Pictured: Supervisor John Ferretti and the Hempstead Town Board hosted last year’s ceremony, bringing the community together for a meaningful commemoration.
As the sun rises on September 11, 2026, twenty-five years after the devastating terrorist attacks that claimed the lives of thousands of Americans, Supervisor John Ferretti and the Hempstead Town Board will host Long Island’s largest 9/11 Memorial Service along the shores of the Atlantic Ocean at Town Park Point Lookout. Town officials will be joined by the families of local 9/11 victims, neighborhood fire departments, distinguished members of clergy, the Nassau County Police Emerald Society Pipes and Drums, and other patriotic participants at the sunrise memorial ceremony, starting at 7:30 a.m.
“Though 25 years have passed since September 11, 2001, the Town of Hempstead community does not mourn for one day alone – every day, we remember the friends and neighbors we lost on 9/11, the brave first responders who succumbed to 9/11-related illnesses, and those who continue to battle various health issues from their time at Ground Zero,” said Supervisor Ferretti. “The Town of Hempstead 9/11 Memorial Service provides our community with a close-knit and intimate ceremony, a place to peacefully reflect upon the many ways in which that tragic day impacted lives across America’s largest township. We invite all residents to join us at Town Park Point Lookout.”
The beachside 9/11 memorial includes replica steel Twin Towers and a remembrance wall where residents can write messages in honor of their loved ones. Following the memorial service, attendees are invited to cast carnations – donated by ReWorld and Stop and Shop of West Hempstead – into the waters of the Atlantic in memory of the ones they lost.
Attendees will be welcomed to Point Lookout by patriotic American flag arches provided courtesy of the Levittown, Franklin Square and Munson, Merrick, Island Park, Point Lookout-Lido, and West Hempstead fire departments. The color guard will be provided by the Rockville Centre Fire Department, led by bagpiper Bobby Hughes of the Nassau County Firefighters Pipes and Drums.
The Gregorian Consortium from Kellenberg Memorial High School, a longtime participant in the ceremony, will return for this year’s event. Remarks will be offered by Rev. Michael Duffy, Rector at St. Agnes Cathedral in Rockville Centre, and other distinguished guests.
The keynote speaker of this year’s event will be Garden City South resident Dorine Hetzel-Dand. Dorine lost her husband, volunteer firefighter Christopher Dand, to a 9/11-related illness in 2024, and her brother, Thomas Hetzel, a member of the FDNY, who was killed on September 11, 2001, while saving lives at the World Trade Center.
Closing out the ceremony will be Rev. Dr. Eric C. Mallette of the Greater Second Baptist Church in Freeport, who has offered powerful and inspirational remarks for many years at this event.
At the conclusion of the ceremony, guests will be invited to cast white carnations into the Atlantic Ocean, write messages on the Remembrance Wall, and then visit the Town’s adjacent 9/11 Memorial Park. The park features an elevated memorial walkway with the names of the victims of the terrorist attacks (including those who have died in recent years from 9/11-related illnesses) memorialized in granite on the edifice of a pedestrian bridge. The Town will provide paper and pencils so residents can conduct “name rubbings” of their beloved friends and family members. The memorial also includes a 30-foot-tall beam from the North Tower of the World Trade Center, and a giant memorial table inscribed with Walt Whitman’s “On the Beach at Night.”
“For the families of 9/11 victims, no passage of time will ever be enough to heal the pain of losing loved ones in such a tragic and devastating way,” concluded Supervisor Ferretti. “The Town of Hempstead will Never Forget the victims of September 11th, and we will always gather at Town Park Point Lookout to honor them for generations to come.”
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