DSNY remembers employees who died of 9/11-related illness with new memorial plaque

As New York City and the nation paused to mark 25 years since 9/11 Friday, the newly added seventh moment of silence commemorating those who died of 9/11-related illnesses or injuries provided a particularly poignant moment for many. 

It was a moment of silence that spoke volumes. 

Rosaria Petrowski's father, William, worked for the Department of Sanitation. 

"That made us feel really great because it kind of felt like he was forgotten," Petrowski said. "I miss just his presence. He was always fun and laughing."

Dennis Ryan's father, Michael Ryan, became sick around 2006 and died last month. 

"I think he and his colleagues in the Sanitation Department were proud of their role in helping to kind of rebuild and restore the city," Dennis Ryan said. 

Just up the road from the World Trade Center site, the DSNY unveiled a plaque at their garage on Spring Street. The plaque displays the names of the more than 150 members who have died from a 9/11-related illness. They read their names aloud at the unveiling. 

There's space remaining on the plaque, because sadly it's expected that more names will be added. 

Less than 24 hours after the 9/11 terror attacks, DSNY - known as New York's Strongest - said they were called in to Ground Zero with heavy machinery to assist with cleaning and debris removal. 

"We had a job to do to open it up so rescue could be performed," said Marty Bellow, who was director of the Bureau of Waste Disposal on 9/11. 

The DSNY also reopened Fresh Kills landfill on Staten Island, which had closed the previous March, and began transporting material there for sorting and screening for the forensic operation. 

"Every ounce of material, we went to great pains to make sure nothing was lost. It was the biggest crime scene in the history of New York," Dennis Diggins said. Diggins was the deputy director of Fresh Kills at the time of the attacks. 

"We worked for 10 months, the same people. We didn't rotate out like other agencies, so the same people were there every day," said Mike Mucci, who was director of Fresh Kills at the time. 

Petrowski remembers that schedule well. 

"We didn't get to see him much because he would go home and shower and come right back to work," she said. 

In 2018, her father was diagnosed with two cancers. He died in 2025. 

"We asked him as he was sick, towards the end ... would he do it all over again? And he said absolutely," she said.