New memorial honors Port Authority workers killed in attacks on World Trade Center
Credit: Port Authority on Flickr
A new memorial honors the Port Authority employees who perished in the 1993 and September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and the World Trade Center Memorial Fund on Friday unveiled the memorial, an 8-foot-tall stainless steel model of the Twin Towers fronted by an American flag, with the employees’ names inscribed on its two-foot-tall granite base. Located next to St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine in Liberty Park, the memorial offers a quiet space of remembrance for those who lost their lives in the attacks.
Commissioned by the WTC Memorial Fund, the “Port Authority Employee Memorial” is inspired by a previous memorial honoring the victims of the February 1993 bombing. The original memorial stood on Austin T. Tobin Plaza between the Twin Towers and was destroyed on 9/11 when the towers collapsed.
On February 26, 1993, six people, including four Port Authority employees, and an unborn child died after terrorists drove a truck into the subterranean parking garage of the Twin Towers and set off a bomb.
Less than a decade later, on September 11, 2001, 84 Port Authority employees were killed, including 37 members of the agency’s police department and 13 members of the WTC’s civilian staff. The civilian employees have been recognized as first responders for their role as rescuers during the attacks, drawing on their knowledge of the complex.
The memorial also honors current and former agency staff who have suffered illnesses or died from conditions linked to their post-9/11 rescue and recovery efforts.
Of the agency’s roughly 8,000-person workforce, about 400 current employees worked for the agency on 9/11. About half of today’s workforce was high-school age or younger at the time of the attacks, while a third was middle-school age or younger.
To honor those who were lost and create a meaningful connection with newer staff, the Port Authority established the annual Pillars of the Port Authority employee recognition award in 2016. The award recognizes employees who exemplify the integrity, resilience, and devotion to public service of colleagues who died in 1993 and 2001.
In 2008, the agency also created a month-long volunteer program that gives staff an opportunity to give back to the community every September.
“Our agency’s home at 4 World Trade Center faces Liberty Park, so it is fitting to have a space nearby for our Port Authority family to remember their fallen colleagues and for their loved ones to pay their respects,” Port Authority Chairman Kevin O’Toole said.
“This year we mark 25 years since that terrible day in 2001, though we have been grieving since the first attack in 1993,” he added. “Each tragedy lives on in the members of our Port Authority family who survived both attacks and through the memories of colleagues who are still with us and pay tribute to their spirit and their dedication to this agency.”
The memorial furthers the Fund’s goal of erecting and maintaining a permanent monument dedicated to the agency employees who lost their lives on 9/11. The organization also raises money for college scholarships in honor of those who died in the attacks and provides financial assistance to charities and individuals.
The nonprofit consists primarily of current and former agency employees, retirees, and other stakeholders who worked with the Port Authority to secure the memorial’s placement in Liberty Park. Individual donations and the Fund’s annual golf events in New Jersey helped finance the memorial.
“Twenty-five years ago, we came together with the simple goal of holding an annual golf outing to remember and honor our fallen heroes from February 26, 1993, and September 11, 2001,” Paul Iannascone, president of the WTC Memorial Fund, said.
“In time, that commitment grew into the creation of the WTC Memorial Fund. For those of us who worked at the World Trade Center and throughout the authority, it was more than a workplace—it was our home,” he added. “We felt a deep responsibility to honor and never forget our friends, colleagues, and loved ones by creating a permanent memorial on the WTC campus that they deserved.”
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