Remembering 9/11 and New York's Remarkable Resilience

0:00 Speaker 1 Sunday morning. Well, this is a special year. 9-11. 9-11 is the 25th year of 9-11. And with us today is Governor George Pataki. And he was the 53rd governor of the state of New York. And during the period of time when 9-11 happened, he was the hero that brought New York City and New York State back to where it should be. Well, Governor, what do you

0:31 have to say for this 9-11 coming?

0:35 Speaker 2 Well, first, John, you know, there were plenty of heroes. The firefighters who went into the buildings, the place, the people who worked in those buildings and gave their lives so others could get out. There were many heroes on that day, and all New York should be proud 25 years later with how people responded, all people, not just

0:57 people in public office or first responders. The people of New York showed their strength on that day and in the weeks and months thereafter. But, you know, you’re right. It is 25 years later, and I think it’s important that we honor those who died on September 11th and remember the fact that we weren’t at war, we weren’t

1:18 fighting anybody, we were at peace, and almost 3,000 people who simply went to work that morning were killed simply because they were Americans in America and people overseas too often coming here want to take our freedoms from us.

1:35 And on that day they tried, but they failed.

1:38 Speaker 1 Now, you were the big leader during that period of time, and what memories do you have of what happened that day?

1:48 Speaker 2 You know, first, the strength of the people. It was just amazing in the face of this horrible, this unspeakable horror and the tremendous loss of courageous New Yorkers from every walk of life were. That’s the first thing. The second thing, is how united we were. Nobody was pointing fingers, blaming this person or blaming that person. We were all Americans.

2:12 We were New Yorkers who had been attacked, and we were going to stand together and come through this stronger than we ever were. And it was just horrible. It was very sad. It was tragic. But at the same time, the response of New Yorkers and Americans was just something 25 years later I’m still proud of.

2:33 Speaker 1 Now, you have a new documentary out that describes what happened that day. Can you tell our audience a little bit about it?

2:42 Speaker 2 Yeah, we have a less than an hour documentary about the horrors of that day. But more important, John, it’s about the rebuilding of Ground Zero. And it’s called Out of the Darkness because that was clearly a very dark moment in New York and American history. But out of that darkness, we rose to heights that... went beyond where

3:05 we had been on September 11th. And we wanted to tell the story of that rebuilding from the people who actually were there and the people who actually did it. And so we created this documentary where people who had been involved could just tell their stories, first of what happened on that day itself, but then the process of

3:22 getting it rebuilt. So you go to lower Manhattan now, and it is just a magnificent site. We have the memorial that tells the story of the individual firefighters. We have the memorial plaza where people can reflect on the horrors of that day. We have where the towers stood, the footprints of the towers have massive reflecting pools of

3:44 waterfalls going down into a void and around it the name of every single person who died on that horrible day. And what we wanted to do was tell future generations, tell people who weren’t born, tell people 25 years later, the magnitude of the horror of that day, but also the strength of how we responded. And you go down

4:06 to Ground Zero, and I think we do. I think we’ve succeeded in doing that. And it’s encouraging to me that every year, hundreds of thousands of people, particularly young people from all over the world, go down to Ground Zero, visit the site, see what we have done to tell the story of that day, and in some way learn

4:29 the strength of America and what a people who stand together united can accomplish.

4:35 Speaker 1 You also opened up the Pataki Center in Albany. Do you plan to open up maybe one in New York, too?

4:43 Speaker 2 You know, we did. We have our little charity, the Pataki Center, and we’re doing charitable work trying to help people in need, like now in Ukraine, but also trying to treat keep teaching young people about government and policy and how government can be an effective force for good as opposed to as it too often is an oppressive

5:05 force for not such great things. So, yes, we have that center. And we’d love to have one in New York, John, but it’s too expensive. Quite simply, you know as well as anybody that it’s not cheap in New York City.

5:19 So we chose Albany. It’s the state capital. Obviously, I spent a lot of time there. It’s the center of our state government, which I was involved in for so long. So we’re happy to have that where we can hold seminars and sessions and little teaching programs for young people in particular. And it would be wonderful to have one

5:39 in New York, but for now we’re happy to have this in Albany.

5:42 Speaker 1 And I understand people can get more information on that by GeorgePatakiCenter.com.

5:49 Speaker 2 Exactly right. Just GeorgePatakiCenter.com, and they can find out about the center, they can find out about the documentary, and they can find out the other activities that we’re involved in.

5:58 Speaker 1 Now, the official gala for 9-11 is being held at Cipriani’s, and you’re the main honoree, and you’re getting the leadership award for being the leader on bringing New York back.

6:15 Speaker 2 Well, thank you, John. First of all, I have to thank you because every September 11th, the Pataki Center would have a little get-together for those of us who worked so hard and came together after that horrible attack. But this year, you suggested in honor of the 25th that we partner with WABC. So, John, with WABC, we’re going

6:36 to be having this event at Cipriani the night of September 11th to commemorate the 25th anniversary. And we’re going to be honoring some of those who did so much to bring New York and America through that time. And I’m just very happy we were able to partner with you and WADC to make the gala on September 11th,

6:58 the really significant event that we’re sure it’s going to be.

7:03 Speaker 1 And I know a lot of the excess funds are going, some of them to Tunnels to Tower and some of them to the Police Athletic League. And I understand that Cardinal Dolan will be there to give the prayer and support.

7:18 And we support Cardinal Dolan for everything he did.

7:23 Speaker 2 Cardinal Dolan is a wonderful man. He was a tremendous leader for the Archdiocese of New York. And we’re honored that he will be coming to do the invocation because he has a million things going on on September 11th, as everyone does. And it’s just going to be an honor.

7:40 And as you mentioned, it’s... For the hockey center, but with ABC’s help, we’re going to be also for a charity close to you, the Police Athletic League, that helps young city kids have exposure to opportunities. And also Tunnels to Towers that has done so much, not just for the families of September 11th, but for the families of

8:02 soldiers and first responders who have given so much for our country.

8:08 Speaker 1 I know that people that want to participate on the official 9-11, the 250th year anniversary of our country and the 25th year anniversary of bringing back New York, and thanks to your help, they can go to, I think one of the websites is wabcradio.com and just click buy tickets or buy tables or whatever. And I think you

8:32 also have a Pataki website.

8:38 Speaker 2 Yes, the same thing, John. So you’re absolutely right. WABC has its website, and people should click on there if they want to come, buy a ticket, come see the proceedings or buy a table. And the same thing with GeorgePatakiCenter.com.

8:53 They can click on it, get tickets to the September 11th memorial event that night as well.

9:01 Speaker 1 And we have great entertainment. I understand Lee Greenwood, Tony Orlando, and Joe Piscopo, and Vinnie Mandugo. And it will be one great night of entertainment, one great night of honoring our heroes like yourself, and one great night of just a great night to celebrate 9-11 and celebrate our country’s 250 years.

9:26 Speaker 2 Absolutely, John. It’ll be a fun night. It’ll be both a sad night and a fun night. It’ll be a fun night commemorating 250 years of the greatest country this world has ever seen, as you said, with entertainment. And it’ll also be a memorial night for the 25th anniversary of those horrible attacks. So we hope a lot of

9:47 people can come, pay their tributes, have a good time, and help us celebrate these two memorable occasions.

9:54 Speaker 1 Thank you so much.

9:55 Speaker 2 John thank you for everything.