NEW YORK - Gary Gonel, 64, who has come to the World Trade Center site every year on Sept 11 to remember the deadly terror attacks in 2001, said his sorrow has grown over society becoming more divided and people being worried that such a tragedy might happen again.

"I come here every year to show families of 9/11 that we did not forget about them. Things in the past couple of years have been different. There are fewer and fewer people here," said Gonel, a New Yorker, who had a US flag in his hand.

Streets around the World Trade Center "used to be packed with people on Sept 11", but now fewer people are coming except for tourists and families who lost their loved ones, he said.