Twenty-five years after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Mineola residents, first responders and local officials gathered at Mineola Memorial Park next to the village’s 9/11 memorial to honor those who died and reflect on the unity that followed the tragedy.
The village’s annual Sept. 11 Remembrance Ceremony featured remarks from Mayor Paul Pereira, keynote speaker Michael Balboni, a former state senator and current president of Adelphi University, and Pastor Malcolm Burns of Corpus Christi Church.
Pereira thanked the village’s volunteer firefighters, ambulance corps, auxiliary police, clergy, veterans, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts for participating in the ceremony.
“We are joined together this evening in this solemn observance,” Pereira said.
Nassau County Police Officers gathered at Mineola Memorial Park to remember the victims.Larissa Fuentes
The ceremony included the Pledge of Allegiance, the national anthem led by Mineola resident Edward Gabriel, an invocation and a memorial wreath presentation by Girl Scout Abigail King and Boy Scout Jonathan Leskowitz.
Balboni, who previously represented the community in the state Legislature for 17 years, reflected on his experience on Sept. 11, 2001, and the impact the attacks had on his career in public safety.
Balboni said he was teaching at Adelphi University when he received a text from longtime Mineola resident and volunteer firefighter Jim Sherry reporting that a plane had hit a building.
Michael Balboni, president of Adelphi University and former New York state senator, was the keynote speaker of the event.Larissa Fuentes
“I was teaching that day at Adelphi University,” Balboni said. “When Jim Sherry, longtime resident of Mineola, and a member of the Mineola Fire Department, sent me a text at 8:55, saying a plane’s hit the building.”
He said the attacks changed his perspective and led him to focus his career on homeland security and public safety. He later helped establish the first Homeland Security Committee in New York state and became its chairman and homeland security adviser.
Balboni also recalled visiting train stations days after the attacks and seeing people returning to work despite the uncertainty surrounding the future.
Boy Scouts gathered at the memorial as well.Larissa Fuentes
“I saw so much heroism, but I also saw incredible generosity,” he said.
He spoke about the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund and the assistance provided to families who lost loved ones and their sources of income. He recalled a mother who sought financial assistance because she had brain cancer and wanted to ensure her children would be cared for after her death.
Balboni said the attacks also brought the country together.
“We came out a country united,” he said. “For a time, the things that divided us seemed so small.”
He urged residents to honor the victims by continuing to support their neighbors and preserve the sense of unity that followed the attacks.
“The American dream is not the promise that tragedy will never come,” Balboni said. “It is a promise that tragedy will never have the last word.”
Malcom Burns Pastor from Corpus Christi Church showed the crowd a cross made of steel from the World Trade Center.Larissa Fuentes
Burns’ invocation called for peace, justice and unity while remembering the lives lost 25 years ago.
He urged the community to continue teaching younger generations about the significance of Sept. 11.
“Help us to continue this memorial service, this day of remembrance,” Burns said. “We continue all the days of our life to teach our young people the significance, the meaning of September 11, 2001.”
During the closing benediction, Burns displayed a cross made from steel recovered from the World Trade Center. He said it had been given to him by a woman whose son died in the attacks and whose body was never recovered.
The cross, he said, serves as a reminder of faith and victory over evil.
Following the benediction, King and Leskowitz presented a memorial wreath at the village’s 9/11 memorial in honor of those who died.
Pereira also presented Balboni with a commemorative coin from the village to mark his participation in the ceremony.