Ways to mark September 11 in NYC

The 9/11 Memorial Museum, located where the Twin Towers once stood, explores the history of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The museum houses artifacts, historical records, firefighting equipment and a memorial exhibition. 

While it's closed to visitors on September 11, it's open during the rest of the week. Adult general admission costs $33. Every Wednesday afternoon at 1:30pm, a bagpipe tribute honors those who died on 9/11 as well as those who are sick or who have died from exposure to hazards and toxins in the aftermath of 9/11. Bagpipers play near the 9/11 Memorial Glade.

Quotes from firefighters, photos illustrating heroic moments, a video interview with a retired firefighter and a wall of victims' names comprise a new exhibit called "Recovery and Reflection, Celebrating the 9/11 Tribute Museum" at the New York City Fire Museum.

"Recovery and Reflection" draws from the collection of the now-shuttered 9/11 Tribute Museum, which closed last year amid pandemic-related financial and attendance difficulties. The exhibit honoring the FDNY and the Tribute Museum is on view through October 15 at the NYC Fire Museum in Lower Manhattan's Hudson Square neighborhood. 

The temporary exhibition pairs with the Fire Museum's permanent 9/11 Memorial Room. It's the first permanent space dedicated to the 343 members of the FDNY who lost their lives on 9/11. The memorial includes pictures of the firefighters lost in the attacks, a timeline chronicling the day's events, rescue tools used and items recovered from the Ground Zero recovery effort.

To mark 9/11 this year, the New York City Fire Museum will host a commemorative wreath-laying ceremony the memorial room on Monday, September 11, 2023, at 11:30am. The program will include remarks from FDNY leadership and music. 

Every spring in New York City, millions of bright yellow daffodils emerge from the ground, the surest sign of sunnier days ahead. But in September, they pop up again because, every fall, these beautiful blooms are planted in memory of 9/11 victims through The Daffodil Project. 

Bulbs are available for free each autumn for any New Yorker who wants to contribute to the project, and you can sign up for an order right now. This year, around 600,000 bulbs are up for grabs.

Here's how it works: Sign up for your bulbs here, which are available first-come, first-served. When ordering, you'll choose where you'd like to pick up your order. There are six distribution sites this year, each one running from 10am-1pm:

• Sunday, September 17: Manhattan - Union Square North Plaza
• Saturday, September 23: Bronx - Mill Pond Park
• Sunday, September 24: Queens - Overlook at Forest Park
• Saturday, September 30: Staten Island - Brookfield Park
• Sunday, October 1: Brooklyn - Prospect Park Plaza West
• Saturday, October 7: Queens - Far Rockaway at the RISE Center at 58-03 Rockaway Beach Blvd

Once you collect your bulbs, it's time to plant. If you want to plant in a local park, be sure to contact the park to ask for permission first.

With 10 million bulbs planted so far, The Daffodil Project is the largest living memorial to 9/11.