Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC/CUNY) commemorated the 25th anniversary of September 11, 2001, on Thursday, September 10, at 10 a.m. in Theatre 1 at 199 Chambers St. in Lower Manhattan.
Former Secretary of State and U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, the 2016 Democratic nominee for president, was among the guest speakers at the event. Clinton delivered BMCC’s first commencement address following the attacks in May 2002.
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Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, whose mother, Dr. Sadie Bragg, served as BMCC’s Provost and Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs during the aftermath of September 11, also spoke at the event.
The commemoration featured remarks from New York City Council, CUNY and BMCC leaders, reflections from faculty and students, and special performances.
The anniversary held deep significance for BMCC. Located just blocks from the World Trade Center, the college was directly affected by the events of that day. Eight members of the BMCC community lost their lives, while many others later died from illnesses linked to exposure in the aftermath. Their memory remained at the heart of the college’s commemoration.
BMCC was the only college in U.S. history to lose a campus building as a result of a terrorist attack. Fiterman Hall, which had been donated to the college by Miles and Shirley Fiterman in 1993 and housed a significant portion of BMCC’s academic programs, sustained catastrophic damage when 7 World Trade Center collapsed. More than seven stories of debris struck the building, rendering it uninhabitable and ultimately leading to its demolition.
Yet the college’s story was defined not only by loss, but also by resilience.
In the hours following September 11, BMCC partnered with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to establish a triage center in the BMCC gymnasium at 199 Chambers St., using supplies from its nursing department. Generators were brought in, and the campus became a command center for Port Authority operations. Amid unprecedented disruption, the college supported emergency response efforts, served the Lower Manhattan community and remained committed to its students.
Groundbreaking for the new Fiterman Hall took place in 2009. The 14-story building opened in 2012 and housed the Shirley Fiterman Art Center, 65 classrooms, 35 computer labs, 130 faculty offices, library spaces, open spiral stairways and a conference center.
More than a replacement for what was lost, Fiterman Hall stood as a symbol of renewal and the enduring strength of an institution that helped its community recover while rebuilding itself.
The 25th anniversary commemoration was also livestreamed online on Thursday, September 10th, 2026.
