As a newly trained firefighter, Minogue was taking his first vacation day when he saw Flight 11 crash into the North Tower of the World Trade Center. He grabbed his uniform and told his wife, “I’m going to work. I’m not sure when I’ll be back.” 

Minogue watched the towers fall as he drove along Grand Central Parkway. After arriving at the firehouse in Corona, Queens, Minogue was dispatched to Ground Zero. When his company got to the Twin Towers, “Everything just stopped in time. We walked through the glass and we saw the pit. We saw the World Trade Center.” 

Minogue said it was like a scene from a movie, with so much ash falling that it was almost black. He noticed how bizarre the rest of his company looked, 

“They were just covered, like somebody opened a bag of flour and dropped it on them,” he said.“Their eyelids were caked with it.” 

Three days later, Minogue’s role with the fire department changed. With 343 firefighters lost on September 11th, they needed someone to play taps, the 35 second song played by a single trumpet at the end of service member’s funerals. 

 “So, I would still go to work, then I would go to a funeral to play taps. Sometimes two, sometimes three funerals a day. In the end, it got so busy I was pretty much offline,” Minogue said. 

With only one other bugler in the NYFD, Minogue played taps at around 170 9/11 memorial services. Yet, each song was never the same.

“I played it different for everybody, because everybody is unique,” he said.“I think everybody needed a different song. Ya know, for me, it’s a gift that I could give back.”

Minogue kept playing taps as a fire department lieutenant, but in 2006 he developed a cough. At age 46, Minogue developed stage four throat cancer and high-grade bladder cancer from exposure to the 9/11 ash and debris.

 “Everything I had done with the ceremonial unit was over, they had to run without me,” he said. The illnesses forced Minogue to retire and leave the fire department. 

As of September 2021, over 200 active and retired NYC firefighters have died of illnesses linked to 9/11 according to the Scientific American. Even more have developed cancer and survived, including Minogue, who said it was because of his strong attitude.

“Two doctors, separately, would call me the poster boy,” he said. “My friend Mark and I had radiation burns and our faces were all red, but we were always smiling and laughing.” 

Many of Minogue’s friends and colleagues also deal with the lasting health effects of being at Ground Zero. The destruction of the Twin Towers created an ash of computers, concrete, and pipes that first responders inhaled. In 2019, the Journal of the National Cancer Institute published a study finding that 9/11 first responders are 25% more likely to develop prostate cancer, 41% more likely to develop Leukemia, and two times more likely to develop thyroid cancer compared to other people. 

On this 20th anniversary of 9/11, Minogue is still playing taps on his trumpet, but said he doesn’t have enough breath to hold the last note. Despite all of his health problems, he said he would still go back and do the same thing again. 

“When you’re on this earth, you have to do the best you can for others, without asking anything in return,” he said. “That’s it.”

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On the 12th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, Losliscio, 57, who helped with rescue efforts that day in 2001, won’t be attending the 9/11 ceremony at Ground Zero. Since the opening of the memorial site on the 10th anniversary of 9/11, limited space has allowed only victims’ families to take part in the service, leaving out many firefighters and first responders who were at the World Trade Center that day.

Retired fire captain of engine 226, Joe Loliscio, 57, sits in the plaza of Zuccotti Park. Photo by Zahra Ahmed

“You can’t go in unless you have credentials, or if you’re [currently] affiliated with the New York City Fire Department, or have family, or unless you’re a politician,” said Loliscio.

While other firefighters of Engine 226 located in Downtown Brooklyn, remember the day by attending local services, Loliscio comes to Lower Manhattan every year.

“You used to see a sea of blue because all the firefighters were here,” he said. “I believe I should come here, [but] coming here is becoming a waste of time because you’re shut out.”

In 2011, city officials announced that there wasn’t enough space to accommodate around the 91,000 first responders at Ground Zero. Among those, 343 firefighters died. For some firefighters, attending the memorial service isn’t about personal recognition; it’s about honoring their fallen brothers.

“I think with proper credentials, any member of the public safety agency – whether it’s us [firefighters], EMS, NYPD, Port Authority cops – should come down,” said Capt. Anthony Catalanotto, 57, of Engine 274 of Flushing, Queens. “That should be part of our thank you.”

Capt. Anthony Catalanotto, 57, of engine 274, stands on Church Street in front of Ground Zero, where several hazmat trucks line the street as a safety precaution. Photo by Zahra Ahmed

This year, Catalanotto and his team lined up several hazmat trucks along Church Street in front of Ground Zero as a safety precaution. He said that no security issues were raised during previous anniversary ceremonies, but firefighters’ presence contributes to “a sense of security.”

But that presence exists only on the outskirts of an event people from around the globe come to attend. Catalanotto said that first responders shouldn’t have to pay for attendance, which would cost $25 for a walking tour of Ground Zero.

“I think we paid on Sept. 11th,” he said.

Loliscio said that firefighters don’t have much say when it comes to the issue. A fight against City Hall isn’t worth it, he said.

“Being there that day means nothing,” said Loliscio. “I was good enough to be here on 9/11,I’m good enough to go any other year.”

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A flag is suspended from a crane next to 1 World Trade Center, the building formerly known as the Freedom Tower. by Alyana Alfaro

On the 11th anniversary of 9/11, visitors to the former site of the Twin Towers expressed grief, sympathy and some displeasure with the decisions for both the site itself and yesterday morning’s remembrance ceremony.

On Sept. 11, 2001 the largest-scale terrorist attack on U.S. soil claimed almost 3,000 lives. Now, for the first time, Ground Zero is taking shape with the new One World Trade Center, also known as the Freedom Tower, nearing its final height of 1,776 feet.

While the building is still a shell with exposed beams comprising the top floors, it is now the dominant structure of the downtown landscape. Soon it will be the tallest structure in New York, but, for many this construction is not a happy sight.

“That ain’t no Freedom Tower, that is One World Trade,” Gary Nielson of the Bronx said. He lost a friend in the attacks. “We New Yorkers, we don’t like that name. They should have built the original trade center buildings back up.”

Nielson said it does not properly remember the lives lost.

“It represents building back up what was taken down, but you have to remember you have 3,000 lives so you can’t really replace that,” he said.

Joe Loliscio, a volunteer firefighter from Baldwin N.Y. who was an early responder at Ground Zero said he believes that the new tower fails to properly represent the victims.

“Personally, I think that they should have put the two towers back up,” said Loliscio. “But it is better than nothing.”

Loliscio, who has been a firefighter in East Rockaway, N.Y. for 41 years, wasn’t pleased with the memorial service. This year the service was limited to mostly families and while Loliscio believes the decision to keep politics out of it was a good one, he also believes that the workers who risked their lives were not properly recognized.

“We have been x’d out of Ground Zero,” he said. “For the past years until now I have always been able to get through security, but you’re just not allowed in if you’re not family. I understand family should be in but, so should the rescuers, the first responders. We should have access and we don’t and it’s wrong.”

Gary Nielson (right) and Gary Arturi stand outside of the closed 9/11 memorial. by Alyana Alfaro

Now, after 11 years, it is these first responders and cleanup workers that are feeling the direct impact of the attacks. The dust created when the buildings collapsed contained many carcinogenic materials like lead, mercury and asbestos and have left many recovery workers with cancer and chronic respiratory illness. To date, hundreds have died due to illness directly related to the cleanup and recovery efforts.

But not everyone thinks the family-only policy at the memorial this year and the tower were bad decisions.

Kathryn Fromisano, a Project Associate for Trinity Wall Street, which runs St Paul’s Chapel, the church directly across Ground Zero, cited the services the church offers as a good alternative for those who were not allowed on site this year. According to Formisano, the church expects five to seven thousand visitors looking for some “guidance” on the anniversary of the incident.

“As a church, we really don’t have an opinion about the tower, but everyone here is just happy to see the area being built back up,” she said. “Personally, I think its fine. From my office, I’m down on 74 Trinity Place, and from up on the 24th floor I can look at it and it is just beautiful.”

According to Formisano, the construction of 1 World Trade is less about the tower itself and more about what it will do to the area.

“I would like to see it finished and the construction finished and that’s what we are all hoping for, to go back to normal,” she said.

According to the Lower Manhattan Construction Command Center website, the building is scheduled to open late next year after delays nearly doubled the initial estimated construction time.

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Vietnam Veteran and first responder, Jimmy Bacolo, remembers his service and the lives lost on 9/11. Photo by Courtney Pence

It is an abnormally quiet morning on the streets of lower Manhattan. There are no honking horns, no ringing cell phones, not even a conversation can be heard as hundreds of New Yorkers make their way to their destinations.

As the impressive structure of One World Trade Center looms directly above, and not far from the 11th memorial service and reading of the victims’ of September 11 names. It’s a private ceremony for family members, but this detail does not stop New Yorkers and tourists from weaving through police-lined streets in search of a place to pay their respects and remember.

Vietnam veteran Jimmy Bacolo was in Zuccotti Park with others mourners. Bacolo, 67, of Brooklyn, was working for the Staten Island Ferry when word of the plane crashes reached his crew. They rushed to Ground Zero to help.

“You did what you had to do, this was our country, we were under attack, and I’m a veteran,” he said. “There was no way I was gonna turn around and go home.”

Bacolo did not go home for five days.

“I stayed with the ferry, we were bringing equipment, supplies, and material, and firemen and EMS people on the boats back and forth,” he said. “And then we were coming up here ourselves with trucks dropping off water and soda, stuff like that.”

Bacolo was not a trained fireman or police officer, but he was a first responder. He said it was very chaotic and surreal.

“Downtown by the ferry the dust was probably up to your ankles and there was nothing, but papers all over the trees, papers all over the streets that came from the building,” he said. “There was clothing, I could see things hanging off the trees.”

Barcolo pointed to the trees of Zuccotti Park. He said everybody responded on 9/11.

“Nobody went home,” he said.

Israel Garcia, 24, of Brooklyn, was also in the park, remembering his life on September 11th, 2001. Garcia is currently serving in his fourth and final year in the Marines. He was in grade school in Brooklyn on the day of the attack. Seven years later he enlisted and when he did he knew his chances of being sent to the Middle East were high. He has since served tours in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

“It’s like everyone else, you wake up every morning and you put one leg through your pants just like everybody else, you just go do what you gotta do,” he said. “It’s like a regular nine-to-five with a machine gun in your hand, that’s about it.”

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The kneeling fireman statute honors 9/11 first responders. Photo by Nicole Guzzardi

The sound of bagpipes bellowing “America the Beautiful” echoed up and down East 43rd Street yesterday, as people gathered to see the dedication of the only 9/11 memorial in Midtown.

“The Kneeling Fireman,” at 6 E. 43rd St. in Midtown is dedicated to the firemen, police officers and all first responders who served during the 9/11 attacks.

The statue depicts a fireman kneeling, with his right hand placed on his bowed head and his left hand placed on a fireman’s helmet resting on the ground in front of him.

Being the only 9/11 memorial in midtown, it holds special value to New Yorkers.

Joe Garcia, 45, of the East Side of Manhattan, said he was there Labor Day weekend when the statue was first placed in front of Emigrant Savings Bank, its new permanent home. Garcia stood by Thursday as the dedication took place.

“I find it interesting that this is the only memorial in Midtown,” Garcia said.

What he found even more intriguing is how the statue found its home in the city.

The statue, which was originally commissioned by the Firefighters Association of Missouri, arrived in the city on September 11, 2001. The statue was going to be sent from New York to Missouri, but the manufacturers, Matthews International Corp. of Parma, Italy, decided after the attacks, that the statue should stay in the city perminantly and presented it to the Federal Law Enforcement Foundation.

The foundation accepted the statue on behalf of all the firefighters and citizens of New York and it has remained in the city the past 10 years in temporary locations, until recently when a permanent location was found.

“It seems like almost too big of a coincidence,” Garcia said, “I find it striking that the statue was made before and happened to be in New York on 9/11.”

Red, white and blue flowers line the statue’s granite base in front of the bank. Emigrant CEO Howard Milstein told the crowd he is proud to give the statue a permanent place because it has special meaning to him. He said he lost a close friend, Neil David Levin, director of the Port Authority, on 9/11.

Milstein said when the first plane hit the towers, he knew it was a terrorist attack and started calling friends and loved ones.

“I called my friend, Neil Levin and told him to get out of there,” he said.

Levin was one of the thousands lost that day, Milstein said with tears in his eyes.

Milstein dedicated the statue to the firefighters; “among the bravest of the brave,” he said, along with all the first responders on the scene.

“They made the ultimate sacrifice and that’s why we’re here today,” he said.

Firemen and police were among the crowd at the dedication. Joe Lapointe, who has 22 years under his belt as a New York fire fighter, said he thought the dedication was a beautiful thing.

Lapointe, 51, of Staten Island, has worked in ladder 114 in Brooklyn for the past 10 years.

“I don’t think if you live in New York, you’ll ever forget,” Lapointe said.

He said memorials like this one help everyone to remember all the brave lives lost.

People walking by, stopped to watch the dedication and view the statue. Zoe O’Brian, who works as a secretary nearby, leaned against a metal police fence and watched the scene just before the dedication began.

O’Brian, 27, of Fort Greene, Brooklyn, went to boarding school in New Jersey so she was not in New York on 9/11. She said it was scary because she was there and her family was in the city. She said as time goes by, it seems people forget what it was like.

“It becomes so accepted, as part of the city, as part of our culture,” she said.

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