FOX 5’s special “Tower Of Heroes” is handing New Yorkers a brutal kind of tribute: more than a thousand people are set to tackle the stairs of One World Trade Center to honor the heroes of 9/11. The Tunnel to Towers Foundation’s annual Tower Climb is scheduled for Sunday, June 7, with participants scaling 104 stories, or roughly 2,226 steps, to finish at the One World Observatory as the foundation marks the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks. The hourlong special threads in personal accounts from catastrophically injured veterans, first responders and Gold Star families, tying the punishing physical challenge to the foundation’s mission to build mortgage‑free homes for wounded heroes.
“Tower Of Heroes” was posted online May 21 and runs as a full‑length FOX 5 New York special profiling honorary starters and teams getting ready for the climb, according to FOX 5 New York. The Tunnel to Towers registration page confirms the event’s June 7 date and notes limited in‑person spots along with lottery registration for some waves, according to Tunnel to Towers.
The climb, step by step
The route is officially billed as 104 stories and the equivalent of 2,226 steps from the lower levels to the 102nd‑floor observatory, a tally spelled out in the foundation’s registration announcement, according to GlobeNewswire. Local coverage has echoed that number; past editions have been described as a “lung‑busting” 104‑floor test of endurance, underlining the event’s physical and symbolic weight, as reported by CBS New York.
25th anniversary push and nationwide tour
This year’s climb is part of a larger 25th‑anniversary push. Tunnel to Towers has pledged to deliver 343 mortgage‑free homes in tribute to the 343 FDNY members lost on 9/11, and the foundation has launched a coast‑to‑coast “Steel Across America” tour that will carry a recovered World Trade Center beam to more than 35 stops ahead of September 11. Those plans are laid out on the foundation’s site and in event announcements, according to Tunnel to Towers, and the tour has been covered by local outlets including ABC7 New York.
The FOX 5 special pulls together many of the climbers’ backstories and preserves them on screen as part memorial, part fundraiser; the full piece is available on the station’s site ahead of the big stair slog, per FOX 5 New York. For anyone looking to follow the event or support the foundation’s programs from home, Tunnel to Towers lists registration, fundraising and donation options on its event pages.
