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On September 11, 2001, FDNY Firefighter Stephen Siller had finished his shift and was on his way to play golf when he heard that planes had struck the Twin Towers. He called his wife Sally, returned to Squad 1 to get his gear, and drove his truck to the entrance of the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel. The tunnel was closed, so he strapped his 60 pounds of gear on his back, and ran through the tunnel to the towers – where he gave up his life saving others.
Every year, the “Tunnels to Towers [ [link removed] ]” 5K run honors Stephen’s heroism and raises money for fallen first responders and Gold Star families with young children. “I Run for Heroes” the run’s t-shirts read.
I ran in the Tunnels to Towers 5K this morning, as I have in past years – and found it especially moving. At this time of polarization and division, it’s a powerful reminder that we do share some of the same heroes.
The run – over 40,000 strong this year – is full of firefighters and cops and their families. Lots of military families, too. Mostly they don’t recognize me. When they do, I think I can see a little conversation going on in their heads, at first maybe a little surprised to see me there, but then ultimately appreciative.
One of the most sacred duties of being Comptroller is managing the pension funds for municipal workers, including New York City’s firefighters and police officers (and teachers and nurses and social workers and secretaries and school crossing guards and accountants). I’ve worked closely with their union trustees in doing so. We don’t always agree on ESG issues, but we share a sense that there is a sacred duty here – in honoring service, including disability and death benefits for those injured or killed in the line of duty.
Part of what is so depressing about this political moment is the sense that the places of consensus about “shared heroes” are breaking down. Last year, Donald Trump brought Laura Loomer to the 9/11 Memorial Ceremony. This year, he skipped it entirely, and is trying to take over the Memorial. Meanwhile, it’s a constant struggle in Washington, D.C. to protect benefits for those who have died as a result of 9/11-related illnesses (thankfully, at least, that struggle is still somewhat bi-partisan).
At Charlie Kirk’s funeral, where Kirk’s wife Erika had just, quite remarkably, shown grace even to her husband’s murderer, Trump said: “I hate my opponents.” He renamed the Department of Defense to the Department of War. He wants a world of Us vs. Them. For him, heroes are people who fight against enemies.
It’s so difficult not to be polarized against Trump (and, by extension, his supporters) by his vile and hateful behavior, into hate of our own. But I think it’s critical that we work hard not to let that happen.
You know I’m going to keep standing up and fighting against Trump, when he sends ICE to abduct our immigrant neighbors, corrupts the Department of Justice, dehumanizes trans people, slashes the budget for health care and food stamps, and sends troops into our cities.
But it’s critical to do that in the fierce tradition of nonviolence which, as Dr. King taught, is the most powerful tool we have for insisting on people’s equal, sacred humanity.
For today, I was moved to be in such a large crowd recognizing Siller’s heroism, and honoring the sacrifice of all 343 firefighters and 71 law enforcement officers who lost their lives that day. They didn’t think about the politics of the people whose lives they worked to save.
By itself, the tradition of honoring shared heroes – people who worked to save others, even at the price of their own lives – won’t save our democracy. But it’s worth holding on tight to it.

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