(By Benjamin Leynse, New Jersey Monitor, August 17, 2026) — Michael Danatos has been advocating for New Jersey’s official 9/11 memorial for over two decades.
In 2004, he was chosen by then-Gov. Jim McGreevey to be on a committee made up of survivors of the attack and victims’ family members, a panel that was tasked with choosing the tribute for New Jersey’s 9/11 victims.
They chose a concept created by designer Jessica Jamroz and Frederic Schwartz: twin walls clad in stainless steel, engraved with hundreds of names, and positioned toward where the Twin Towers once marked the skyline. Called Empty Sky, it’s located at Liberty State Park in Jersey City, sitting on the shore of the Hudson River.
Since the design was chosen, though, Danatos said every governor since has failed to complete the memorial in its entirety, address repairs, and add missing names. Danatos, who lost his brother-in-law on Sept. 11, 2001, said his advocacy has been met with “crickets.”
“The current condition is a disgrace,” Danatos told the New Jersey Monitor.
He added: “Every day is discouraging. Every day is a heartache. Every day, I wish I could just forget. But I can’t, and I won’t.”
A group of family members of New Jersey 9/11 victims recently urged Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s administration to repair the lighting systems at the memorial, which were damaged during Hurricane Sandy in 2012. They also want the addition of 60 trees promised in the memorial’s original design and stainless steel siding on the outer face of the walls.
In a statement to the New Jersey Monitor, Jamroz described the impact of these design elements, calling them a “critical element” that announces that the memorial stands proudly as a beacon of hope on the same shoreline as the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.
Larry Hajna, a spokesperson for the Department of Environmental Protection, which oversees Liberty State Park, said that while park staff handles periodic cleaning and other small maintenance of the memorial, decisions regarding “significant repairs” are made across state government and must undergo a design process.
“The current lighting for the Empty Sky Memorial replaced the original lighting following damage from Superstorm Sandy. That replacement system failed several years ago. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection worked with a contract electrician to assess the lighting and identify the upgrades needed.” Hajna said.
Beyond the physical repairs, advocates say at least 17 names of 9/11 victims who had a significant connection to New Jersey have not been added to the memorial.
As of 2021, only 749 names were inscribed on Empty Sky. To qualify, a victim must have a “strong connection” to New Jersey — meaning they were born, raised, lived, or worked in the state.
While Hajna says New Jersey added three names to the memorial in 2021, he did not say if the 17 additional missing would be added or were being considered.
Many of the missing 17 were Port Authority of New York and New Jersey officers who worked in Jersey City, and others were New Jersey residents who commuted to jobs in New York City.
A total of 37 Port Authority officers were killed on 9/11, with many more dying from 9/11 related illness later in life.
The Port Authority officers who advocates say are missing from the memorial ranged from captains to clerks. Among them are Kathy N. Mazza, one of the Port Authority’s highest-ranking women and the first female commander of the Port Authority’s police academy, and Donald A. Foreman, a captain’s clerk who served 15 captains over 29 years.
Chris Meek, who was working on Wall Street when the attacks occurred, started the 9/11 Legacy Foundation following the attacks’ 20th anniversary in part because of his disappointment over how that day has been remembered.
“We’ve made that empty promise to never forget, and it took us 20 years to forget,” Meek said.
He said repairs and additions on Empty Sky have stalled for so long because “nobody cares until it’s politically convenient for them.”
“This 25th anniversary, they’re all going to be at Ground Zero, or they’re all going to be at the Empty Sky memorial, for their photo op, and on September 12, they’ll go back to whatever the legislation is on their desk and not care,” he said.
Asked to comment, Sherrill spokesman Darwin Pham said, “The Sherrill Administration is committed to the Empty Sky Memorial and ensuring it befits and honors the victims of 9/11 in New Jersey and their families. We will continue working with the families and stakeholders to find the best path forward. They have our unwavering commitment.”
Danatos said he was “cautiously optimistic” after the recent meeting between 9/11 victims’ families and the Sherrill administration. But with less than a month remaining before the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, and no public action taken since that meeting, he says his optimism has faded. Still, Danatos is not hesitating.
“I am knocking on every door, and I will continue to knock on doors until this gets done,” he said.
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