Ceremony in Point Lookout honors 9/11 victims

LONG ISLAND - To many, this September 11 has taken on even more meaning.
 
“We’re here with our hearts open to collect the tears of our brothers and sisters,” said one woman. “Hopefully each year they know they’re still loved and not forgotten in their tragedy.”
 
Point Lookout’s Sunrise Ceremony took place in the parking lot this year as families sat next to their cars, wearing masks and social distancing - the backdrop Hempstead Town’s official 9/11 memorial featuring a 30-foot-tall steel beam recovered from the World Trade Center. 
 
Erin McCormick lost her dad and uncle - she hopes her two daughter’s will always remember.
 
“I want them to know their family,” she said. “What we lost and be a part of it.”
 
This year’s service included a speech from Phil Alvarez, the brother of NYPD hero Lou Alvarez who advocated for victims of September 11th in Washington until his final days.
 
“We think about him every day, we miss him but we’re at peace knowing he was blessed that at the end of his life he got to speak about something so important to him and so many other first responders and victims,” he said. “It seem like the world stopped and listen to him.”
 
For first responders and friends who lost loved ones - not even a global pandemic can make us forget.