[VIDEO & LARGE PHOTO GALLERY BY SHIMON GIFTER BELOW] President Barack Obama laid a wreath at the site of the collapsed Twin Towers of the World Trade Center paying tribute to victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in a solemn ceremony Thursday.

The President was accompanied by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Gov. Chris Christie, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and others who were there to witness the extraordinary rebirth of Ground Zero.

The president also met privately with 9/11 families for nearly an hour during his trip to the city four days after the terror mastermind was killed in Pakistan.

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Obama made no public remarks when he laid a wreath at the site of the Sept. 11 memorial, which is now under construction, before observing a moment of silence with his head bowed. He greeted first responders there, along with several victims’ relatives.

Before his visit to the site where nearly 3,000 people were killed, Obama stopped at a midtown firehouse that lost 15 members in the attacks nearly 10 years ago.

There, the president told firefighters that the killing of bin Laden sends the message that “when we say we never forget, we mean what we say.”

Obama joined former Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Fire Commissioner Salvatore Cassano for lunch with firefighters. He also visited a police precinct in Tribeca before heading to ground zero.

Before heading to the World Trade Center, the president also made a stop at the First Precinct in Lower Manhattan where he thanked officers for their service.

“He just said that we’re all Americans, we’re all in this together — us, the intelligence community, the counter terrorism community, we’re all involved in the job of fighting,” said New York City Police Department Captain Edward Winski.

The First Precinct, who was first on scene on the morning of September 11th, did not lose any officers during the attacks.