/11 is not simply a date in history. It is a collection of memories they have carried for 25 years.

Oswald Perez

“I was recovering from a second leg surgery in September 2001. I was slated to be in Manhattan that very afternoon and I was in the living room waiting to be picked up for my appointment. I turned on the TV, and News Copter 7 happened to be flying over the World Trade Center. At 8:46 a.m., the first plane hit. I went numb at the sight I’d just seen,” Queens resident Oswald Perez said. “Once the second plane hit, I knew it wasn’t just an accident. The rest of that day was a blur as my mom, dad and sister were all accounted for. The next few days were a blur, from every television channel suspending programming to an empty Times Square for Total Request Live the following Friday afternoon. And finally, a week later, the obvious sign that something happened. I could see the glaring hole in the skyline from my dad’s car window as we crossed over the 59th Street Bridge. The world had indeed changed.”

Ingrid Duffer

Queens resident Ingrid Duffer, who was a second grade teacher at the St. Benedict Joseph Labre School in Richmond Hill at the time, remembered what her experience was like in a school environment.

“I remember being in my classroom at SBJL with my second graders, finishing our Religion lesson and transitioning into Spelling when an announcement came that our secretary Ella was picking up/giving us a folder (that part is fuzzy). I continued teaching until she arrived. I went to the doorway and she quietly explained to me that the Twin Towers had been hit by planes. “We were to keep the children in the classrooms, close our windows (we face Manhattan from the upper floors) and that we could take turns going to the Religious Ed office to get updates from the TV set up on there,” Duffer said. “I remember praying a decade of the rosary with my children for those who were hurt. The magnitude of what was actually happening was not yet known to them. We stayed together the whole day, lunch in the classroom, ‘recess,’ traveling as a class and tag-teaming with our grade partner teachers (Sr. Rosemary) as always-one at each bathroom door with our student monitors directing the flow. We were trying to keep their school routine as intact as possible before our children went home and their childhood would be robbed of its naivety and innocence. I remember finally getting to the TV, my heart sinking as I watched the second tower collapsing in the news coverage. We were frantically trying to reach our loved ones, but the few cell phones that we had were not getting through except for one (Mrs. Eggers), who selflessly lent it to those of us to try. We were grades one through four on our side and we would glance at each other for support, keep our anxieties in check, being there for our children as best we could. I knew my nephew Justin was safe in the class next door.”

Many Queens residents had friends and family members who worked in the Twin Towers or acted as first responders at the scene on 9/11. Photo via Getty Images

“Though I still couldn’t get a hold of my sister Betzie, who worked in the city, I prayed that she would make it home. I was one of the lucky ones,” Duffer continued. “Dismissal was at the regular time, but today it was held indoors, and the school had been on lockdown- no one in, no one out – until then. We lined up in the gymnasium, and as parents/family members were allowed in the mezzanine a few at a time, we released the children to them. I went home with my nephew to my parents and continued trying to get a hold of my sister. Around 11 that evening, her call came through. My heart still breaks every Sept. 11 and I pray for all those who lost their lives that day – especially Carlos, Ricardo and Santos, who was my friend Judy’s godson, as well as the seven FDNY who were part of our third-grade teacher’s recent bridal party (Ms. B.). And for those who lost their lives due to 9/11 exposure/recovery, my childhood best friend Elida and Mr. B., may you all Rest in peace. You will not be forgotten. Shine on our angels, shine on.”

Ground Zero now stands as a memorial site to the lives lost during the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center. Photo via Getty Images
Sara Gold

“I was a student at a Jewish High School for Girls. This is my recollection from that day. Class was abruptly stopped and an assembly was called after the second tower was hit and it became clear to the world that America was under attack. They directed us all to pray. Pray for the victims. Pray for their rescuers. The steel was melting off the building “like banana peels” and people were seen jumping from the twin towers. As we were reciting Psalms, a teacher burst into the assembly and shouted ‘the Pentagon was hit!’ We were terrified,” Gold said. “We were well aware of the attackers intention to destroy Jews and anyone who aligned with us. Suicide bombings were happening almost daily in Israel and the hate they projected towards us– no STILL project towards us– was and is palpable.”

“The city shut down buses and trains to prevent further attacks. Did they close the bridges? I don’t remember. I just remembered we were worried the bridges would be a target. As a visibly orthodox Jewish school full of kids, all of us whispered to each other that we could be a target as well. I walked home. No one stopped me. No one noticed. I could see the NYC skyline in the distance. Two trails of smoke trailed up the sky and would burn for days,” Gold continued. I called my mother, who worked downtown and obviously got no response. We wouldn’t get a response until she was able to let us know she was okay, and was fortunate enough to have a morning meeting in Midtown that morning.”

My uncle was across the street from the towers. We found out he was okay that evening when he called, breathless after walking all the way home. I was one of the lucky ones. Many people lost family that day, but we all lost our sense of security. We promised never to forget. And we didn’t. We reinforced our security so it would never happen again. We did such a good job at it, that the next generation forgot. They now march and scream to globalize the intifada. Oh, if only they knew what they were saying. 9/11 WAS globalizing the intifada. And it must never happen again.”

Some Queens residents lost dear friends, family members and other loved ones. “My friends didn’t make it out,” Forest Hills Resident Joseph Quinn said, referring to NYPD Officer John W. Perry and Michel P. Colbert.