Remembering 9/11 | Families of victims still feel the grief of empty chairs in their households 22 years later

The Big Apple looked back on Monday at the day of infamy that changed its landscape, people, and even lifestyle forever.

For those still mourning their loved ones lost on 9/11 over two decades later, the hardest thing they’ve experienced, as they told amNewYork Metro time and time again Monday, is the empty seats at the kitchen table.

Standing beside the north memorial pool adorned with the names of those who perished 22 years earlier, Kathy O’Shea, the aunt of FDNY Lieutenant Joseph Gullickson who lost his life while rushing to save the lives of others, remembered her nephew as a kind man and a hero. Yet, most of all, she suffers from an undying love that pains her every single day.

“It’s a tremendous loss because there is always an empty chair in the room. He will always be missed because he was loved so much. He was just so pronounced,” O’Shea said. “All of the firefighters under him adored him.”

Remembering 9/11 | Families of victims still feel the grief of empty chairs in their households 22 years later 18 — Families grieve on the 22nd anniversary. Photo by Dean Moses

Remembering 9/11 | Families of victims still feel the grief of empty chairs in their households 22 years later 19 — Families grieve on the 22nd anniversary.Photo by Dean Moses

Remembering 9/11 | Families of victims still feel the grief of empty chairs in their households 22 years later 20 — Families grieve on the 22nd anniversary.Photo by Dean Moses

O’Shea said that her nephew was a member of Ladder Company 101 in Red Hook, Brooklyn, and he was one of the first firefighter companies, along with six of his men, to run through the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel and toward the Twin Towers — casting aside any concerns for themselves and, instead, seeking to save as many lives as possible.

“He was a great firefighter, he was a lieutenant, and I miss him every day,” O’Shea said.

John Cartier shared a similar sentiment, stating that he will never forget his younger brother James Cartier, who worked on the 105th floor in the South Tower for Aon Corporation.

For John Cartier, Sept. 11, 2001 will forever be remembered as the last date he ever spoke to his brother. John recalls receiving a phone call from James who said to come to the World Trade Center and find his sister, Michelle who worked as a trade broker in the North Tower where the plane first hit.

“He knew enough to end his call by saying ‘Tell mommy and daddy I love them and tell everybody I love them.’ He was an amazing young boy,” John Cartier said.

That day, John Cartier hopped onto his motorcycle and arrived and found his sister, but unfortunately James would not be seen again after the second plane hit the South Tower, causing it to collapse.

Remembering 9/11 | Families of victims still feel the grief of empty chairs in their households 22 years later 21 — Families grieve on the 22nd anniversary. Photo by Dean Moses

Remembering 9/11 | Families of victims still feel the grief of empty chairs in their households 22 years later 22 — Families grieve on the 22nd anniversary.Photo by Dean Moses

Remembering 9/11 | Families of victims still feel the grief of empty chairs in their households 22 years later 23 — Families grieve on the 22nd anniversary.Photo by Dean Moses

Remembering 9/11 | Families of victims still feel the grief of empty chairs in their households 22 years later 24 — Families grieve on the 22nd anniversary.Photo by Dean Moses

Twenty-two years later, Cartier stresses that Sept. 11 is a day of remembrance not just for loved ones, but to ensure that generations to come will never forget.

“We are here to remember them all,” Cartier said, “Death came like a thief in the night and stole all of our loved ones equally.”

In October 2001, Cartier created American Brotherhood — a motorcycle group in honor of his brother and all of those who were killed in the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

“This memorial is not for us. This memorial is for you guys, so you remember. We have the empty chair in our house, we have an empty chair at Christmas, we have the empty chair on Thanksgiving, so this memorial is for you and the next generation,” Cartier said.

Steven Monetti also described the sense of a missing piece in his life after losing both of his childhood friends, Chris Ameroso and David Lemagne, who were members of the Port Authority Police Department.

Remembering 9/11 | Families of victims still feel the grief of empty chairs in their households 22 years later 25 — Placing flowers in memory of the lost. Photo by Dean Moses

Remembering 9/11 | Families of victims still feel the grief of empty chairs in their households 22 years later 26 — Placing flowers in memory of the lost.Photo by Dean Moses

Remembering 9/11 | Families of victims still feel the grief of empty chairs in their households 22 years later 27 — Placing flowers in memory of the lost.Photo by Dean Moses

“They perished on 9/11 doing the ultimate sacrifice, and as that memory lived on after 22 years later, last year I became a security officer in their honor and their legacy,” Monetti said. “So, it’s very special for me to be here and to honor them not only every day of my life that I wear the uniform, but every 9/11 to come here and pay tribute right across where they lost their lives protecting others.”

“Sometimes I cry thinking about the memories that we had,” Monetti added, “Gosh I can’t imagine what [they] were thinking, trying to save other people and knowing that your life could be ended but you took the ultimate jump, leap of faith, went up into those elevators, walked the stairs, came back down, went back in, went back down. Defied the rules and regulations at that point to save other human lives, and that’s exactly what good officers do. They take an oath to serve and protect people. I couldn’t be more proud of my friends.”

Slew of dignitaries also arrived at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum to pay their respects, including Vice President of the Untied States Kamala Harris, Governor Kathy Hochul, Mayor Eric Adams, former Mayors Bill de Blasio and Michael Bloomberg, former Governor George Pataki, former Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell, current top cop Edward Caban, Florida Governor (and Republican presidential candidate) Ron DeSantis, and more.