A Long 15 Years: Remembering 9/11

While I may not blog nearly as much as I used to, I feel drawn to do so in commemorating the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks by members of al Qaeda. It is unbelievable to believe it has been 15 years since that awful day. There are kids growing up who have never known or seen the World Trade Center as the Twin Towers; they see that only in photos or videos.

Some of the feelings and memories are getting hazy, the further we get from that terrible day, and yet I can get yanked back to the days and weeks after the attacks with a simple smell - walking past construction sites where they're demolishing steel or welding metal. It's the scorched earth metallic smell that triggers a physical and emotional response for me.

That and sometimes commuting into Hoboken and seeing a clear blue sky on a crisp sunny morning in the Fall, with planes and contrails in the sky.

I'm sure I'm not alone in getting those feelings or memories. Many of us experienced this in real time - in real life. We worried about families, friends, and loved ones, and the strangers we knew commuted through to Manhattan. We worried about those who went up into the Towers to save lives and those who came plunging down and the families they left behind.

We worried about the people whose cars stayed at park and rides for days and weeks after the attacks because their owners were among the victims. We worried about what might come next.

It's for that reason I write about this every year. It's why we need to remember what happened, and how we got to where we are now. For instance, there's any number of books to be recommended for background on the site, the rebuilding efforts, and the politics behind all of it. Local and national media outlets are also ramping up their coverage for the 15th anniversary. For instance, the Record has devoted an entire area of their website to 9/11 coverage.

I've written essentially the same opening each of the past few years. It's still appropriate to remember today, as it was when I first wrote this:

September 11, 2001. New Yorkers were heading to the polls to vote in primary elections to determine the next mayor of the city. It was a morning full of promise and baseball fans were excited about the Yankees' chances of making the playoffs, the Mets thinking about the future, and the start of the new football season. In other words, it was a day not unlike the ones we've experienced once again this year.

While everyone was focused on the day ahead, another group of people were thinking about the mission that would forever alter the skyline of NYC and alter history. Al Qaeda's terrorists were already on board four jets bound for New York and Washington DC and had already overpowered the crews.

I was on a NJ Transit train with my dad when I first noticed something wrong at the WTC out of the corner of my eye; it was smoke coming from the upper reaches of the tower.

It was just around 8:45.

The world changed, and I didn't quite realize it. No one did.

People watching the morning news didn't know it either at first. But they would soon be glued to broadcasts that showed the horrors of the worst terror attacks ever perpetrated.

The damage done on that morning was nearly impossible to comprehend. In the mere blink of the eye, nearly 3,000 people were condemned to death and the World Trade Center would soon be reduced to a pile of rubble that would burn for weeks on end. Reports would come in that a third plane had struck and damaged the Pentagon.  But the death rattle of the Twin Towers would continue for just under two hours and victims trapped above the fires had to make the choice to stay and choke on the heat and smoke or jump to a certain death. All too many make that decision to jump. Firefighters on the ground also succumbed before the towers fell - falling debris hitting firefighters and fleeing people alike.

Victim Number One would be there to comfort those who fell. Rev. Mychal Judge of the FDNY was comforting fallen firefighters and office workers alike when he was struck and killed by debris. So many people inside the Department and around the City thought so highly of him that he was honored as the first victim of the attacks - so that he could comfort and aid all those many others who were murdered on that day - to guide them to Heaven. There are continuing efforts to see him sainted, and his ministrations to those in need, especially on that day, certainly would do his memory justice.
All too many would unfortunately follow him - and not by their own choice.

Here are remembrances of a few of those killed on 9/11, as written by my friend legalbgl for Project 2,996:

Donald H. Gregory (2015)
Steven Harris Russin (2014).
Lt. Col. Jerry Don Dickerson Jr. (2013).
Mary Lenz Wieman (2012).
Mark Francis Broderick (2011).
Captain Patrick J. Brown (2010).
Hagay Shefi (2009).
Alison Marie Wildman (2008).
Daniel Thomas Afflito (2007).
Donna Bernaerts-Kearns (2006).

Remembering what happened, why it happened, and what's happened to the people who were there on that horrible day, not to mention the consequences of the terror attacks are why I write this. It's also why the 9/11 Museum is so integral to commemorating and remembering. While the National 9/11 WTC Museum continues drawing millions of visitors a year, I still fervently believe that it should be brought under the auspices of the National Park Service with all their wherewithal and expertise in protecting our national heritage for future generations. The NPS would be a far better steward of this history and all it represents.

It's also why I think the museum should be free for all to come and bear witness to the events. This should be a no-brainer, and yet no one can agree on making that happen. The NPS already operates the 9/11 Memorial in Shanksville, PA, where Flight 93 crashed after passengers rose up to stop the terrorists from attempting to crash the plane into the Capitol or White House. It had been a long journey for that project to come to fruition, but the results are stunning. The families banded together to raise the money to obtain the land and build a suitable memorial - turning it over to the NPS. It was the right thing to do.

One of the reasons why the museum isn't free admission is that it's costly to maintain/operate the facility.  While Joe Daniels and the foundation has done an adequate job in bringing the museum to fruition, Daniels is stepping down after more than a decade running the foundation.

Historical artifacts from the WTC aren't found only at the WTC site or at Shanksville, but at memorials and museums across the country. Two of the biggest items have recently been made ready for the public - two PATH cars that were recovered from the WTC months after the attacks. They had been stored at JFK airport with other items, but were recently turned over to museums in Connecticut and Kingston, NY for display. The repository at the airport finally shut down earlier this year.

Also, the long missing 9/11 flag was found and has been returned to the WTC museum.

Despite 15 years having passed, there's still a human toll - both in mental and physical health terms. Many throughout the NYC metro area suffer from the mental toll of 9/11, both those who lost loved ones and those who watched the towers fall first-hand (simply by looking out the window as opposed to seeing it on tv) and could smell the fires for weeks thereafter. First responders are still dying from the exposure to the chemicals in the air, and the Zadroga Act was finally made permanent after far too long a delay by Congress.

On Friday September 9, there's a memorial procession by the NYPD's Emerald Society through Lower Manhattan to commemorate and celebrate the lives of those law enforcement members who died.

Construction at the site doesn't domination the front pages of local papers as it used to, as construction is nearing the end on several portions of the site. The entire Western side of Ground Zero is now essentially built out - between the Memorial, Museum, 1WTC, 4WTC, 7WTC, and the WTC Transit Hall.

The South Memorial Pool looking towards 4WTC. 

Should it surprise anyone that the companies involved in rebuilding have been caught up in shenanigans, including lying about using minority hires in erecting the steel at the site? Larry Davis, who won a $1 billion contract on the strength of partnering with minority owned businesses, was found guilty of lying about who was involved in erecting steel at the site. He was sentenced to 40 years in prison. He lied about employing minority and women-owned businesses, said Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara.

The following is an update of construction around the WTC site:

• 1WTC recaptured part of the skyline and is regarded as the tallest skyscraper in North America at 1,776 feet. 1WTC is now open for business, including the observation deck. The tower is about 2/3 occupied.
• 2WTC is once again in limbo. Despite reports last year that the Norman Foster inspired design was scraped in favor of one by Bjarke Ingels to fulfill the needs of News Corp, the company has backed out as anchor tenant. If and when 2WTC is finally built, it will likely become the one of the most expensive skyscraper ever built (after 1WTC) because of the complexity of designing and building the skyscraper in the location chosen. It's being built atop key infrastructure for the entire site, including ventilation for the PATH system, and the cost will soar to nearly $4  billion. Without the anchor tenant, there's no timeline for when the tower will be completed.
• 3WTC has nearly reached its final height as the concrete core was finally built out and the exterior curtain walls have started rising. The building is still scheduled to be open for business in 2018. It's anchor tenant is Group M, which took 700,000 sf of space in the 2 million sf building. Other tenants include Tiffany's and Hawksmoor Steakhouse.
• 4WTC is in the process of being occupied. Tenants are already moving in, though it is not yet fully occupied. Currently, the building is about 80% leased.
• Bringing up the rear is 5WTC, which has pretty much fallen off the radar since the site of the former Deutsche Bank building was finally razed. There are no plans for what to do with that site, and it may continue to lie fallow. Frankly, the Port Authority should sell the site and let a private developer build out the site - whether as office space (not likely), or as a combination of hotel and residential space, which makes more business sense given the spate of these combination towers being built around the City, including at the former Moody's site a few blocks north at 30 Park Place, which also happens to be being built by Silverstein Properties.
• The WTC Transit Hub is finally open but it cost more than $4 billion. That's nearly $2 billion over the original budget estimate, and the costs associated with this has sapped the Port Authority's ability to build new infrastructure in the region, which is its core mission. Instead, the agency has poured billions into a project that doesn't add any cross-river capacity. It's a glorified high-end shopping mall that's struggling to find tenants even as the nearby Brookfield Center at the former World Financial Center has been reimagined as its own high-end mall. It handles substantially fewer commuters than any of the other transit hubs in NYC - Penn Station or Grand Central Terminal, and the cost isn't going to be recouped anytime soon.
• Still lagging is the Vehicle Security Center that runs along the south side of the WTC and which was previously occupied by the former Deutsche Bank building. There's a new platform and entrance area being built for vehicles servicing the WTC complex, but it's years behind schedule and over budget (like everything else at the WTC). Even St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church is seeing progress - and that's even with Santiago Calatrava designing the new church (who designed the PATH hub). The elevated park atop the VSC is being constructed at the same time, but the delays have had a ripple effect in getting work done elsewhere on the site, including bringing in tenants to their new offices. Liberty Park, as it is called, has been open since this past June.
• The WTC Performing Arts Center (PAC) has long been off the radar, but now that the PATH hub has opened, the temporary headhouse at Vesey and Greenwich can be demolished to make way for the performing arts center. Barbra Streisand has been tapped as chairperson of the PAC's board. The PAC will be named in honor of Ron Perelman, who donated $75 million towards the $250 million cost. It's expected to be open in 2020.

The PAC has produced a video showing the new design and how it relates to its surroundings:

The North Memorial Pool looking towards the PATH transit center as it appears before the PAC is built.

While the PATH hub will be visually interesting and definitely become a photographer's favorite, the problem with it is that the $4 billion spent adds not a single iota of additional cross-Hudson capacity to the PATH system at a time when the Amtrak Hudson River tunnels are in dire need of work due to Sandy damage, and there's no place to increase capacity until new tunnels are built. The Port Authority is fudging the figures so as to claim that 250,000 pedestrians will use the transit hub daily. That's not exactly true. 35,000 people use PATH daily in and out of the WTC. The rest are people who the Port Authority expects to visit the mall being built as part of the hub, and the people who are working in 1WTC and 4WTC as those spaces are filled out. 250,000 people are not going to be taking PATH daily; they're also throwing in commuters from the MTA system courtesy of the Dey Street connector. Even with proposals to extend PATH all the way to Newark Airport, the ridership figures do not justify the billions spent the way they were. Last December,  some New Jersey Democrats argued that PATH should scuttle the extension over the ongoing civil and criminal investigations  of United Airlines and dealings with the former Chairman of the Port Authority David Samson. Those investigations have already led to several airline officials being fired and Samson entered a guilty plea in June.

The price does provide for a lot of marble though. The Port Authority wanted a white elephant - and they got one - clad in marble. Well, that was before they lined the halls with LED signage - particularly the East-West Connector with Brookfield Place.

The underground spaces are once again a mall.

I know that may shock or surprise some people, but unless the entire site was going to be transformed into a memorial or museum, the space was going to be put to commercial use. That's what was there before the WTC was destroyed. It has again become a mall.

Much of the fault for the slow pace of rebuilding is the result of Port Authority actions and omissions to limit cost increases, especially when it comes to the transit hub and the delays in building led to still more costs incurred. All of these costs add up, and they've sapped the Port Authority's ability to do other critical infrastructure work elsewhere in the region, like building the Gateway Tunnel or additional PATH service or cross-harbor tunnels - expanding transit options while the WTC complex continues to be rebuilt at a near glacial pace. That pace is also the result of the acts by governors in both New York and New Jersey to contain costs. Special ire should be directed at Gov. George Pataki whose interference in the design plans in the early years after the attacks added years and billions in costs to the rebuilding process.

1WTC shrouded in breaking clouds. Note that scaffold on the south side.

The Port Authority is considering selling 1WTC, though that's a parallel to the situation immediately before 9/11. Back in 2000, the Port Authority entered in to a 99 year lease with Silverstein Properties for the WTC complex. The deal was still being finalized with the insurance on the site when the attacks occurred. Now, the Port Authority is trying to get rid of its real estate portfolio. One has to wonder who'd consider buying it given the history of the site: namely being the target of two successful terror attacks. 1WTC remains nearly 30% vacant.

However, beyond the WTC complex, Lower Manhattan has remade itself as a residential district as much as a financial and business one. The population in Lower Manhattan has doubled since 2001, which reflects the resilience of the neighborhood.

The rest of the skyline has changed greatly too. While there was a lot of discussion about how NYC might not see supertall skyscrapers built after the attacks, it turns out those discussions fell on deaf ears and developers have gone supertall in a big way. NYC has now seen construction of some of the tallest buildings in the Western Hemisphere in the past decade, and many more are on drawing boards.

Despite all the new construction, even at the WTC complex, the skyline will never be the same. Neither will our hearts, which are heavy with the loss and supreme sacrifices made on 9/11 by the rescue personnel who bravely rushed up the towers even as people were racing to get out of the towers or gasping as people were forced to jump to their deaths to avoid being burned alive in the fires that racked the towers.

I remember.

Last year, Century21 Department store wrapped their building across from Ground Zero with a full size mural. It's as appropriate then as today.

What the Century21 wrap will look like when done.

We remember.

Yellow roses adorn the names of those who served in the military and died on 9/11 as part of Veterans' Day remembrances.

The Tribute in Light

The view of Lower Manhattan from the Staten Island 9/11 Memorial at St. George.

Looking across the Hudson River from Hoboken.

For my prior year recollections and postings, see September 11, 2015, September 11, 2014, September 11, 2013, September 11, 2012, 10 Years Later,  September 11, 2010, September 11, 2009,  September 11, 2008, September 11, 2007, September 11, 2006, and September 11, 2005.

A Year Later: Rebuilding After Sandy Continues

A year ago, Hurricane Sandy was churning off the East Coast and about to deliver one of the greatest left hooks anyone had ever seen. The storm was projected to make landfall within 100 miles or so of New York City, and would do so at an astronomical high tide. While it was not the strongest storm in the Atlantic Basin's history, it was the largest storm - with a wind shield of 1,100 miles.

That combination led to fears that entire parts of the New York metro area would be flooded out.

Those fears turned out to be right on the money.

Parts of the city and Jersey Shore and Long Island were indeed flooded out and battered by Sandy. While the storm didn't produce the kinds of flooding rains that have been visited by storms like Floyd or Irene, it was the storm surge that caused tremendous damage to New York City. Here are a bunch of before-after photos showing how far we've come in the cleanup and rebuilding efforts.

More than 200 people were killed by the storm in all, including dozens in both New York and New Jersey. The Jersey Shore was battered and some of the most iconic photos were taken from Seaside Heights where the famous rollercoaster and amusement park pier were swallowed up by the angry churning ocean.

The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island were both overrun by the waters in New York Harbor, and it has only been in the last two weeks that the Statue of Liberty was reopened to the public after its piers and electrical systems were repaired. Ellis Island is reopening to the public this week, although many pieces in the museum collection are still undergoing repairs and conservation efforts.

The flood waters inundated Lower Manhattan, Hoboken, Jersey City, and hundreds of miles of shoreline throughout the region.

Communities hardest hit included Breezy Point, Long Beach, Hoboken, and other coastal and low lying areas. Breezy Point was site of one of the worst sights during the crisis - a raging fire during the height of the storm that ended up burning more than a 100 homes with firefighters powerless to do anything. Since then, there have been accusations and lawsuits against Con Ed that they didn't turn power off to the area, which could have saved the area from the fires that started when electrical systems were inundated.

While some are still waiting for insurance to come through or have decided that rebuilding isn't worth the effort and have sought homes on higher ground elsewhere, others have started rebuilding.

Many shore communities have made an effort to rebuild damaged boardwalks. A few were able to rebuild in time for this summer, but many others were only able to get a few sections done or otherwise cleared debris so that beach access was assured.

Yet risks remain from Sandy damage. A devastating fire destroyed more than 50 businesses in Seaside Park just two weeks ago. The fire apparently started in wiring underneath a portion of the town's boardwalk that survived Sandy but was damaged by the flood waters. The damage went undetected until after it caused the fire destroying businesses and buildings that had survived Sandy.

The New York City subways, which famously run 24-7-365, were shut down ahead of the storm. Efforts were made to try and protect key assets - the tunnels and entrances in low lying areas, but those efforts failed in Lower Manhattan as the temporary measures were no match for the historic storm surge that flooded Lower Manhattan and crippled the MTA's subway system.

In all 9 subway tunnels were flooded, and repairs to those tunnels will continue for the foreseeable future. One, the Montague Tube, will be out of service for more than a year as the entire tunnel needs to be rebuild and reinforced against future storm damage. Every piece of electronic gear, every switch, every signal, and even the rails and ties, have to be replaced because they sat in the salt water that flooded the tunnels. The MTA's ability to get the system largely up and running, including a bus bridge while the subway service was being restored will be a case-study in how to deal with disaster management for decades to come. It also once again showed how and why the subway system is so critical to a functioning and growing metropolis like New York City. It's why the City and State must come up with the money to invest in growing the system and reinforcing and modernizing the system. The subways are integral to the city's very survival and nothing can replace a functioning subway system or else the city will grind to a halt under the strain of too many people trying to get to their places of employment.

While the MTA heroically managed to get service restored quickly, including to the A line to the Rockaways that was washed out by the storm surge in Jamaica Bay, the system continues to be plagued by delays and signal failures throughout the affected subway tunnels and flooded areas due to salt water corrosion. All of those issues will have to be addressed to keep the system functioning. Gov. Andrew Cuomo made a point of touting the MTA restoration efforts, but he's refused thus far to commit to increasing the state aid to the MTA to rebuild and reinforce the system further adding to the agency's debt load as it needs to borrow to make the necessary improvements. That's a substantial failure on his part.

Across the Hudson, NJ Transit is still dealing with all the damage to its system, and the fact that New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie refuses to take action against James Weinstein for not implementing and overseeing the protection of the rail fleet that ended up being purposefully stored in flood zones in Kearny's Meadows Yard and Hoboken's terminal yard. It's understandable that damage to fixed equipment - the switches and repair facilities - couldn't be reduced due to their location, but the rail fleet suffered damage that continued to hamper commuters for months after. That was completely avoidable. NJ Transit ignored flooding risks and allowed hundreds of railcars and locomotives to be flooded out. The damage has yet to be completely repaired.

The Port Authority's bridges and tunnels weathered the storm mostly intact, but there was significant damage at LaGuardia Airport, where flooding swept through the terminals and into the parking lots, and PATH was completely overwhelmed between Hoboken and World Trade Center. It took months before service was restored.

The rebuilding around the region continues to be uneven as insurance companies, FEMA, and state and localities are dealing with all kinds of issues. Some areas have been bought out by the government so as to return those areas to marsh lands instead of development.

Other parts are building new and improved reinforced dune networks - steel sheet piles buried underneath sand dunes planted with sea grass. Some of those efforts have been hampered by landowners who protest the eminent domain easements necessary to allow their construction. The New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that the added value of sand dune protection must be weighed against any potential lost views. Frankly, the fact that the person lost views ignores the fact that the sand dunes act to protect those homes and the homes of their neighbors from the devastating storm surge.

The Hurricane also provided yet another clarifying moment when Congressional Republicans basically thwarted any action to fund rebuilding aid, re-funding the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), and delayed action for 91 days. Many of these same Republicans have their hands out with no strings attached and no conditions when disaster aid is requested for their own districts, but they demanded that any disaster aid include offsets from other parts of the budget, and otherwise imposed conditions on disaster aid that had not been done in any prior instance.

The delay had real ramifications - delaying the time for which people could be reimbursed from the NFIP, including for floods occurring elsewhere in the country as well as in the New York metro area.

Utilities are still dealing with the disaster too - having to ramp up their efforts to disaster-proof their systems. Sandy revealed that far too many key assets are in flood zones and that the utilities are ill prepared to deal with the scope of damage. New Jersey's PSE&G fared far better than other New Jersey utilities, but power-restoration efforts were far slower than anyone wants. PSE&G has proposed a multi-year multi-billion dollar improvement project, which includes taller power poles that are more resistant to wind and tree damage, and new gear that reduces the chances that downed lines and poles take out power adjacent power lines. Despite those improvements, there are communities that are balking at the taller poles, complaining that it changes the character of their towns. It's NIMBYism at its core, but these will be some of the same people who will complain loudest when the power goes out.

The power outages also caused significant shortages of gasoline - and while New York State is building a gas reserve to deal with future disasters, efforts to require gas stations to have generators on hand to power the pumps when the power goes out have faltered. That's a mistake.

A gas reserve doesn't matter much if the gas stations lack the power to operate the pumps. An effort should be made to require gas stations that are renovating or replacing their gas tanks to upgrade to include generator backups - whether portable generators or fixed generators on site to provide backup. The gas shortages meant long lines and the governors in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut were forced to impose odd-even rationing to make sure that lines weren't out of control.

Cross Posted at LGF.

12 Years Later: Remembering 9/11

September 11, 2001. New Yorkers were heading to the polls to vote on the next mayor of the city. It was a morning full of promise and baseball fans were excited about the Yankees' chances of making the playoffs, the Mets thinking about the future, and the start of the new football season. In other words, it was a day not much different than those September days we've been experiencing in the New York City metro area this year.

While everyone was focused on the day ahead, another group of people were thinking about the mission that would forever alter the skyline of NYC and alter history. Al Qaeda's terrorists were already on board four jets bound for New York and Washington DC and had already overpowered the crews.

I was on a NJ Transit train with my dad when I first noticed something wrong at the WTC out of the corner of my eye; it was smoke coming from the upper reaches of the tower.

It was just around 8:45.

The world changed, and I didn't quite realize it.

People watching the morning news didn't know it either at first. But they would soon be glued to broadcasts that showed the horrors of the worst terror attacks ever perpetrated.

The damage done on that morning was nearly impossible to comprehend. In the mere blink of the eye, nearly 3,000 people were condemned to death and the World Trade Center would soon be reduced to a pile of rubble that would burn for weeks on end. Reports would come in that a third plane had struck and damaged the Pentagon.  But the death rattle of the Twin Towers would continue for just under two hours and victims trapped above the fires had to make the choice to stay and choke on the heat and smoke or jump to a certain death. All too many make that decision to jump. Firefighters on the ground also succumbed before the towers fell - falling debris hitting firefighters and fleeing people alike.

Victim Number One would be there to comfort those who fell. Rev. Mychal Judge of the FDNY was comforting fallen firefighters and office workers alike when he was struck and killed by debris. So many people inside the Department and around the City thought so highly of him that he was honored as the first victim of the attacks - so that he could comfort and aid all those many others who were murdered on that day - to guide them to Heaven.

All too many would unfortunately follow him - and not by their own choice.

Here are remembrances of a few of those killed on 9/11, as written by my friend legalbgl for Project 2,996 (and updated to reflect his additional memorializations for 2011 through 2013):

Lt. Col. Jerry Don Dickerson Jr. (2013).
Mary Lenz Wieman (2012).
Mark Francis Broderick (2011).
Captain Patrick J. Brown (2010).
Hagay Shefi (2009).
Alison Marie Wildman (2008).
Daniel Thomas Afflito (2007).

Coming full circle, on May 1, 2011, the United States finally caught up with Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan. In a daring raid on a compound near Pakistan's military academy, US special forces killed bin Laden and captured a treasure trove of intel.  That's small consolation for the thousands of families and friends who still grieve the senseless murder of their loved ones in New York, Washington DC at the Pentagon, and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The profound loss is a heavy burden on all those who were there and on those who lost loved ones. While television crews jockeyed for spots overlooking the Ground Zero site, the death of bin Laden would not bring solace to those who lost loved ones, nor would it bring their loved ones back.

Local commemorations are already underway and will continue through the week throughout the region. And there are those in the area who are still suffering from the medical effects of exposure to the air at Ground Zero.

The federal government created the James Zadroga health and compensation fund because of the ongoing health concerns of those who carried out relief and recovery efforts at Ground Zero. More people are seeking assistance via the program, including those emergency responders who came from across the country to spell the FDNY and NYPD and PAPD in the grim task of recovering the remains of those murdered.

Emergency personnel were at Ground Zero around the clock for weeks on end before officials would claim that the site had officially been cleared of remains. Many of them, plus those living near Ground Zero would later become ill from the effects of breathing in all the dust and debris that was pulverized by the collapsing towers, and it is one of the sadder chapters from 9/11 that we are still burying victims of the attacks to this day, including James Zadroga.

People who risked their lives to save others and to help families who lost loved ones find remains of the victims are themselves victims of the attacks. The Zadroga Act isn't perfect by any means and it has come too late for some, but it's a start to compensate and aid families of responders who are suffering from all manner of ailments  attributed to Ground Zero exposure.

The death toll, which was once feared to be more than we could bear - in the tens of thousands, would eventually drop to around 2,742 at the World Trade Center. However, that count continues rising as more emergency personnel working at Ground Zero succumb to ailments attributed to exposures at Ground Zero. The head of the PBA says that the total number of cops who have died from medical ailments related to the 9/11 attacks is greater than the number who died during the attacks themselves. More than 1,100 people have cancers attributed to exposure at Ground Zero. Over 65,000 are registered with the WTC Registry. Some of their names will eventually be added to the roll of those killed in the attacks.

Construction at the site now dominates discussion, though there are unsettling discoveries made from time to time. Workers at the site of the proposed Park 51 / Cordoba House Islamic Center found part of the landing gear of one of the planes wedged between the building and an adjacent one.

The past 10 years have been a near constant reminder of the profound sense of absence. 1WTC (aka the Freedom Tower) has finally recaptured part of the skyline. 1WTC is still under construction but the antenna and external structures are complete. The base and interior work continues.

Construction of the Transit Hub is also underway, and Santiago Calatrava's design now peeks out above ground as well.

The WTC Transit Hub from Greenwich Street at Vesey

Looking down Greenwich St at the WTC Transit Hub and 3 and 4 WTC

4WTC exterior finished; the building needs interior work, but is in its final form.

2 and 3 WTC are only being built as a stub capable of being completed to their originally designed heights. Unless Larry Silverstein receives commitments to lease space, they will remain as stub buildings that provide retail commercial space for the foreseeable future. 4WTC will be opened to business in November. It's likely that work will restart later this year on 3WTC as there have been rumblings of a deal in the works for leases of significant amounts of space in the tower with GroupM. The 1WTC Observatory will take longer to open,  but Conde Nast will be moving into its offices in 1WTC in 2014 and retail spaces in 3 and 4 WTC will be opening in the coming year courtesy of Silverstein and Westfield Properties.

Fiterman Hall

Meanwhile, Fiterman Hall has now been opened for a full year as students from the Borough of Manhattan Community College have been able to use the facility for classes.

While the National 9/11 Memorial opened in time for the 10th anniversary, the National 9/11 Museum at the World Trade Center had been delayed due to an ongoing battle over who is responsible for certain costs. The museum foundation and the Port Authority had fought over hundreds of millions in costs, and the resulting delay meant that the earliest it would open is early 2014.

The delays were made worse as a result of the damage done by Hurricane Sandy. That included flooding of the museum facilities that are under the podium containing the memorial. It turns out that the battle over costs between the memorial foundation and the Port Authority was a blessing in disguise. It meant that facilities weren't finished out and artifacts weren't in place when lower Manhattan was flooded by Sandy. It also means that the facilities will have to address protecting the artifacts from future storms.

Then, there's the cost to operate the museum when it eventually opens in conjunction with the memorial. The WTC Memorial Foundation estimates it will cost $60 million a year to operate the memorial and museum, which is far out of line from other memorials operated by the National Park Service. It makes tremendous sense and it is logical for the 9/11 museum and memorial to be operated by the NPS instead of the private foundation because of cost containment and the ability to manage the myriad details that come along with such a sensitive site and one of national and international importance.

Millions of people have already paid their respects and visited the 9/11 memorial, and the site has fast become a touchstone for those visiting the city. Tourists from around the country and the world flock to the area to see the new construction and to visit the memorial.

One of the stumbling blocks continues to be whether the museum will charge a fee for entry. I've long argued against any kind of entry fee as well as stripping the memorial foundation of the authority to run the facility and instead put the NPS in charge. The NPS does a tremendous job managing sites around the nation, and the memorial and museum should come under the NPS umbrella. However, without Congressional action, the situation will remain in flux and we should expect to see entry fees imposed on those visiting the site (we already see the foundation making "mandatory" suggested donations for access to the memorial). I wouldn't be surprised if the entry fee runs $20 or more. As more than 4 million visit annually, that would mean $80 million in revenues towards operations.

The Port Authority, which owns the entire site, had been building the infrastructure necessary for other components of the site, including the Vehicle Security Center, the PATH transit hub, and the museum. All three are seriously over budget and are years behind schedule. The PATH Transit hub was among the worst offenders. It was supposed to have been completed in 2009 for $2.2 billion, and yet the earliest it may be finished is 2016 at a cost of more than $4 billion.

When one looks at the recently enacted toll and fare hikes, the cost overrun for PATH turns out to be nearly the entire amount of revenue expected to be raised from the hikes. That's inexcusable; the overruns on the transit hub sap the Port Authority's ability to handle other critical infrastructure projects around the region, and commuters to Lower Manhattan and businesses that want to consider Lower Manhattan have to take into account that the World Trade Center area is still one vast construction site.

When one realizes that the Port Authority gave up the trademark rights to the World Trade Center and WTC to a foundation started by a former employee of the agency for $10, you can begin to understand how poorly the authority had handled its assets over the years. A new report by the Bergen Record found that the Port Authority has no record of this deal being done, which makes this whole situation even more bizarre. After all, it's a former head of the agency involved - Guy Tozzoli.  It's why I don't think the agency has managed its assets well, nor handled the rebuilding in a cost-effective and efficient manner.

The Port Authority said Monday that it had no record of its governing board approving a 1986 deal that handed over ownership of the World Trade Center name for $10. And the agency’s top executive at the time said he didn’t recall it ever coming across his desk.

That added to the mystery surrounding how the Port Authority came to sell the vaunted name of its Manhattan landmark to a group run by a retiring agency executive who made millions in the years that followed.

The Christie administration, which jointly steers the agency with New York’s governor, slammed the deal on Monday, in response to a story in The Record a day earlier.

“You can be sure that would never happen under this administration,” Christie spokesman Michael Drewniak said. “I’d venture to say that if something like that was done today, it would probably draw the attention of the United States Attorney’s Office.”

The Port Authority essentially handed over one of its most valuable assets to a former executive who has made a ton of coin over the deal, and has even cost the agency money to continue using the name. Had the agency retained the rights to the name and licensed the name to other entities as the WTCA has done, the Port Authority would have had millions of dollars of revenue that it could have used to fund ongoing operations and projects.

Meanwhile, nearby transit projects are slowly inching towards completion, including the Fulton Transit Center a block east of Ground Zero. That project, run by the MTA, is similarly over budget and late. However, it's far closer to completion than the PATH hub. When finished, the Fulton Center would link with the PATH transit hub by the Dey Street connector, and ultimately those working at the World Financial Center would be able to access Fulton Center without having to travel outside. It's likely to be opened in time for when 4WTC is opened for business later this year.

The skyline will never be the same. Neither will our hearts, which are heavy with the loss and supreme sacrifices made on 9/11 by the rescue personnel who bravely rushed up the towers even as people were racing to get out of the towers or gasping as people were forced to jump to their deaths to avoid being burned alive in the fires that racked the towers.

We remember.

Tribute in Light

Looking up at 1WTC and 7WTC.

More photos of Ground Zero and the rebuilding at the World Trade Center, as taken from 4WTC, which is scheduled to open next year.

The WTC as seen from Hoboken.

For my prior year recollections and postings, see September 11, 2012, 10 Years Later,  September 11, 2010, September 11, 2009,  September 11, 2008, September 11, 2007, September 11, 2006, and September 11, 2005.

From SoHo to the High Line

Yesterday was a gloriously beautiful day in the New York City metro area, that it meant only one thing - the ability to go down and check out one of the best areas of the City - SoHo and the High Line. All photos were taken with my Canon 60d and 18-55mm lens.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The MTA Announces Major Disruptions on R Line To Solve Sandy Flooding Damage

The MTA in NYC finally got all of its routes restored this past week, with the A running back out to the Rockaways, but they've also announced that they've got to take one of the Sandy damaged tunnels out of service to basically gut the entire thing and rebuild from scratch due to the damage done.

Work on the Montague tube, which connects Brooklyn and Manhattan under the East River, will likely begin in August and is expected to last 12 to 14 months, officials said.

The tube carries the R train, which takes tens of thousands of riders to Manhattan from southern Brooklyn.

An MTA official told the Wall Street Journal that lingering corrosion from the floodwaters is damaging equipment and wires, frequently causing system failures.

It will cost at least $100 million to replace the damaged parts in the Montague tunnel, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The Montague Street Tunnel serves the R train, and the MTA figures it will take about a year to do all the work.

The alternative - shutdowns on nights/weekends, would have meant service disruptions and never being able to get ahead of all the problems.

This is expected to take about $100 million and 12-14 months. This particular tunnel was the hardest hit by Sandy, and took the longest to restore to service, but has been plagued with signal and electric power problems ever since.

The work involves:

Work includes the demolition of existing duct banks; removal & disposal of existing tunnel lighting, conduits, wiring, fixtures, ballast & receptacles; construction of new duct banks; installation of new Power & Communications cables in the new duct banks; reconstruction of circuit breaker houses CBH # 82, CBH # 83 & CBH # 91; rehabilitation of two substations (Montague Furman Substation & Broadway-Park Row Substation); new tunnel lighting including fixtures, wiring, & conduit; replacing isolation dampers & wiring for the fan plant; replacement of three submersible pumps & new AC/DC lighting at the pump rooms; track work including new rails & plates; installation of new 8" dry discharge line in both tubes; painting & lead abatement.

The biggest problem is the one that isn't mentioned. Hardening against future storms isn't part of this plan. That means another Sandy-type storm would put the entire system back into a crisis with no option except to watch the system flood and pump it out and try to restore service.

That's not acceptable, but no one seems to have a way to find the funding to make that happen.

Anthony Weiner Announces Run For NYC Mayor

Anthony Weiner, who was last seen sending inappropriate photos of himself to women and had to resign from Congress, thinks that enough time has passed and that he can and should be mayor of New York City.

He's released a video indicating his intentions, while addressing that he's made mistakes.



He's got nearly $5 million in a campaign warchest that he can use to inject himself into the middle of what has otherwise been a bland race. All that money can make people who want to forget about his indiscretions choose him over the other candidates in the race, which includes Christine Quinn (NYC City Council Speaker), Bill Thompson (former Comptroller who nearly beat Bloomberg last election), John Liu (current Comptroller), Bill de Blasio (Public Advocate), Sal Albanese (former Councilman) on the Democrat side, and Adolfo Carrion (former Bronx borough president), John Catsimatidis (owner of Gristedes supermarkets and real estate developer), Joe Lhota (former head of the MTA), and George McDonald (businessman).

But they shouldn't.

There's a good reason he had to quit Congress. He engaged in wholly inappropriate acts, and he showed poor character and even worse judgment. There's no reason to think that he's changed or that he wont show similarly poor judgment going forward?

The sad thing is that his wife, Huma, would make a far more compelling and extraordinary candidate than Anthony. Or most of the rest of the race.

At this point, the polling shows that Lhota leads the lackluster field on the Republican side, but things are more spread out in the Democratic race. While Christine Quinn leads all of the recent polling, her edge will be cut significantly by Weiner's entry. Behind Quinn, it's essentially a tossup between de Blasio, Liu, Thomspon and Weiner, with nearly 30% undecided.

It takes 40% to avoid a runoff, and unless we start seeing candidates drop out, it's going to be hard to avoid a runoff with this clown circus of candidates.

Massive Corruption Sweep Busts Politicians Trying To Rig Republican NYC Mayor's Race

Earlier this morning, law enforcement carried out  a massive corruption sweep in NY, with multiple arrests of local politicians.

State Sen. Malcolm Smith and city Councilman Dan Halloran were arrested this morning on charges they were plotting to rig this year’s mayoral election through fraud and bribes.

The pols allegedly formed an alliance built on cash payments and fraud to get Smith — one of the state’s top Democrats — placed on the GOP mayoral ballot, sources said.

FBI agents arrested them both at their Queens homes shortly after 6 a.m.

“I have no idea,” Halloran, in handcuffs, told a Post reporter when asked if he knew why he was being arrested.

Others arrested includeBronx Republican Chairman Joseph Savino and Queens GOP Vice Chairman Vincent Tabone, and they are all being accused of trying to rig the mayoral election.

As alleged, Senator Malcolm Smith tried to bribe his way to a shot at Gracie Mansion - Smith drew up the game plan and Councilman Halloran essentially quarterbacked that drive by finding party chairmen who were wide open to receiving bribes. After the string of public corruption scandals that we have brought to light, many may rightly resign themselves to the sad truth that perhaps the most powerful special interest in politics is self-interest. We will continue pursuing and punishing every corrupt official we find, but the public corruption crisis in New York is more than a prosecutor's problem."

The 28-page complaint offers up a bunch of juicy details, but it boils down to money for access:

Council member Halloran was to receive $20,500 while Tabone and Savino received $40,000 in bribes with a promise of $40,000 more.

If Halloran's name sounds familiar, it's because he was a blowhard who alleged that Sanitation workers purposefully slowed down snow removal during the blizzard a few years back. Investigations found no evidence of any kind of slowdown. And the FBI had already been investigating Halloran when they sniffed out the potential bribery for ballot access plan.

Smith's name should sound familiar as well, as he was part of the breakaway Democrats in the State Senate who gave temporary control of the Senate to Republicans in a coup against Democratic leaders. Smith joined a group of independent Senators, earning himself and his staffers a pay raise in the process. Smith's defection also enabled Gov. Andrew Cuomo to maneuver and exploit the divisions in the Senate to advance his own agenda with less opposition - including on matters like the same sex marriage act and the NYS SAFE Act.

Not only does this scandal threaten the disrupt the political balance in the State Senate, but this scandal threatens to upturn the entire Republican campaign for NYC mayor, as key behind-the-scenes officials are involved and it's entirely possible that others could find themselves perp-walked. Tabone has been working for the campaign of John Catsimatidis.

These people are instrumental in getting the campaigns of multiple candidates off the ground and working support for candidates already in the running. It could potentially derail existing campaigns for those who are in the race and indirectly helps those Democrats who are already in the race, including Democrat City Council honcho Christine Quinn.

Expect Tabone and Savino to flip on Smith and Halloran who are the big fish in this particular scandal in exchange for less time behind bars.

The Senate Will Finally Vote on $50.5 Billion Sandy Aid Package

91 days.

That's how many days since Hurricane Sandy slammed ashore along the New Jersey and New York coast and caused billions upon billions of dollars in damage and crippled the region for weeks on end.

Sandy washed ashore at the end of October, which means that there are many who are without heat and power still - in the depths of winter at a time when Congress couldn't get its act together. The New York City metro area is getting hit with a wintry mix today before the middle of the week turns into Indian summer as temps are supposed to get up to 60.

The fact that the winter for the most part has been mild and had lower than normal precipitation levels has made things only slightly more tolerable for those who are still waiting for assistance. The last week, however, has been super rough on those who are still without heat or electricity due to storm damage with frigid temps.

The Senate is finally going to vote on the $50.5 billion aid package today, which means that President Obama will likely sign later this week. It's absolutely unconscionable and unforgivable that it has taken 3 months to get aid approved.

It's unforgivable that the House GOP screwed with the Sandy victims in this way - forcing multiple votes and imposing standards that they themselves would never tolerate on any aid that would be forthcoming to them if they were in dire need of disaster assistance (and far too many of these sanctimonious GOPers are in districts prone to natural disasters of one sort or another - flooding, wildfires, hurricanes, tornadoes, or earthquakes).

The Record assembled a list of votes on disaster aid, and while noting that most aid packages had some level of opposition, that was due as much or more so to the fact that the aid was attached to other unrelated items such as Iraq or Afghanistan war funding and the purpose of attaching disaster aid was as much a political decision as a functional one.

Fact is that the Sandy aid was a clean bill - it wasn't attached to anything even resembling anything controversial. It was Republican obstinancy and demands for offsetting cuts that forced multiple votes and delays that pushed aid into a three month delay. No other initial disposition of aid after a natural disaster took so long.

That there were so many opposed to restoring the flood insurance program's solvency shows just how far off the rails Republicans have gone. Flooding is the single most common natural disaster cost. It occurs anywhere in the nation - witness extreme flooding from severe storms in places like Arizona or Utah as well as along coasts, mountain areas, and inland around rivers. Yet, dozens upon dozens of Republicans voted against this program even as they were touting the National Flood Insurance Program on their own official websites. It was and is the height of hypocrisy.

The Republican mantra has been we need offsetting revenues, ignoring the fact that getting businesses and residences back in operation will generate revenue, eliminate uncertainty and restore the economic activity in a region that is still affected by the disaster and which generates a significant portion of the nation's economic output. There's a Senate Republican amendment to demand just that - offsetting cuts, but it's not expected to get approved.

The Senate's delay in getting the aid package to vote on after the House passed is worth noting as well, but the real delay was due to the House GOP screwing with the affected areas and failing to act on the reconstruction aid before the 2012 Congressional session came to an end and the entire process had to start anew.

Blame resides with them and their asinine claims of pork.

To this day, there are some who claim that the aid package is full of pork, and yet when one reads the bill, you'd be hard pressed to find anything of the sort. What some referred to pork was aid for damage due to natural disasters in other parts of the country, such as the $150 million aid package put into the original bill by Alaska Republicans to aid fisheries there.

The damage tally to the infrastructure keeps coming in. NJ Transit's infrastructure is still recovering, and Hoboken Terminal isn't operating at full capacity, and customer services are nonexistent - no heated waiting areas or restroom facilities. It's taken weeks for the agency (through its own incompetence by the way) to get around to addressing those issues by reserving trains for restrooms and to keep customers warm while waiting for trains.

PATH is still operating at a reduced schedule and there's no service between the World Trade Center and Hoboken because of the need to procure parts. They have to replace decades old equipment, which wont arrive until the end of next month meaning that it will be March at the earliest before full service is restored (and revenue service can resume).

NJ Transit and Port Authority Fail Commuters During Crisis Yet Again

The disaster response by NJ Transit and PATH is beyond deplorable. It's atrocious and defies common sense. The agency seems to think that it's done a good job in providing information to its customers, and yet there is a daily crush of thousands of commuters attempting to get home by way of one of the three rail lines servicing New Jersey other than the Atlantic City Line or the bus service that is wholly inadequate to pick up the slack.

All one has to do is look across the river to the MTA to see how disaster response should be handled.

The MTA faced as bad a crisis as anything that NJ Transit and the Port Authority faced combined. Miles of tracks were submerged and damaged. Seven rail tunnels were flooded as were several key stations. The entire system was impacted.

Yet, within days bus service was up and running and a week later subway service was resuming in the formerly flooded tunnels. This weekend will see still more service added, leaving just a handful of Lower Manhattan stations out of action plus a segment of the A line in the Rockaways that suffered catastrophic damage.

That compares with the PATH service, which is essentially out of action due to flooding of the two tunnels to the World Trade Center and damage to both the WTC and Hoboken terminals. They have a fraction of the track and stations to dewater, and yet they're taking even longer to restore service.

The same goes for NJ Transit and their rail lines.

The buses that NJ Transit are offering are wholly inadequate to the task and the agency can't even admit that they're not up to the task of attempting to provide service to hundreds of thousands of commuters that rely on mass transit on a daily basis.

An average train can move 800-1,000 people.

The average bus? 50? 60 if you pack them in tight? People who normally take rail are somehow supposed to get on a handful of buses that are already full with their ordinary riders. The existing bus schedule hasn't been increased to handle the overflow; people are somehow supposed to take the existing bus service, even though the Port Authority can't handle the crowds at the bus terminal.

There simply aren't enough scheduled buses to handle the loads. Even with emergency shuttle service from designated locations, people simply can't get to where they need to be - namely work.

And that doesn't even begin to describe the mess at the Port Authority. Not only have the crowds been a disaster waiting to happen, but what should normally be a 40 minute commute stretches to 3-4 times as long because buses aren't available, are delayed, or inadequate to deal with the crowds during peak rush hour. Waiting an hour or two can help alleviate the congestion, but people can't do that when they've got family and obligations back home. Some things can't wait until 8-9pm before attempting a commute home. Add to that the fact that phone and Internet service is poor inside the Port Authority and you get little information as to why the delays are occurring beyond the congestion one sees.

That was the case earlier this week when not only were there no buses coming into pick up any passengers for 45 minutes while I was waiting on line, but there was no indication as to why or when service would be restored. On a separate occasion, NJ Transit and Port Authority didn't explain why service was delayed for more than an hour just to exit the Port Authority and it took further digging to find out that the traffic delays from the Lincoln Tunnel were the result of downed lines that blocked access to the George Washington Bridge - backing up traffic for miles on end and forcing detours to avoid the congestion.

The NJ Transit response has been inadequate as to how and why trains aren't running on the Bergen or Pascack Valley lines either. They could claim that the trains couldn't run because of power outages at key locations along the routes, but with power now being restored, NJ Transit should be working with the utilities to get power restored so that key mass transit links get back up and running faster - reducing the need for people to drive to work (exacerbating the fuel crunch around the region).

Besides, NJ Transit has operated trains on the Main/Bergen/Pascack lines during outages in the past. It's slow and tedious, but it can be done. They aren't even attempting that.

It would even be plausible for NJ Transit to contend that they can't run the trains because of damage to their Rail Operations Center, but that should have been resolved as well. After all, if the MTA can dewater 6 of 7 tunnels and get service up and running, NJ Transit could and should be able to do the same.

At the same time, there are further delays due to the fact that Amtrak hasn't been able to get all of its Hudson and East River tunnels functioning. They're running at reduced capacity as well, and they're hopefully going to be able to get back up and running. That would alleviate much of the crunch for both Long Islanders and New Jerseyeans because trains would be able to access Penn Station easier.

Governor Christie must hold the agency accountable and thus far he's not done enough to get the agency moving in the right direction. That compares with the MTA, which has done a yeoman's job of keeping the public informed as well as answering and answerable to Goveror Cuomo. The response has been light night and day, and it has made an already difficult situation intolerable.

Whereas the MTA is transparent on its rebuilding efforts - daily updates including photos and news conferences, the NJ Transit site has done little beyond the initial posting that indicates the damage in general terms and not what the agency has done already to rectify the situation.