21st Annual Tunnel to Towers Run Draws 40,000 Runners Despite Ophelia's Rain
Rain did not dampen the spirt of the thousands who turned out Sept. 24 for the 21st annual Tunnel to Towers Run, that retraces the steps of firefighter Stephen Stiller, who ran from his firehouse in Red Hook. Brooklyn to the Twin Towers on 9/11. He was among the more than 2,700 who perished when the Twin Towers collapsed, including 343 firefighters. Now his family has turned his tragedy into a charitable events that has raised over $250 million for first responders and disabled veterans.
The usually quiet streets of Red Hook, Brooklyn, came alive for the 21st annual Tunnel to Towers 5K Run & Walk on Sunday, September 24. Despite the wet and windy conditions courtesy of Tropical Storm Ophelia, an estimated 40,000 participants an unqualified success.
The Tunnel to Towers 5K honors the memory of firefighter, Stephen Gerard Siller. A member of FDNY Squad 1, based in Park Slope, Brooklyn, on September 11, 2001, the 34-year-old Siller had gotten off duty when the Twin Towers were attacked. Hearing the news on his radio, Siller rushed back to the firehouse, retrieved his gear and tried to drive downtown to help. Finding the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel closed to vehicles for security reasons, Siller ran the nearly two miles into lower Manhattan carrying 60 pounds of gear on his back. Siller died sometime following the collapse of the South Tower at 9:59 AM.
The first Tunnel to Towers run was held the following year with 1500 runners. Its promoter, the non-profit Tunnel to Towers Foundation, was co-founded by Siller’s older brother, Frank, who’s also the organization’s present CEO. Speaking to a reporter before this year’s race, Siller said he wished to “Honor the sacrifice, and never forget what happened on that fateful day.”
Besides the Tunnel to Towers 5K, the Foundation promotes numerous other New York City events—and partners with other races elsewhere—to raise money for the families of first responders who died on 9/11 or from subsequent 9/11-related illness. A somber milestone of this year’s race, Siller noted, came with the news that the 343rd person had died of 9/11-related illness, a number equaling that of FDNY deaths on 9/11 itself.
A further part of the Foundation’s mission includes providing assistance to homeless veterans; Gold Star military families and catastrophically injured veterans.
While this year’s T2T fundraising total was still being determined, last year’s event brought in more the one million dollars. organizers told Straus News. Since its founding, it has spent over $250 million on housing and other services for veterans and first responders.
“Today’s about remembering,” Siller added. “We have Lady A playing after the run. We feed everyone. It’s like the miracle of the loaves of and the fishes.”
Although the Tunnel to Towers 5K starting line is just above the Battery Tunnel, many participants saw more of Red Hook than that, as the event’s staging area was nearly a mile away, at the Brooklyn Ikea on Beard Street, formerly the site of the historic Todd Shipyard. This morning’s transportation needs were met by a steady stream of ferries coming from Pier 11 at Wall Street and a convoy of UPS trucks that would haul participants’ bags to the finishing area in Manhattan.
From here, the thousands of colorfully clad runners and walkers made their way up Dwight and Richards Streets, passing such landmarks as Red Hook Houses, largest public housing project in Brooklyn, Coffey Park, and Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church. Standing out among this crowd were the many groups of firefighters dressed in their fluorescent yellow emblazoned fire gear, including units not just from around the region, and country, but even one from Versailles, France.
Firefighters on the Manhattan side held banners of their fallen comrades, many from the houses that they themselves joined years after the actual attacks.
Loudspeakers set up along the route allowed people to hear the pre-race ceremonies unfolding at the event’s starting area adjacent Harold L. Ickes Playground, just west of the Battery Tunnel, the perimeter of which was festooned with American flags for the occasion.
Singing the national anthem, as they have at all previous editions of the race, was the duo of Al Lambert and Jack Funari. Among others present was this year’s honorary starter, “Yellowstone” actor Cole Hauser; FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanaugh; NYPD First Deputy Commissioner Tania Kinsella; Port Authority Superintendent Edward Cetnar; comedian Joe Piscobo; disgraced America’s mayor, Rudy Giuliani; and two of Stephen Siller’s children, Genevieve and Stephen.
Despite the solemnity of the occasion, and the notable presence of heavily armed NYPD Counterterrorism officers, the mood was festive, as the huge crowd drew strength from their shared sense of purpose.
Sergeant Johnny Moynihan, a 38-year NYPD veteran who—along with his brother and fellow cop, Patrick— was at Ground Zero on 9/11 said, “It seems like yesterday. It brings back a lot of memories,” he explained, especially all the photos of 9/11 victims and American flags on the Manhattan side. Tunnel to Towers, Moynihan added, “was a wonderful event” and also a valuable “reminder and learning tool” for young people.
On the Manhattan side, where the route emerges uphill onto West Street, participants were met by more than 2500 Army cadets from the West Point Military Academy before continuing to the finish line at Murray Street.
Abundant food and drink, and a concert by the popular Nashville-based country band Lady A, followed.
“It seems like yesterday. It brings back a lot of memories.” Sgt. Johnny Moynihan, who is still with the NYPD after 39 years and was with his brother at the WTC on 9/11