Memories of the events on that sunny Tuesday morning ten years ago still linger, but most New Jerseyans say they won’t do anything special to mark the anniversary of the September 11 th terrorist attacks. The Monmouth University/NJ Press Media Poll also found that Garden State residents do not feel it is overly important to reconstruct a tower at the World Trade Center site.
Three-in-ten New Jerseyans (30%) say they still think about what happened on September 11, 2001 on a regular basis, and another 46% say they think about it from time to time. One-in-four say they rarely (19%) or never (5%) think about the attacks. Younger adults age 18 to 34 (65%) are somewhat less likely than those age 35 to 54 (81%) or 55 and older (77%) to think about those events at least occasionally.
When the poll was conducted in early August, 85% of state residents said they were already aware that the tenth anniversary was approaching. About 1-in-4 New Jerseyans said they plan to do something special to mark the tenth anniversary of September 11 th , including 14% who will attend a public ceremony and 12% who had planned a private observance.
“The 9-11 attacks left an indelible imprint on the Garden State, claiming the lives of nearly 700 New Jerseyans. The memory lingers ten years later, and many New Jerseyans still think of those events from time to time,” said Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute.
Just under half of New Jersey residents (45%) feel that the country is now more safe from terrorism than it was prior to the attacks, while 19% say it is less safe. Another 35% say the US is no more or no less safe from terrorism than it was ten years ago. The poll findings are similar for New York City itself, 47% of New Jerseyans say the city is now more safe from terrorism than it was in 2001, 13% say it is less safe, and 36% say there has been no change in how safe the city is from terrorism. Interestingly, men (51% for US and 52% for NYC) are more likely than women (39% for US and 43% for NYC) to say we are now more safe from terrorism than we were ten years ago.
A new building, sometimes called the Freedom Tower, is currently being erected at the World Trade Center site. The poll found that 1-in-3 New Jersey residents (33%) think it is very important to build a new tower at this location, 29% think it is somewhat important, and 35% say it is not important. Residents of South (42%) and Central (37%) Jersey are more likely than those in North Jersey (28%) to say that it’s not at all important to build another tall building on the WTC site. Still, only 35% of northern residents say it is “very important” to do so.
“The need to rebuild the World Trade Center site was one of the reasons given for the unpopular toll hikes recently instituted by the Port Authority. Most New Jerseyans think it is a good idea, but with 10 years having past, they don’t feel it’s especially crucial to have another tall building there,” said Murray.
A persistent policy issue related to September 11 th revolves around rescuers who have since developed health issues. Only 1-in-10 New Jerseyans (9%) say that the government has done enough for these responders compared to 67% who say the government has not done enough to meet their health care needs. Another 24% have no opinion on this.
The Monmouth University/NJ Press Media Poll was conducted by telephone with 802 New Jersey adults from August 3 to 8, 2011. This sample has a margin of error of ± 3.5 percent. The poll was conducted by the Monmouth University Polling Institute and originally published by the New Jersey Press Media newspaper group (Asbury Park Press, Courier-Post, Courier News, Daily Journal, Daily Record, and Home News Tribune).
DATA TABLES
The questions referred to in this release are as follows:
(* Some columns may not add to 100% due to rounding.)
1. Were you already aware that the 10th anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks is coming up this year, or hadn’t you realized this yet?
TOTAL | GENDER | AGE | REGION OF STATE | ||||||
Male | Female | 18-34 | 35-54 | 55+ | North | Central | South | ||
| Already aware | 85% | 85% | 85% | 75% | 89% | 90% | 87% | 86% | 83% |
| Hadn’t realized | 15% | 15% | 15% | 25% | 11% | 10% | 13% | 14% | 17% |
2. Do you still think about the September 11th attacks on a regular basis, just from time to time, very rarely, or never?
TOTAL | GENDER | AGE | REGION OF STATE | ||||||
Male | Female | 18-34 | 35-54 | 55+ | North | Central | South | ||
| Regular basis | 30% | 31% | 28% | 22% | 31% | 34% | 27% | 31% | 32% |
| Just from time to time | 46% | 44% | 47% | 43% | 50% | 43% | 52% | 42% | 40% |
| Very rarely | 19% | 19% | 19% | 25% | 15% | 18% | 14% | 20% | 24% |
| Never | 5% | 6% | 4% | 8% | 4% | 3% | 6% | 5% | 4% |
| (VOL) Don’t know | 1% | 0% | 2% | 2% | 0% | 1% | 1% | 2% | 0% |
3. Do you plan to do something special to observe the 10th anniversary of the attacks, or nothing out of the ordinary? [If YES: Will you attend a public ceremony or observe it in private?]
TOTAL | GENDER | AGE | REGION OF STATE | ||||||
Male | Female | 18-34 | 35-54 | 55+ | North | Central | South | ||
| Public ceremony | 14% | 12% | 15% | 17% | 11% | 14% | 13% | 14% | 15% |
| Observe in private | 12% | 13% | 11% | 13% | 12% | 10% | 14% | 10% | 10% |
| Nothing out of ordinary | 70% | 73% | 68% | 66% | 74% | 70% | 69% | 71% | 71% |
| (VOL) Don’t know | 4% | 2% | 5% | 4% | 2% | 5% | 4% | 4% | 3% |
4. Some rescuers who responded to the attacks have since developed health conditions. Based on what you may have heard, has the government done enough or not enough to take care of their health needs, or don’t you have an opinion on this?
TOTAL | GENDER | AGE | REGION OF STATE | ||||||
Male | Female | 18-34 | 35-54 | 55+ | North | Central | South | ||
| Enough | 9% | 9% | 9% | 6% | 10% | 11% | 11% | 8% | 7% |
| Not enough | 67% | 68% | 65% | 60% | 70% | 68% | 66% | 68% | 65% |
| No opinion | 24% | 22% | 26% | 34% | 20% | 21% | 22% | 24% | 28% |
5. A tower building is currently being constructed on the World Trade Center site. How important do you feel it is to build a new tall building on this site – very, somewhat, or not important?
TOTAL | GENDER | AGE | REGION OF STATE | ||||||
Male | Female | 18-34 | 35-54 | 55+ | North | Central | South | ||
| Very important | 33% | 41% | 25% | 34% | 35% | 29% | 35% | 35% | 26% |
| Somewhat important | 29% | 25% | 34% | 30% | 33% | 25% | 35% | 23% | 27% |
| Not important | 35% | 32% | 37% | 32% | 30% | 43% | 28% | 37% | 42% |
| (VOL) Don’t know | 3% | 2% | 4% | 5% | 1% | 3% | 2% | 5% | 4% |
6. Compared to before the September 11th attacks, do you think the country as a whole is now more safe or less safe from terrorism, or has there been no change?
TOTAL | GENDER | AGE | REGION OF STATE | ||||||
Male | Female | 18-34 | 35-54 | 55+ | North | Central | South | ||
| More safe | 45% | 51% | 39% | 45% | 46% | 42% | 44% | 46% | 46% |
| Less safe | 19% | 15% | 22% | 18% | 16% | 22% | 19% | 15% | 20% |
| No change | 35% | 33% | 37% | 34% | 36% | 35% | 37% | 36% | 33% |
| (VOL) Don’t know | 2% | 1% | 2% | 3% | 1% | 1% | 0% | 4% | 1% |
7. And do you think New York City is now more safe or less safe from terrorism, or has there been no change?
TOTAL | GENDER | AGE | REGION OF STATE | ||||||
Male | Female | 18-34 | 35-54 | 55+ | North | Central | South | ||
| More safe | 47% | 52% | 43% | 53% | 44% | 45% | 46% | 49% | 47% |
| Less safe | 13% | 9% | 17% | 11% | 13% | 17% | 15% | 10% | 14% |
| No change | 36% | 36% | 37% | 33% | 40% | 35% | 38% | 35% | 35% |
| (VOL) Don’t know | 3% | 2% | 3% | 3% | 3% | 3% | 1% | 5% | 4% |
The Monmouth University/NJ Press Media Poll was conducted by the Monmouth University Polling Institute on August 3 to 8, 2011 with a statewide random sample of 802 adult residents, including 640 contacted on a landline telephone and 162 on a cell phone. Sampling and interviewing services were provided by Braun Research, Inc. For results based on the total sample, one can say with 95% confidence that the error attributable to sampling has a maximum margin of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. Sampling error increases as the sample size decreases, so statements based on various population subgroups, such as separate figures reported by gender or party identification, are subject to more error than are statements based on the total sample. In addition to sampling error, one should bear in mind that question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of opinion polls.
POLL DEMOGRAPHICS (weighted) | |||
| 34% Dem | 49% Male | 30% 18-34 | 64% White |
| 21% Rep | 51% Female | 39% 35-54 | 13% Black |
| 45% Ind | 31% 55+ | 15% Hispanic | |
8% Asian/Other | |||
It is the Monmouth University Polling Institute’s policy to conduct surveys of all adult New Jersey residents, including voters and non-voters, on issues that affect the state. Specific voter surveys are conducted when appropriate during election cycles.
Click on pdf file link below for full methodology and results by key demographic groups.
