New York City on the 9/11 25th Anniversary
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What did Emily Keegan notice about the 9/11 anniversary atmosphere in New York?
The Pat Kenny Show on Newstalk. Now, if you were watching TV at all yesterday, you could not but be aware that solemn memorial events were being held in New York to mark the 25th anniversary of the 9-11 attacks. Our multimedia reporter, Emily Keegan, has been in New York all week speaking to people impacted by the events of the 11th of September, 2001. Emily, good morning.
Good morning, Pat.
Now, what was it like being there during this anniversary?
Yeah, it was very strange, I have to say. I think if I wasn't here with the sole intention of covering the 9-11 anniversary, if you were just a standard tourist walking through the streets of New York and if you weren't around Ground Zero, I'm not sure you'd even really know that it was the week of the anniversary. I was quite surprised to find that the anniversary almost got lost in New York. Like, of course, this is one of the biggest cities in the world. And if you were just walking down Times Square any day other than yesterday, it would be very easy to forget the week that we're in. And it kind of just seemed to blend into everything. But there was a lot going on. It just a lot of it up until yesterday was happening behind closed doors.
And so you would catch glimpses of it as you were walking around, like the odd billboard would show maybe a first responder who had lost their life, an image of them coming up. But other than that, it was kind of you had to seek it out. And I, of course, was seeking it out. And as I said, there were a number of events throughout the week. And when I arrived at any of those, like it immediately reminded me why I was there and how much hurt is still being felt by people in America and, of course, across the world from these attacks. And people have, of course, been travelling to the city all week from across the country because many of them would have left New York after the events and they've come back to attend the anniversary commemorations.
And many of them, of course, are family members of victims, survivors and first responders to the scene that day. And being here and also watching the news coverage, I think it's quite easy to... forget that it wasn't just the planes crashing into the Twin Towers that happened that day, but nearly 3,000 people died and many of those were also at the Pentagon and on board Flight 93, which crashed in Pennsylvania. And I caught up with Craig Lukey, who is a retired lieutenant from Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department. And he actually was one of the responders to the scene at the Pentagon that day.
I was working that day and the TV was on.
How did Emily describe the contrast between everyday New York life and the hidden memorial activities?
We saw that one of the towers was on fire. We didn't know what would happen and then we happened to see though the plane go in and so we all medically started packing up to go to New York and then the plane hit the Pentagon, which is right down the street from where we were. So then we diverted and went and helped the Arlington County Fire Department. One thing that I do remember was everyone was trying to come out of Washington, D.C., and we're the only thing going in. And everybody looking at us as we're driving towards the Pentagon, they were petrified. You could just see it in their eyes. And once you arrive there, the FBI and everybody is trying to pick up pieces of the plane to make room for us to go in.
And there was fire was still burning, burned, burned for like three or four days. I'm born and raised in the Washington, D.C. area, and to see the Pentagon being struck like that, being a hometown person, that was very unreal.
And what was it like for the people that you work with? I imagine this is something that you're still dealing with today. It was quite a traumatic event.
It is traumatic, and when you ever have something that scale with that many people involved and that many fatalities, it's very moving. Furthermore, you know what's going on up in New York, and because we're a brotherhood, sisterhood in the fire department, I actually ended up knowing some of the people that were in the towers. The sheer scale of everything just took a long time to just understand what's going on.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What did Emily Keegan notice about the 9/11 anniversary atmosphere in New York?
0:01–2:21
2
How did Emily describe the contrast between everyday New York life and the hidden memorial activities?
2:21–4:32
3
What firsthand account did Craig Lukey share about responding to the Pentagon attack?
4:32–6:51
4
What were the key memorial events held at Ground Zero and across the city on the 25th anniversary?
6:51–8:55
5
Why was there controversy over Mayor Zoran Mamdani’s presence at the ceremony?
8:55–10:55
6
How did New Yorkers react to President Trump’s decision to skip the Ground Zero ceremony?
10:55–12:50
7
What challenges did the Muslim community in New York face after 9/11 and how are they coping now?
12:50–14:46
8
What final reflections did Emily and the hosts share about the legacy of 9/11 twenty‑five years later?
14:46–16:54