NYC pizzerias shelve celeb photos for first responders during week of 9/11

This week, pizza joints in NYC shelved their famous photos of Frank Sinatra, John Hamm, and other Hollywood bigwigs for legends of a different kind: 9/11 first responders.

As the 23rd anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks on the World Trade Center approaches on Wednesday, notable Manhattan and Brooklyn pizzerias, including Prince Street Pizza, Patsy’s Pizzeria, Juliana’s, John’s of Bleecker, and Paulie Gee’s Slice Shop, will showcase 33 photos of first responders living with 9/11-related illness in the new “Walls of Honor” campaign.

NYC-based ad agency Rethink partnered with the FealGood Foundation, an organization that supports injured emergency workers, for the campaign launched to help ensure New Yorkers and tourists do not forget what happened on September 11, 2001, when nearly 3,000 people were killed in the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, and over 200 more near the Pentagon in Washington D.C., and Shanksville, PA.

Walls of Honor, the organizers said, helps raise awareness among younger generations who were born after the attacks, many who might not have learned yet about the tragic events of the horrific day. The campaign also recognizes the first responders who continue to live with debilitating or life-threatening illnesses as a result of working the recovery efforts at Ground Zero during the days and weeks following the attacks.

“It was really important that whatever we did was not only respectful but embraced and celebrated the community,” Gabriel Sehringer, associate creative director at Rethink, said. “It’s not often that we hear about the survivors. When we say ‘never forget‘ we think of those who were killed in the attacks, but the general public doesn’t realize how many of these men and women are still dealing with the health effects of 9/11.”

Sehringer said he feels “fortunate” to share these survivors’ stories and all that they have gone through.

Why pizzerias?

Pizza is symbolic with NYC. And in some ways, it is intertwined with honor, Sehringer explained.

“Pizza, in the same way the responder community is such an important part of New York City, it really feels like New York,” he said. “And so, we wanted to combine those two things. We don’t have a Walk of Fame in New York — that’s L.A.’s thing — we have pictures in pizza places. That’s New York’s version of honoring people.”

John Feal runs the FealGood Foundation and responded to 9/11 as a supervisor for a demolition company. He said his organization is proud to be part of the Walls of Honor campaign.

“A lot of people in the 9/11 community think America forgot about them,” Feal said. “I hear it in every conversation. ’23 years later they forgot about us.‘ But Rethink proved that America didn’t forget about them. And for those 33 on the wall, their spirits are lifted.”

The names and photos of 33 9/11 first responders who continue to persevere through 9/11-inflicted health issues will stay on the walls of the participating pizza shops through at least Sept. 13, if not longer.

Featured 9/11 responders include:

Frank Rhem, a retired NYPD officer and U.S. Air Force veteran. He developed and continues to live with prostate cancer and chronic lymphoma as a result of working at Ground Zero.

PJ DeRosa, a member of FDNY EMS. He responded to the WTC attacks at 9:01 a.m., just 15 minutes after the North Tower had been hit. He spent hundreds of hours working at the site in the months that followed. He has lost approximately 30% of his lung span and tested high for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Nancy Collins, a retired NYPD officer and first responder who was at Ground Zero from 9/11 to 2002. She was diagnosed with melanoma in 2023 and breast cancer in 2024. She is on her way to recovery.

Vincent D. Yanni, Jr., a retired NYPD officer, U.S. Marine and U.S. Navy reserve veteran. He was assigned to the WTC site and morgue.