A memorial event was held at NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi Sunday to mark 21 years since New York City was targeted during the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Loved ones of the victims said prayers and poems at the hospital’s 9/11 Memorial Garden, where the names of Bronx residents who died in the attacks are engraved.

Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson spoke about her own experience on that tragic day, saying she's grateful her mother is still here. She acknowledged that many other New Yorkers couldn't make it home that day. 

“Sept. 11, 2001 will forever be a day etched in the history of this country,” Gibson said. “My mother at the time worked in Lower Manhattan and was one of the many, many New Yorkers that had to run for her life, and it took hours for me to contact her…We couldn't get through on the phone, but I finally was able to make contact with my mom. I was one of the lucky ones and one of the blessed ones because I still have my mom here today." 

One of the messages stressed at commemoration was to keep friends and families close and vow to never forget the lives lost on 9/11.