A blog for all seasons; A blog for one; A blog for all. As the 11th most informative blog on the planet, I have a seared memory of throwing my Time 2006 Man of the Year Award over the railing at Time Warner Center.
Justice. Only Justice Shall Thou Pursue
On
9/11, thousands of first responders rushed to the Twin Towers. As people
were running out, they were running in. Many didn't make it out and are
listed as one of the 2,996 innocent victims of that day. However, many of
these first responders worked on the pile for the weeks and months to
come. From the initial search and rescue efforts to fighting the fire
that lasted for months to remove the debris and rubble from the pile, thousands
of firefighters, policemen, and EMS worked days and nights in conditions that
no one was prepared for. I remember the smell of that smoke. The smell
lasted for months. It hung over lower Manhattan like a cloud. The
smell even extended across the river and into Brooklyn and parts of New
Jersey. Anyone who smelled it, who saw the smoke, knew, instinctively,
that the air was not right. Something was wrong with the air that was
being breathed by all of us.
In
our society, we have a social contract with first responders. You risk
your lives for us, and we are supposed to support you. Support you with
giving you the best training, the best equipment, the best information.
And if you fall in the line fo duty, we are supposed to take care of your family.
On 9/11 and the days since, we have broken that contract with our first
responders.
First,
on 9/11 and the immediate days that followed, our first responders were not
even provided proper equipment. I remember news reports that many of
those fighting the fire, or searching the pile, or removing debris, did not
have proper respiration equipment. They did not have proper equipment to
keep them safe! While we may not have been prepared on that day, there was no excuse for that failure to last for several weeks.
Second,
the government lied to them and to all of us! The government told us
the air was safe. Christy Todd Whitman assured all of us that the air around
the WTC was safe and not toxic. That has been proven false. I
remember as the New York City Law Department was preparing to move back to our
offices one block from the WTC, City and the Feds brought in experts to tell us
how safe the air was to breathe. That there was nothing to worry about
and there never was. More absolute lies.
Third,
when these brave first responders got sick because of the work they did for us
and because of the first two failures of our government, it took nearly 18
years for Congress to permanently pass a victims compensation fund so that we
can in some way try to fulfill our obligations to them? Congress did it
really take more than a decade of hearings, the harsh words of a
comedian, and a parade of the dying to finally bring you to your
senses? Shame on those like Rand Paul who voted to stop the passage of
the Victims Compensation Fund. Such politics should never have been
allowed to enter this discussion.
Recently, a memorial to the First Responders who have dies
since 9/11 has been installed at the World Trade Center Memorial.The six granite slabs are known as the 9/11
Memorial Glade, are not inscribed with names, like the black granite that
surrounds the Memorial pools because the victims that this memorial is paying
tribute to is not set in stone.It is
estimated that the number of first responders who will die because due to some illness
related to 9/11 exposure will exceed the number of first responders who died on
that day.
As a society, we must remember our social contract with our
first responders. We cannot fail them like this and expect them to protect us
when we need them.
Firefighter Thomas M. Butler was a member of FDNY Squad 1. Tom's life was dedicated to service. A 12 year veteran of the FDNY, Thomas was also a former NYPD Officer and a member of the US Navy Reserve, assigned to the Mobile Inshore Undersea Warfare Unit. He also served as the bay constable in Smithtown‚ N.Y. As Tom's wife wrote in 2006, "Everyday was important to him and he lived it like it was his last." His laid back attitude was epitomized by him constantly reminding his family and friends to "Don't sweat the small stuff!". Tom and Martha had three children, Kelly, 4, Shawn 6 and Patrick 8 months. On September 9, Patrick and Martha christened Patrick. Tom, true to his fun-loving nature, wanted a big party. Martha protested. Tom won out. Tom bought a new suit just for the occasion. This turned out to be the last time many of their family and friends saw Tom. One could hardly imagine a better, more tributing farewell to someone like Tom, than a large family party.
Kings Park Bluff Memorial, Smithtown, NY
As I write this, my family is planning a Bat Mitzvah for our daughter. Like Tom, I will be planning a big party for her, and yes, I will be buying a new suit as well. I have eulogized several firefighters over the course of my participation in Project 2,996. I think it is important to remember these brave heroes. As everyone wanted out of those towers, these men and women ran in, with the sole purpose to protect us. Yet, we are letting them down. The statistics are well known. On 9/11, 343 firefighters (including a chaplain and two paramedics) of the New York City Fire Department (FDNY); 37 police officers of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Department (PAPD); 23 police officers of the New York City Police Department (NYPD);8 emergency medical technicians and paramedics from private emergency medical services and 1 Patrolman from the New York Fire Patrol all died. Yet the FDNY and NYPD keep adding names to the list of fallen heroes. Since 9/11, more than 150 firefighters have died of cancers caused from their time at the site. Just his year, more than 500 NYPD and FDNY officers were diagnosed with new cancers. This is unacceptable. The fact that Congress took so long to pass the Zadroga Act is disgusting. The fact that they let it lapse in 2015 is despicable. That they reinstated it for 75 years is at least promising. Why it is not permanent, is beyond explanation.
In my continued participation in Project 2,996, a tribute to the 2,996 innocent victims of 9/11, where bloggers eulogize each victim, today I remember Capt. Daniel J. Brethel. Previously, I have remembered Pamela Chu, Donald H. Gregory, Steven Harris Russin,Lt. Col. Jerry Don Dickerson Jr., Mary Lenz Wieman, Mark Francis Broderick, Capt. Patrick J, Brown, Hagay Shefi, Alison Marie Wildman, Daniel Thomas Afflitto, and Donna Bernaerts-Kearns. Please visit my tributes to them as well today, as they deserve to be remembered too. FDNY Captain Daniel J. Brethel, of Ladder 24, was living his dreams. He was a firefighter. Something he had always wanted to be growing up on East Meadow, Long Island. His brother remembers him as a 4 year old with a red firefighter hat and playing with firetrucks on Christmas Morning, He would listen to his emergency scanner and often beat firetrucks to the scene on his bicycle. At age 18, Daniel joined the East Meadow Fire department as a volunteer. At age 21, he joined the FDNY and asked to be placed in the City's busiest area, the South Bronx. It was said that he had two families: his wife and daughters who where his life, and his FDNY family. Capt. Brethel was supposed to be finishing his shift on September 11. But like the hero firefighter he was, he accompanied his ladder company to the World Trade Center that day. It is believed that Capt. Brethel died while trying to save a fellow firefighter by pulling him under a firetruck. They were both crushed. That sense of sacrifice was not unusual for Capt. BREthel, who earlier in his career was severely burned on his neck and ears after taking off his helmet to save a fellow firefighter until medical personal arrived. Usually I chose the person I eulogise randomly, from a list maintained by the Project 2,996 website. A few times I have selected a name that I wanted to remember, such as Steven Russin, who lived on my street, and for whom the Town of Marlboro named my street for (much like the town of East Meadow did for Capt. Brethel. However, this time I purposely picked a firefighter to remember. New York's Fire Department lost 349 members on 9/11 An additional 159 have died since from 9/11 cancers, including 32 members who were recently added to the Fire Department Memorial. It is for this reason that we need to make the Zydroga Act permanent. We need to expand it to all persons who were at, near and around Ground Zero on that day, and the following days,weeks and months. Our firefighters sacrificed their lives, and those that survived are still sacrificing their lives without proper medical treatment. I have helped victims file their claims with the victims compensation fund. However, many more have not filed, and many more do not know that they have become eligible to file for health care and health services, because the laws have changed, and more cancers and other diseases have been added. Please, if you or someone you know was there, or around the site, please file. There are bar associations and pro bono clinics that will help you if you can't do it yourself.
In my continued participation in Project 2,996, a tribute to the 2,996 innocent victims of 9/11, where bloggers eulogize each victim, today I remember Pamela Chu. Previously, I have remembered Donald H. Gregory, Steven Harris Russin,Lt. Col. Jerry Don Dickerson Jr., Mary Lenz Wieman, Mark Francis Broderick, Capt. Patrick J, Brown, Hagay Shefi, Alison Marie Wildman, Daniel Thomas Afflitto, and Donna Bernaerts-Kearns. Please check out these tributes as well today, as they deserve to be remembered too. Pamela was a 31 year old Vice President of Cantor Fitzgerald, the bond trading firm located in the World Trade Center, that lost so many people on 9/11. Pamela was described as "beautiful, intelligent, modest, full of life, aggressive and honest." Her friend Christiana Yu said of her "I never saw her stressed out, but she told me about customers barking, `This is what I want. Don't sell too low. Don't buy too high.' And there was a lot of trading going at one time. And she was the only female trader and only Asian in her department, and that was difficult, but she seemed so relaxed." In the months leading up to 9/11, Pamela moved from her parents' home in Queens to a recently renovated rental apartment five minutes from her office. By doing that, she said, she could get to work by 6:30 a.m. That is was the dedication that she showed to her job. The Cantor Fitzgerald remembrance page says of Pamela:
Pamela enjoyed traveling and cooking. Every year for Thanksgiving, Pamela made the turkey and all the trimmings for the entire family. She was a really good cook. Her aunt and uncle did not particularly like turkey, but once they tried the exceptional turkey Pamela made, their minds changed forever. It will never be the same without Pamela celebrating the holidays.
Pamela was born in Korea, and with her parents she moved to the United States when she was 2. After graduating from the University of Buffalo, she started working for Cantor Fitzgerald as a temporary clerk, working her way up to Vice President.
Pamela was the personification of the American Dream. Come to this country, work hard and succeed. Pamela was survived by her parents, her brother, sister, and many friends. Her
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.
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:
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.
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.
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:
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.
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.
This is the tenth year that I have participated in Project 2996, a tribute to the 2,996 innocent victims of 9/11, where bloggers eulogize each victim. Previously, I have remembered Steven Harris Russin,Lt. Col. Jerry Don Dickerson Jr., Mary Lenz Wieman, Mark Francis Broderick, Capt. Patrick J, Brown, Hagay Shefi, Alison Marie Wildman, Daniel Thomas Afflitto, and Donna Bernaerts-Kearns. Please check out these tributes as well today, as they deserve to be remembered too. Also, please check out Lawhawk's post, where he continues to do an amazing job of detailing the progress of the WTC Site and the politics surrounding the site! As I look back on these tributes, I remember why this project was started. To eulogize the 2,996 victims of 9/11. However, as we have been learning since that day, the list of victims has grown. Some 20,000+ people, first responders and people living and working in the area, are sick with various diseases, including respiratory illness, and cancer. Just recently, Marcy Borders, who was captured in a haunting photo, covered in toxic 9/11 dust, died of stomach cancer. These people, dying all too often from toxins they encountered on 9/11 and in the immediate aftermath. It is for this reason that all Americans, must put aside politics, and pressure our politicians expand the Zadroga Act, to include more help for these people. To expand the list of covered illnesses to include cancers, lymphoma, leukemia, etc., as well as PTSD, and physical injuries. Moreover, Congress needs to take steps to make funding for this act permanent, and not subject to political whims!
Today, I remember Donald H. Gregory. as always, I select my tributes randomly from Project 2,996's website. What struck me when I was going through the site is that even today, 10 years later, we still have names that were not selected by bloggers in the past. So I selected Donald, from the list of names with no eulogy listed. I hope that my words can capture the person.
Donald was a survivor. He survived the 1993 attacks on the World Trade Center, walking 104 floors down in the World Trade Center on the day that terrorists declared that New York City buildings and innocent people were not off limits. While the 1993 attack did not leave an indelible mark on the ones sworn to protect us, it did on Donald, who had dreams thereafter that he was trapped in the building as it was collapsing. Unfortunately, those nightmares became reality.
On September 11, 2001, Donald wasn't supposed to be in his office, where he, like so many others, worked for Cantor Fitzgerald. He had survived triple bypass bond surgery, which had kept him out of the office for several months. He had survived circulatory issues related to diabetes, and had been out for several weeks. But, the dedicated professional, wanted to return to work, and had come back only late in the week before the attack. .
Donald is survived by his wife Maureen, who he made a point of kissing every day. Maureen remembered Donald as a man of "quiet faith". "He had a generosity of spirit that extended to all in our family. Most importantly, he taught to believe in yourself." Donald also has three children, Amanda, then 20, Sara, then 19, James, then 14, who inherited his father's love for sports,
I can't believe that it's already been 14 years since 9/11. I remember it like it was yesterday, and yet there's an entire generation of kids whose only knowledge of the events of the days and weeks after the attacks is from books, videos, or personal recollections such as this.
That's one of the reasons that I continue to write these annual remembrances. It's also for myself.
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.
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:
Local commemorations are already underway (and here and here) and will continue through the week throughout the region. This is the second year for which the WTC Museum is open on 9/11. While I still find the cost of going to the museum to be ridiculously expensive and think that the museum should be free for all who visit, it has quickly become one of the most visited museums in the city.
While I don't need to be able to visit the museum myself, the museum is for those who weren't even born yet or understood what actually happened at the WTC site on 9/11 and the weeks, months, and years that followed. 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's 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.
This should likewise be the outcome at the WTC - the museum and memorial should be turned over to the NPS for administration and oversight.
While the federal government created the James Zadroga health and compensation fund (Zadroga Act) because of the ongoing health concerns, including cancers, of those who carried out relief and recovery efforts at Ground Zero, parts of the program are set to sunset once again without further action by Congress. As more time passes, the link between exposure to the environment at Ground Zero and cancer is increasingly clear.
More people continue to seek 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. The Zadroga Act wasn'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 Act should be made permanent, especially as the number of victims of the attacks grows - more names will be added to the list of those who fell as a result of 9/11. That includes another 21 FDNY officers who worked during the recovery after the attacks.
Congress, and the GOP in particular, have not taken the necessary action to reauthorize the Act, and they are putting the lives of the responders at further risk and adding needless stress from the financial uncertainties:
As funding for the program reaches its expiration date, many lawmakers are pushing for extended, long-term compensation for victims. This April a number of federal lawmakers called for a permanent reauthorization of the James Zadroga Act. Despite reluctance by some members of Congress to fund the reauthorization, which will cost around $400 million annually, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand told Jon Stewart in July that she expects a vote sometime around September 11. Both Gillibrand and Stewart are passionate supporters of the act, with Stewart calling any resistance to it “the most galling example of a legislature removed from the purpose of their job.”
There are also efforts being made to honor those transit workers who were involved in the recovery and rebuilding efforts. After all, the MTA helped transport workers to and from Ground Zero and Staten Island where debris was being sorted, helped with logistics, and had to rebuild devastated infrastructure in and around the WTC, including stations, tracks, and related equipment.
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 nearly finished above-ground portion of the WTC Transit Hall.
The South Memorial Pool looking towards 4WTC.
The following is an update of construction around the WTC site:
1WTC has finally 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, which opened earlier this year. That's even as work continues around its base on the eastern side.
Construction of the Transit Hub is still underway, and Santiago Calatrava's design shows its final form, even as the cost pushes past a staggering $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.
4WTC is in the process of being occupied, after being completed last year. Tenants are already moving in, though it is not yet fully occupied.
3WTC is once again rising skyward after a delay due to lack of financing and tenants signed. It is more than halfway to its full height, and it is scheduled to be open for business in 2018.
2WTC is seeing progress at last, although the design has completely changed. Architect Sir Norman Foster is off the project, and his design has been shelved in favor of one designed by Bjarke Ingels, whose design comes courtesy of the whims and wishes of News Corp, who will be an anchor tenant. 2WTC 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. Oh, and for those keeping track, 2WTC is likely to be finished in 2020.
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 Church is seeing progress - and that's 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.
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 is much more likely 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 North Memorial Pool looking towards the PATH transit center.
Last year, the Port Authority announced that they expect the transit hub to be open by the end of 2015. I personally don't see it happening, unless the Port Authority will open it the way the MTA has done at the Fulton Center. I fully expect that sections will be closed off for construction to continue as the main transit hall is largely available. There's still demolition work underway - the temporary platform spaces and mezannine levels have to be demolished and reconfigured, and there's no indication that the work will wrap up by the end of the year. In other words, this will be a phased reopening.
The PATH hub as viewed from Church and Fulton Streets.
A nearly complete transit hub superstructure
So, while the hub will be visually interesting and definitely become a photographer's favorite, the problem with the PATH transit hub and all that spending is that it doesn't exactly add capacity to the system. 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. 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 (and there's reports that some New Jersey Democrats are looking to scuttle the extension over the ongoing kerfuffle involving United Airlines and dealings with the former Chairman of the Port Authority David Samson that has already seen several airline officials get canned).
The price does provide for a lot of marble though.
The mezzanine level for the PATH terminal; there is marble as far as the eye can see.
The Port Authority wanted a white elephant - and they got one - clad in marble.
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 - expanding transit options while the WTC complex is built 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 added years to the rebuilding and added costs.
1WTC shrouded in breaking clouds. Note that scaffold on the south side.
For the most part, construction at the site has been without serious accidents, though there have been some close calls. Last November, a scaffold malfunctioned and required a high rise emergency 600 feet in the air:
A view up the South side of 1WTC - it's my favorite view of the tower, and this particular image shows the malfunctioning scaffold on November 15, 2014.
At the same time, the Fulton Center, which is a block East of the WTC site is open, and will eventually link to the PATH transit hub via the Dey Street connector (which is still shut despite being completed for several years), and ultimately those working at the World Financial Center (Brookfield Place) would be able to access Fulton Center without having to travel outside. There's no official timeframe for when the Dey Street connector being opened, even though all the necessary infrastructure is complete.
Interior as seen from Broadway and Fulton escalator bank
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.
Century21 department store doing a full block wrap
The Century21 Department Store installing a full-block wrap on their Church Street frontage.
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.
