The City of Hoboken hosted their 19th annual 9/11 interfaith remembrance ceremony at Pier A Park last night, paying their respects for the 56 lives that were lost on that tragic day.
“We will never forget that fateful day 19 years ago that changed all of our lives forever. 56 Hoboken residents perished on September 11th, 2001. 56 mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters who cruelly had their lives ended far too early,” said Councilwoman-at-Large Emily Jabbour.
Jabbour delivered remarks on behalf of Mayor Ravi Bhalla, who could not attend after a “contact” tested positive for self-quarantine. As a result, he is currently self-quarantining at home.
Next, U.S. Rep. Albio Sires (D-8) recounted being the mayor of West New York when tragedy struck, recalling the hardships that families were struggling with.
“You had ambulances. All sorts of fire trucks. Chaos … but the most difficult part of that day for me was when I went home … As I walked in, Mr. and Mrs. Corbin were waiting for me because their son, Michael Corbin, worked at the World Trade Center at Cantos and Fitzgerald.”
Unfortunately, his life was one of many young lives lost that day.
Assemblywoman Annette Chaparro (D-33) echoed a similar sentiment.
“Lives were turned upside down and the truth is, so was our city and our way of life. And the cry at the end of the day was that we would never forget them. Some were young men and women chasing their dreams of working in the big city. The average age of someone who died in 9/11 from Hoboken was 32.”
Additionally, Freeholder Anthony Romano (D-5), a Hoboken police officer in 2001, recounted what it was like to be involved in the immediate aftermath.
“Our unit had to deliver all of the death notices to all of the families of the victims and it was a very heartbreaking experience. Some family members going ‘no, it can’t be. It can’t be’ because we were there and some people were just completely obliterated, there were body parts, it was such a horrific thing to see.”
Next, Rabbi Moshe Schapiro briefly played the shofar, a hollowed-out rams horn, wishing everyone good health and good times ahead despite a tumultuous year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Several members of clergy then took turns reading the list of 56 names of the Hoboken lives lost on September 11th, 2001 – the most of any New Jersey municipality.
The names of the 9/11 victims arranged by state can be read on CNN.
