Supervisor’s Corner

A quarter century has now passed since Sept. 11, 2001

Twenty-five years is a significant passage of time — long enough that millions of Americans alive today have no memory of that day at all. Some were too young to understand what they were watching, while an entire generation had not yet been born. For them, Sept. 11 is history: something learned in school, seen through photographs and documentaries, or remembered during the ceremonies held each year across our country.

But here in Warwick, Sept. 11 is far more than a chapter in a history book. The events of that day, and the sacrifices that followed in the years afterward, are woven into the story of our own community. The names belong to our neighbors, our friends, our teachers, our classmates and our families. And as we mark this 25th anniversary, those of us who remember have an important responsibility to make sure the generations that follow understand just how close to home this history truly is.

Our community lost neighbors, friends and family members that day. Among them were firefighters who left their homes here in Warwick and went to work that morning never knowing they would be called upon to make the ultimate sacrifice. Linda Gronlund, of Greenwood Lake, was aboard Flight 93 and became part of one of the most extraordinary acts of courage in American history when passengers fought back against the hijackers.

Warwick’s connection to Sept. 11 did not end when the smoke cleared over lower Manhattan. In the years that followed, young men and women from communities across America answered their country’s call to serve. Some of them were our own. Marine Lance Corporal Scott Lynch, someone I knew growing up in Greenwood Lake and played Little League baseball with, was killed while serving our country in Afghanistan. First Lieutenant Lou Allen, my high school physics teacher, was killed while serving in Iraq.

For me, those names make the history deeply personal. But every one of us in Warwick is connected in some way to the sacrifices that began on that September morning — through a neighbor, a classmate, a teacher, a firefighter, a police officer, a member of our military or a family forever changed by loss. That is the story we have a responsibility to pass along. We should teach younger generations about the horror of Sept. 11, but we should also tell them what happened on Sept. 12. Tell them about firefighters, police officers, EMTs and ordinary citizens who ran toward danger to help strangers. Tell them about American flags hanging from homes, businesses and overpasses throughout Warwick and across the country. Tell them about neighbors checking on neighbors, communities gathering together and a nation that, despite unimaginable grief, refused to be divided.

For those who lived through it, that unity can sometimes feel difficult to describe today. But it was real. “Never Forget” cannot simply be a phrase we repeat at a ceremony once a year. It is a responsibility. As the number of Americans with firsthand memories of Sept. 11 inevitably grows smaller, those memories must become stories — and those stories must be passed from one generation to the next.

Twenty-five years later, let us remember those we lost on Sept. 11, those we lost in the years that followed, and the families who continue to carry their memories. And perhaps, in remembering how our nation responded during one of its darkest moments, we can also remember something we desperately need today: how much stronger we are when we stand together.

Sept. 11 Remembrance Services across Warwick:

6 p.m.: Village of Warwick at Veterans Memorial Park

7 p.m.: Village of Florida at the Firemen’s Memorial on S. Main St

7 p.m.: Village of Greenwood Lake at GWL Firehouse on Mountain Lakes Lane

Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum to dedicate marker at Warwick Cemetery

The Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum will dedicate a special marker on the Col. John Cowdrey gravesite in Warwick Cemetery on Sunday September 13 at 11am for his participation in that event. As a project that started in 2018, the museum began locating the final resting place of as many of the participants from the Boston Tea Party as they could to place commemorative markers at their gravesite. Their partnership with American Ancestors for Boston Tea Party Descendants Program helped them find Col. John Cowdrey along with Thomas White in Coaldale, PA.

Taste of Warwick, Tuesday Sept. 15 at Warwick Valley Winery from 6 to 9 p.m.

A portion of the proceeds will benefit Backpack Snack Attack. Early bird discount, get your tickets by 8/31: $75 individual, $130 for two. After 8/31, $85 per person. For tickets visit: https://shorturl.at/sf0xr.

For event information email: jelena@warwickcc.org.

The Town Board’s next regular meeting is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026 at 7 p.m. at Warwick Town Hall, 132 Kings Highway. Please note that a public workshop of the Town Board may occur up to 90 minutes before the scheduled regular meeting. For viewing options, the meeting will be streamed live on the Town of Warwick’s Facebook page and YouTube channel. Optimum customers can watch live on Channel 21.