Across New Jersey’s second-largest municipality, the enduring trauma and heroism of September 11, 2001, remain permanently etched into the urban landscape. Jersey City holds a unique place in the history of that tragic day, serving not only as a community in mourning for its own lost residents, but also as an indispensable haven of rescue, medical triage, and recovery for thousands who fled the chaos of Lower Manhattan.
The devastating attacks claimed more than 2,970 lives across the United States after hijacked airliners were flown into the World Trade Center towers, the Pentagon, and a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The state of New Jersey bore an immense share of that heartbreak, losing roughly 750 residents in the catastrophe. Within Jersey City itself, 38 residents were initially recorded among the dead, a tragic toll that was subsequently revised to 39.
To honor these individuals and preserve the memory of their sacrifice, three primary commemorative locations were established across the city. These include the prominent Jersey City 9/11 Memorial situated along the downtown Hudson River waterfront, the Empty Sky Memorial located within Liberty State Park near the historic Central Railroad Terminal of New Jersey, and the Journal Square 9/11 Memorial plaza adjacent to the Journal skyscraper development.
Beyond providing physical spaces for grief, these monuments stand as testaments to the immediate response of Jersey City’s emergency personnel and civic leaders. When commercial ferries and private vessels evacuated countless wounded and traumatized survivors across the Hudson River, the city's waterfront was swiftly transformed into a massive triage operation to provide critical medical care.
Among those who served on the front lines was Carlos Garrafa, a Jersey City emergency medical technician. Garrafa worked continuously for 15 hours tending to victims on the waterfront before being reassigned across the harbor when emergency officials requested mutual aid at Ground Zero.
Following his deployment to Lower Manhattan, Garrafa was stationed at the Staten Island Terminal, where he spent hours treating incoming casualties before finally crossing back to Jersey City the next day. Though greeted by the community with a hero's welcome, Garrafa later reflected on the overwhelming nature of the disaster, noting the lingering humility and emotional weight felt by first responders who simply did everything within their power during an unimaginable crisis.
The downtown Jersey City 9/11 Memorial marks the very ground where these rescue operations took place under the leadership of then-Mayor Glenn Cunningham. In the months following the tragedy, salvaged steel structural beams recovered from the collapsed World Trade Center were distributed to various regional memorial sites, including this waterfront staging point.
At the center of the waterfront installation sits the "Twisted Mangle," a poignant artifact constructed from recovered World Trade Center steel girders welded together into the distinctive shape of the letter "A." This structural centerpiece anchors the physical space where emergency responders first received incoming ferry evacuees.
Dedicated on September 11, 2002, by Mayor Cunningham, who passed away two years later in 2004, the waterfront site comprises a three-part tribute. In addition to the twisted steel beams, the site features a polished black granite slab inscribed with the names of Jersey City's victims and an adjacent sculpture known as the Makeshift Memorial.
The Makeshift Memorial was sculpted in 2004 by artist John Seward Johnson II as an exact replica of his celebrated 1982 bronze work, "Double Check." The original statue, situated in Lower Manhattan, famously survived the collapse of the twin towers and spontaneously transformed into an impromptu gathering place for mourners, rescue workers, and flowers in the immediate aftermath of the attacks.
Each year, civic leaders and community members gather at the waterfront memorial in the early morning hours, holding a solemn ceremony moments before the exact time when the first hijacked aircraft struck the North Tower.
Further inland, the commemoration of the attacks took a different path in Journal Square. The site initially originated in 1994 as a decorative public fountain constructed under the administration of then-Mayor Bret Schundler as part of a broader Journal Square Redevelopment Plan.
Following persistent mechanical breakdowns, the municipal feature was rededicated in 2002 as a dedicated memorial for the Jersey City residents lost on September 11. That same year, local television personality Pat O'Melia organized the plaza's inaugural memorial gathering and championed the creation of the Circle of Honor, an encircling ring of stones inscribed with the names of notable community contributors.
For years, Journal Square hosted regular commemorative gatherings; however, modern urban redevelopment eventually reshaped the plaza. In 2022, work commenced on One Journal Square, a major two-tower luxury residential project developed by the Kushner Companies, now known as the Journal.
The extensive construction ultimately led to the removal of the fountain structure and its surrounding stone circle. While discussions took place between O'Melia, municipal officials including then-Mayor Steven Fulop, and developers regarding the preservation of the sacred site, the physical footprint of Journal Square was transformed by the towering new residential complex.
Together with the sweeping walls of the Empty Sky Memorial at Liberty State Park, these locations maintain Jersey City's enduring connection to September 11. Through physical steel, engraved stone, and sustained civic remembrance, the city continues to safeguard the names of the fallen and the valiant actions of those who answered the call for help.
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