Officials emphasize unity, courage and local memory during Union's 9/11 ceremony

A series of elected officials and department leaders addressed the crowd, combining personal recollections, praise for first responders and appeals to civic unity.

Commissioner Michelle Dellsfort thanked organizers and the families present, calling the monument a "permanent testimony to those we lost" and saying the community "will never forget." Former Mayor Peter Capades recalled local fundraising and mutual aid after 2001 and urged residents to keep teaching the story of that day to new generations.

Assemblywoman Annette Quijano told the audience that remembrance should be an active promise to teach future generations. Senator Joseph Kryon invited family members in attendance to stand and be recognized, and encouraged residents to pause at local signs and benches that memorialize lost neighbors. Police Deputy Chief Barry Cohen and Fire Director Raul Malabe each reflected on loss and first-responder service; Cohen asked the public to honor both the nine Union residents taken on 9/11 and the broader sacrifices of emergency personnel.

Speakers repeatedly framed the memorial and readings of names as tools to ensure that local connections to a national tragedy are not lost with passing generations.