This year marks the 20th anniversary of the attack of September 11, 2001. While many in the BMCC community will commemorate the 20th anniversary of 9/11 in private, the following events are being offered by the BMCC 9/11 Planning Committee, led by Vice President of Student Affairs Marva Craig. Vice President Craig is is among those who were working at the College on September 11, and has helped shape the direction BMCC took in the 20 years that followed.
Monday, August 30 – Friday, September 17
9/11 Padlet: A Place for Community Reflection
Online
Open to the BMCC community
Thursday, September 9
Wreath Ceremony in Honor of 20th Anniversary of 9/11
2–4 p.m.
By invitation only
Friday, September 10
9/11 Memorial & Museum’s Anniversary in the Schools Webinar
9 a.m. – 3 p.m. (Live Chat on September 10 and 11)
Webinar will be online starting September 10 as an ongoing resource
Open to the general public
Twenty Years Later: Poets and Professors Cheryl J. Fish and Marguerite Maria Rivas Share Their 9/11-Centered Work
10–11 a.m.
via Zoom
Open to the general public
Video and Discussion: Contextualizing the Impact of 9/11 on Policing and First Responders’ Health With Professor Jason Ostrowe
1–2:30 p.m.
via Zoom
Open to the general public
BMCC and 9-11: Remembrance and Resilience (LiveStream) Featuring Eyewitnesses from the BMCC Community
3–4:30 p.m.
LiveStream
Open to the general public
Friday, October 15
Theatre Department Students Remember the Experience of 9/11
7 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Zoom
Open to the general public
Commemoration of the 20th Anniversary of 9/11
The 20th anniversary of the devastating events of 9/11 has special significance for the BMCC community. On the morning of September 11, BMCC students, faculty and staff started their day as usual at the college’s campuses, including 199 Chambers Street and Fiterman Hall, just a few blocks from the World Trade Center.
Many in the BMCC community then witnessed the fall of the Twin Towers. As the college was evacuated, grounds workers, safety staff, administrators and volunteers gathered at 199 Chambers Street and stayed more than two weeks. They worked around the clock, sleeping on cots, to prepare the campus for reopening and help the Port Authority of New York create a triage in the College’s gym at 199 Chambers Street.
At 5:20 p.m. on 9/11, BMCC’s Fiterman Hall, donated in 1993 by Miles and Shirley Fiterman, was destroyed when debris from nearby 7 World Trade Center collapsed and fell against it. More than seven stories of debris piled against a corner of the building and BMCC became the only college in the United States to have lost a building to a terrorist attack.
Fiterman Hall was razed and the current building, an architecturally stunning symbol of the College’s resiliency and growth, opened in 2012. In the 20 years that followed 9/11, BMCC grew to offer more than 50 academic degree programs. Its workforce development initiatives expanded to maximize opportunity in a changing economy and the College arose as an educational leader nationwide.
The 9/11 20th Anniversary Planning Committee
- VP Marva Craig (chair)
- Lynn McGee (co-chair)
- Vinton Melbourne (co-chair)
- Iris Wangpataravanich (co-chair)
- Carol Cleveland
- Wilfred Cotto
- Diane Dowling
- Doug Israel
- Cody Lyon
- Jason Ostrowe
- Harry Mars
- Kayla Maryles Bassknight
- Manny Romero
- Lisa White
