SULLIVAN COUNTY, NY — The Sullivan County legislature honored the 25th anniversary of 9/11 by having documentary photographer and Smallwood resident Jonathan C. Hyman give a presentation entitled “9/11: What Does It Mean to 'Never Forget' a National Catastrophe?” Legislators also spoke on the long term health the tragedy had on those present at and near ground zero on the day of the attacks.

Hyman’s presentation took place during the legislature's human resources committee and consisted of photographs of memorials. Hyman said that he uses these photographs to explain the multiple ways the attacks are remembered and commemorated.

“I've learned to use my own collection of over 20,000 pictures to make some points about the kinds of things people were saying in response to the attacks,” he said.

The memorials photographed had messages that were varied. Some supported military retaliation, including one that showed a red white and blue missile striking a depiction of Osama Bin Laden with devil horns.

“We The People” Middletown, NY

Photo © 2002 Jonathan C. Hyman

Others urged peace, like a depiction of the NYC skyline at night with the World Trade Center towers made of flowers, calling upon the flower power movement of the mid 20th century.

“Flower Power Mural" New York City

Photo © 2002 Jonathan C. Hyman

“You can see that there's a lot of nuance involved in the 9/11 attacks and the way we responded,” Hyman said. “I think it's particularly interesting to go back and look at it.”

Hyman said that he hoped his photographs would highlight these differences, and cause people to have conversations about the individual as well as the shared collective responses to the tragedy.

“I hope that this is a way in which you can start to think about how people never forget by generating images and ideas and public expression throughout the culture, regardless of their political point of view,” Hyman said. “How do you do this in a digital world? I'm still trying to figure that out.”

After Hyman’s presentation, chair of the human resources committee Amanda Ward called for a moment of silence “recognizing all the lives that were lost, the family members that were impacted, the world that was impacted, friends, and also the first responders.”

Hyman’s presentation can be viewed in full at https://ayrs.io/c6CvBJ. His photographs can be viewed at https://jonathanchymanphotographer.com/photographs/new-americana-911.

The health impacts of 9/11

On Tuesday, September 8, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced the public release of documents relating to the 9/11 attacks, drawing commendations from first responder advocates, federal lawmakers, city officials and even a member of the Sullivan County Legislature.

The city will now have an online public records portal with information about the environmental and health impacts of 9/11 and the attacks aftermath. The city also settled two lawsuits related to these files.

“The very least our city owes the families, survivors and first responders whose lives were forever changed by the September 11th attacks is transparency and accountability,” Mamdani said in a release following the announcement. “For too long, New Yorkers have had to fight for access to records that should have been available to them in the first place. This portal is part of our administration’s enduring commitment to honor those we lost, care for those living with lasting health consequences and give thousands of New Yorkers the answer they’ve been asking for.” 

During the legislature’s meeting of the Health and Human Services Committee, committee chair Catherine Scott commended this release, calling it “remarkable.” She also emphasized that communication with the public is part of the job of an elected official.

“I think it's important for us to understand that our obligation is to the citizens,” Scott said. “Our job is to be transparent, even when the news is bad, even when we might be at fault for something.”

Scott also shared a conversation she had with a constituent of hers that is a retired FDNY member, and shared his experience with 9/11 related diseases.

“What he talked to me about was the guys that he served with that died that day, and the emails and phone calls he gets about the ones that die now,” Scott said. “On average about three firefighters die per month now from 9/11-related diseases.”

In closing, Scott urged everyone to keep in mind the struggle first responders underwent after the attacks, and the struggle they continue to go through.

“That's how I want to remember 9/11…is recognizing that people had to fight hard to get benefits for their illnesses, to prove that those illnesses were associated and to get benefits,” Scott said. “It shouldn't have had to be that hard.”