In Middletown, New Jersey, a quiet garden near the train station has become the place where grieving families go instead of a cemetery. The Middletown World Trade Center Memorial Gardens honor 37 residents killed on September 11, 2001 — the highest death toll of any town outside New York City — and the site is now getting a $1.55 million overhaul ahead of the attack's 25th anniversary.
Middletown officially awarded the construction contract to Vulcan Construction Group in April 2026, according to Middletown Township, which confirmed the final municipal figure after earlier media reports had cited lower preliminary estimates. As reported by CBS News, the upgrades include new lighting, walkways, and vegetation, work Middletown is making ahead of the anniversary this month. Many of the victims memorialized there were last seen by neighbors at the local train station before they headed into Manhattan for work, per the same report.
Matthew Casey was 14 when he lost his mother, Kathleen Casey, who ran the equities desk at Sandler O'Neill, in the South Tower, the outlet reports. He named his own daughter Kate after his mother, and he told the station he prefers coming to the memorial gardens over visiting a cemetery. Kenneth and Janice Tietjen, both now in their 80s, visit the gardens to feel close to their son Kenny, a Port Authority police officer who was 31 when he died as the towers collapsed.
A Father's Grief, a Mother's Fight for Justice
Kenny Tietjen reported to a Port Authority command center on September 11, 2001, and entered the towers to try to save lives before he was killed, according to the station's report. Kenneth Tietjen called his son a hero, and told the outlet the memorial gardens are beautiful, peaceful and quiet. Kenny Tietjen was among more than three dozen fellow officers killed that day.
Janice Tietjen said there is still no justice 25 years after the attacks, the report notes, pointing to accused plotter Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and other alleged attackers who have yet to stand trial. The couple has visited Guantanamo Bay in Cuba as part of that ongoing effort, and they say they will keep fighting so their son and other victims are not forgotten. In their son's memory, the Tietjens created a foundation to help people in need — an effort that echoes the work of the P.O. Ken Tietjen Memorial Foundation, which the Port Authority Police Benevolent Association says donates bicycles and toys to underprivileged children through annual regional fundraising events.
The Detective Who Became the Town's ‘Keeper of the List'
Local police carried their own weight in the aftermath. Detective Lieutenant Joseph Capriotti was the officer who told Middletown families their loved ones had died, a role that earned him the title “keeper of the list,” according to Patch. Capriotti later died from a 9/11-related illness and is now honored through a local PBA scholarship fund, Patch reports.
Middletown Deputy Fire Chief Kevin Morrissey searched debris at Ground Zero for days after the attacks and was later diagnosed with prostate cancer, per the CBS News account. His diagnosis fits a documented pattern: Northwell Health's World Trade Center Health Program tracked a 75% surge in newly diagnosed 9/11-related cancer cases between 2023 and 2025, recording 811 new cases over 42 months ending in mid-2026, according to CBS News. The same report says many cancers can take decades to develop. Nationally, the federal September 11th Victim Compensation Fund had distributed more than $18 billion across 112,000 claims as of August 2026, while health tracking confirms over 9,400 people have died from toxic Ground Zero exposure illnesses, according to Quartz — a toll now far exceeding the immediate attack casualties.
A Garden Built by Volunteers, Now Rebuilt With Public Funds
The gardens were dedicated on September 11, 2003, and were originally built next to the Middletown Arts Center through volunteer labor and donated services from local Monmouth County contractors, according to Middletown Township. Local businesses provided site preparation, fencing, and electrical work at no cost to taxpayers at the time. For the 20th anniversary in 2021, the township expanded the site with dedicated monuments honoring military service members, first responders, and victims of 9/11-related toxic exposure illnesses; those monuments were temporarily secured onsite during this year's renovation, per the same township records.
Middletown Mayor Tony Perry said the memorial gardens should be preserved for future generations, according to CBS News. Ahead of the 25th anniversary, the Middletown WTC Memorial Gardens Committee also organized a $25 commemorative yard sign fundraiser to support perpetual maintenance of the site, according to Veni Vidi Scripto, with signs sold at local retail centers including ShopRite.
One Town's Loss Within a County's Larger Toll
Monmouth County lost 147 residents in the attacks, meaning Middletown's 37 victims accounted for roughly one-quarter of the entire county's fatalities, according to the Office of U.S. Representative Chris Smith. The county also maintains a centralized regional memorial at Mount Mitchill Scenic Overlook in Atlantic Highlands, featuring a timeline walkway and an eagle sculpture holding World Trade Center steel that overlooks lower Manhattan, according to the Voices Center for Resilience. That overlook gave residents a direct vantage point to watch the skyline during the attacks themselves.
For families like the Caseys and the Tietjens, though, it is the small garden by the Middletown train station that carries the weight of memory each year. As the 25th anniversary approaches, the renovated walkways and new lighting are meant to ensure that weight has somewhere permanent to rest.
