Martin S. Niederer

Selfless and Self-Disciplined
Martin Niederer, a gifted athlete, was an all- star point guard while growing up in western New Jersey. He was a point guard in life, too, bringing a passionate yet disciplined and selfless kind of style to everything he did.

After playing basketball at the University of Vermont, Mr. Niederer, 23, began working last year as a securities trader at Cantor Fitzgerald. He loved his job, always showed up at 7 a.m. on the dot, and always worked long hours, said his mother, Marilyn.

He was still dating his college girlfriend. He called a tiny apartment in Hoboken home. And he loved to play host to friends and family. In June, his parents, who now live in Richmond, Va., visited, and Mr. Niederer had scouted out the martini bars in Lower Manhattan. His father loves martinis. Martin found the perfect place in SoHo.

No matter how busy he was, he conducted his life with precision and aplomb. The day after the attacks, Mr. Niederer's parents visited his apartment in Hoboken. They found the bed made, the pillows fluffed.


Profile published in THE NEW YORK TIMES on October 10, 2001.


Martin Niederer, 23, basketball all-star On the basketball court, Martin Stewart Niederer, 23, was a standout.

He led his team at North Hunterdon Regional High School to many victories before he graduated in 1995. Then it was on to the University of Vermont, where he played more outstanding basketball.

But a field trip to Wall Street in his sophomore year would give Mr. Niederer a new focus, said his father, Charles. "He decided he wanted to move from basketball to the business world," Niederer said of his son, who was killed Sept. 11 in the World Trade Center.

After graduating from college in 1999, Mr. Niederer fulfilled his dream by landing a job on Wall Street at National Discount Brokers.

About a year ago, Mr. Niederer, described by his family as "very outgoing with a tremendous charisma," was recruited by Cantor Fitzgerald.

A securities trader from Hoboken, Mr. Niederer arrived in his office in Tower One early Sept. 11. He sent out an e-mail to a friend around 7:45 a.m. "That was the last anyone heard from him," said Charles Niederer.

Mr. Niederer was born in Teaneck and raised in Maplewood, where he developed a passion for basketball. The family moved to Wisconsin when Mr. Niederer was about 10 years old, then returned to New Jersey four years later, relocating to Clinton Township.

"Martin Niederer drove the length of the court and dropped in a lay-up with three seconds left to bring North Hunterdon a 49-48 boys' basketball victory over Phillipsburg in the final of the Easton Tournament last night in Easton, Pa.," according to a Star-Ledger sports story written Dec. 12, 1994. He was named to the newspaper's All-West Jersey Boys Basketball team in 1995.

Besides basketball, Mr. Niederer liked golfing.

He maintained close ties to his family, having had dinner with his parents and brother in Hasbrouck Heights on Saturday. This weekend, Mr. Niederer was scheduled to be on vacation with his family in Hilton Head, N.C.

He is survived by his parents, Charles W. and Marilyn Niederer of Richmond, Va., and a brother, Brian Charles Niederer of Atlanta.

A memorial Mass will be celebrated Saturday at 10 a.m. in Immaculate Conception Church in the Annandale section of Clinton Township. Another Mass will be celebrated Monday at 10 a.m. in the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, 823 Park Ave., Richmond, Va.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Cantor Fitzgerald Relief Fund, 101 Park Ave., 45th Floor, N.Y., 10178. Attention: Philip Ginsberg or call 1-800-446-0500.