Thursday, October 1, 2026
For some, it is the sound of a plane overhead. For others, it is a name they still remember, a photograph they cannot forget or the exact place they were standing when the world changed.
Twenty-five years after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, those memories remain remarkably close for many New Yorkers.
A new Mount Sinai South Nassau “Truth in Medicine” poll found that 73 percent of respondents in New York City and on Long Island who were at least 21-years-old at the time of the attacks said 9/11 remains vivid in their memories. 34 percent said it feels as though it “happened just yesterday,” while another 39 percent said they still feel its impact every day.
The findings were discussed Sept. 8 during a panel at the Oceanside Library, where doctors, first responders and others who experienced the attacks firsthand reflected on why a day that happened a quarter-century ago still carries such emotional weight.
For Dr. Josh Kugler, interim president of Mount Sinai South Nassau, those memories are closely tied to his experience as an emergency room physician on 9/11.
Kugler was working in Manhattan as the attacks unfolded, preparing alongside other medical professionals for what they expected would be an overwhelming influx of patients.
But the patients never came.
“Like everyone else, we were very prepared for something that never really panned out,” Kugler said. “You didn’t see anyone coming in.”
What remained, he said, was the psychological impact of the attacks.
“There are people out there that are suffering that have real illnesses,” he said. “Mental and physical.”
The poll found that 25 percent of respondents said they still experience trauma or a mental health disorder stemming from the attacks. Another 24 percent said an immediate family member experiences trauma-related effects.
For Dr. Aaron Glatt, chair of the Department of Medicine at Mount Sinai South Nassau, those findings demonstrate why the passage of time does not necessarily mean the effects of 9/11 have disappeared.
“There’s a big thing with firefighters — you should be able to tough it out,” Glatt said. “And it’s simply not the way it works. Soldiers who are strong can easily get PTSD, and it can dramatically impact their lives. This is a real illness that we need to make sure there are sources available in the healthcare system.”
The physical toll of 9/11 has also continued to emerge in the years since the attacks.
Former FDNY Commissioner Tom Von Essen, who led the department during 9/11, pointed to the thousands of first responders and others who have developed illnesses since working at Ground Zero and in the surrounding area.
“There’s a lot of volunteers that came and helped,” he said. “I’m not sure they’ve been getting any help today. The program is still open and will be for a long time. You’ve got to keep getting these things checked.”
But the legacy of 9/11 extends beyond the physical and mental health consequences. For many, the attacks also changed the way Americans viewed one another and brought strangers together in the aftermath.
Joe Calderone, a former Daily News reporter who covered the attacks, remembered walking toward Ground Zero the day after the towers fell.
“It was unlike anything I’d ever seen — a war zone,” Calderone said.
Yet amid the destruction, he witnessed something that has stayed with him for 25 years: people coming together.
“What I was struck by mostly on the 12th was the thousands of volunteers that showed up,” Calderone said. “They were just regular folks who answered the call and came down to help in any way they possibly could.”
For the people who remember 9/11 firsthand, however, remembering does not require a history lesson. The day remains part of their lives.
“As much as we say, ‘never forget,’ I’ve always wished I could, to tell the truth,” Von Essen said. “But you can’t, and you shouldn’t.”
Those memories live on in the people who lost loved ones, the responders who continue to battle illnesses, the doctors who treated those affected and the ordinary New Yorkers who watched their city and country change overnight.
Phil Alvarez, whose brother, former NYPD Detective Luis Alvarez, became sick after working at Ground Zero, offered a simple message during the discussion about how to honor those lost.
“We have to look at each other as humans, that’s the best thing we can do for each other,” Alvarez said. “If you don’t learn from history, you’re doomed to repeat it.”
25 years later, that may be one of the simplest ways to remember a day that so many New Yorkers still carry with them.
“One thing is clear, 25 years later,” Calderone said. “Don’t bet against New York.”
