Queens will join the rest of the nation in marking the 18th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks with a number of vigils and ceremonies across the borough. As the city has done each year since the coordinated attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and United Airlines Flight 93, families and elected officials will gather in Lower Manhattan on the morning of Sept. 11 for a memorial service at the National September 11 Memorial to read the victims’ names and offer prayers and words of comfort.
Surprisingly, St. Michael’s Cemetery will not commemorate the anniversary this year at its memorials to the first responders, FDNY members and NYPD officers lost in the attacks like it has in years past.
“The numbers of people attending the ceremony has been declining each year,” St. Michael’s Cemetery Director of Community Relations Ed Horn said. “It really is a shame.”
Ceremonies that will continue include the following:
Astoria
The Port Authority and the United Community Civic Association host Musical Sounds of Remembrance Thursday, Sept. 12, at McManus Memorial Park located at 81st Street and Ditmars Boulevard. The PA Pipe Band will be joined by the Department of Correction Pipe Band to glorify and celebrate with song and prayer the thousands of innocent souls lost on 9/11. The program begins at 7:30 p.m.
Glendale
Continuing to remember the 42 residents of Glendale, Middle Village, Ridgewood and Woodhaven who perished in the 9/11 attacks, hundreds will gather for a vigil at the 9/11 Memorial Garden located in the Dry Harbor Playground. Participants will gather at the Memorial Stone for a reading of the names on Sunday, Sept. 15, at 12:30 p.m. Dry Harbor Playground is at the corner of Myrtle Avenue and 80th Street.
Forest Hills
The fourth annual Run for Richie 9/11 Memorial Motorcycle Ride to honor the memory of Richard “Richie” Allen Pearlman, the youngest first responder lost of 9/11. On Sept. 8, hundreds of motorcycles and emergency vehicles will drive from Aqueduct Racetrack to Ground Zero and back in memory of Pearlman, who was a member of the Forest Hills Volunteer Ambulance Corps. The event, which begins at 1 p.m., is sponsored by the NYC Punishers Law Enforcement Motorcycle Club and all proceeds go the Forest Hills Volunteer Ambulance Corps. To register, visit the run’s Eventbrite.
Jamaica
The third annual 9/11 memorial Service presented by the JFK Chamber of Commerce will be held at the ball field at Building 141 at 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 11. A piece of World Trade Center steel will be positioned on the field with wreaths and flags to commemorate the fateful day, while moments of silence accompany the names of those who perished are read aloud as the Remembrance Bell tolls.
Bayside Hills
The Bayside Hills Civic Association will again pay tribute to the victims of 9/11 at 7 p.m. of Sept. 11. Representatives of the Police and Fire Departments, local scout troops, religious leaders, the Bayside Business Association and the Bayside Village Business Improvement District will gather at the northern corner of Horace Harding Expressway and Bell Boulevard at the Memorial Garden. Officials will rename the corner “Bayside Hills 9/11 Memorial Way.”
Howard Beach
The headquarters of Engine Company 331/Ladder Company 173 in Howard Beach will host the neighborhood’s 9/11 memorial with a ceremony beginning at 7:30 p.m. at 158-57 Cross Bay Blvd on Sept. 11. The evening will include prayer, words of comfort and music.
Middle Village
Juniper Valley Park held one of the biggest vigils in New York City in the days immediately following the 9/11 attacks. The park will once again host a candlelight vigil on Sept. 11 from 7:30 to 9 p.m. in the ballfields located near Juniper Boulevard South and 78th Street. The program includes music, poems and reflection and participants are asked to bring lawn chairs, an American flag and either candles or a flashlight.
Kew Gardens
The Friends of Maple Grove Cemetery will host a general ceremony honoring the dozen of 9/11 victims who are interred there on Sept. 19 at 5 p.m. at 83-15 Kew Gardens Rd.
