Coney Island woman honors lives lost on 9/11 by visiting memorials across the city • Brooklyn Paper

Since the attack on the World Trade Center in 2001, Coney Island resident Freyda Markow has embarked on a yearly pilgrimage across New York City every Sept. 11 to honor the memories of those who lost their lives on that fateful day and in its aftermath.

On the 23rd anniversary of the attacks, Markow began her day at the annual memorial ceremony at Ground Zero, carrying photos of victims she has come to know over the years. Among them was her cousin, Firefighter George Cain, who died while responding to the South Tower.

Markow told Brooklyn Paper that this year was especially tough emotionally, as the families she has gotten to know have begun to send the next generation to represent them in their absence.

“I know a lot of the parents are getting older,” said Markow. “They can’t make that visit, so a lot of the children have taken over to represent the families they lost, the family that they never met. It’s up to the next generation to take over what the parents used to do, what they can no longer do.”

Markow refers to the friends she has made over the years as her “Ground Zero family.” This group supports each other year-round and continues to grow as more people lose their lives to diseases associated with the dust and smoke from the collapse of the towers.

The World Trade Center Health Program (WTCHP) was established by Congress in 2011 to provide medical monitoring and care for those with 9/11-related health conditions. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the WTCHP now serves over 127,000 people and has recorded 6,781 deaths from illnesses linked to time spent in Lower Manhattan on or after 9/11.

On the morning of the attacks, Markow was at home in Coney Island instead of at her Manhattan office, having randomly taken the day off. She watched the “horror movie-like” events unfold on television and knew she had to help her fellow New Yorkers.

That urge to help led to nine months of volunteering at a Ground Zero relief center.

“It is just something you couldn’t walk away from, even if you were helping a little bit, one person at a time, it made a difference,” she said. “You were a source of comfort in a place that didn’t know anything about comfort and hope, and that’s what we gave them: a sign of hope that New Yorkers will come together and be there for our fellow New Yorkers.”

Twenty-three years later, Markow continues to dedicate her time to supporting the families of victims and keeping their loved ones’ memories alive. She regularly volunteers with both the Brooklyn 9/11 Wall organization and the Tunnel to Towers Foundation.

After the ceremony at the National 9/11 Memorial and Museum, Markow continues her pilgrimage of remembrance to Coney Island’s Asser Levy Park, where a ceremony is held annually on Sept. 11 for local residents who died in the attack.

Reflecting on this year’s ceremony, Markow said, “you realize these people just don’t come to remember one day out of the year — this is their life, missing loved ones like everybody else, and it tugs at the heart.”

“That’s something that you could pack away till next year. You carry it on with you,” she added. “ You make memories for them and share memories of them so people don’t forget, so the community doesn’t forget, so the children never forget, so our leaders never forget.”

Each year, Markow’s day ends at the the Brooklyn 9/11 Wall of Remembrance by Maimonides Park for a private moment of reflection, watching loved ones arrive to pay their respects, leave mementos, candles and pictures of the departed.

“As hard as it is to remember, it will be way worse if people forget. So that’s what we do. We try to remember. We try to spread the word,” she said. “We have to hold their memories in our hearts, not just one day out of the year. We have to teach our children, we have to teach future generations what happened here so nobody ever forgets. That’s the biggest honor we can give the the men and women who lost their lives.”

Additional reporting by Erica Price