STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A bill that would require New York’s public schools to mark each Sept. 11 with a day of remembrance and a brief moment of silence is appearing more likely.
Queens state Sen. Joseph Addabbo’s bill to make Sept. 11 a special day in city schools has been approved in the state Senate, Queens-based publication QNS.com reported Thursday morning.
The legislation calls for a moment of silence and a conversation about the tragic events that unfolded, locally and nationally.
“It’s hard to imagine that almost 18 years have passed since the horrific [Sept. 11] terrorist attacks that stole the lives of thousands of innocent people in New York that day and even today, as the illnesses and related deaths continue in the lingering aftermath of this devastating assault on our country,” said Addabbo, a member of the Senate Education Committee, according to a release from his office.
He noted that it’s significant to realize many children in city schools weren’t born when the attacks occurred.
Thousands of people died in the 2001 terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center site in Manhattan, the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and United Airlines Flight 93, which crashed in Shanksville, Pa.
Nearly 18 years later, hundreds of local first responders who assisted rescue efforts have reportedly succumbed to illnesses caused by their immediate presence at Ground Zero, the site of the World Trade Center after the attacks.
“Even while our children are being taught about the almost 3,000 lives lost, and the more than 6,000 people injured on Sept. 11, they will also have the opportunity to learn how people of diverse backgrounds immediately came together following the attacks to begin efforts aimed at healing our country,” said Addabbo.
Nearly 300 Staten Islanders died in the attacks.