Port Authority marks 9/11’s 25th anniversary as redevelopment continues
At the memorial’s reflecting pools, Executive Director, Kathryn Garcia said the sound of the water remains a grounding reminder of the lives lost 25 years ago.
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The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is honoring the 84 employees it lost in the Sept. 11 attacks, including 34 police officers, as the agency continues its decades‑long effort to rebuild the World Trade Center campus.
At the memorial’s reflecting pools, executive director Kathryn Garcia said the sound of the water remains a grounding reminder of the lives lost 25 years ago.
“I find it very soothing to hear the water moving through, as we really reflect on everyone who was lost in that time,” Garcia said.
The agency’s redevelopment work has reshaped the 16‑acre site over the past 25 years. The campus now includes more than 12 million square feet of office and cultural space, expanded public greenery and the Oculus transit hub, part of a broader effort to restore Lower Manhattan as a commercial and transportation center.
Garcia said the agency remained committed to the neighborhood even as the COVID-19 pandemic raised questions about the future of office work.
“Everyone said no one would ever come back and work in an office. But the Port Authority has always believed in Lower Manhattan and how it can grow and thrive,” said Garcia.
Construction is underway on Two World Trade Center, the final tower planned for the site. The 55 ‑story building is expected to open in 2031 and will serve as the new global headquarters for American Express.
The company plans to bring roughly 10,000 workers to the tower, which will feature 50,000 square feet of elevated green terraces along Greenwich Street.
Garcia noted that American Express also lost employees on 9/11, calling the company’s decision to relocate to the site “an important way to honor that history.”
As redevelopment continues, Garcia said the agency’s mission is to balance remembrance with renewal.
“We need to make sure we’re always allowing people the remembrance, the serenity,” she said. “But we are investing in ensuring that there are places for people to work and places for people to live.”
The American Express building is scheduled to open in 2031.
