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Note:
The text above and below was written as soon as I returned home about
9:00PM on September 11, 2001. I wrote this, without rereading and
without checking for grammar or spelling and by 10:30pm, I had
uploaded this page, photo and text to this site. For historic
authenticity and accuracy, I have not changed or added anything,
except for this note and a few "notices", which are clearly marked.
I live in an area of Brooklyn, just
over the Manhattan Bridge, known as DUMBO. My building is only a few
feet from the main entrance of the Bridge. I have a view of the World
Trade Center just a few feet from my building. I am a late night
person and as such, I normally get up around 10:30-11:00AM. This
morning, starting around 9:00AM, I started to hear fire engine after
fire engine roaring past my house and over the Manhattan Bridge. At
first I didn't take real notice, but after a while, I decided to
check out, what was wrong. I turned on my television, which had been
set to channel 13. I could not get a signal, so I kept going down the
channels until I hit Channel 2. At that very moment, there was a
picture a building on fire and then, a couple of seconds later, the
announcer said "this is the remaining World Trade Center
Tower". Instantly, I was filled with emotion and I was in a
state of disbelief and at the same time, felt complete grief. I have
to admit that tears formed in my eyes. I could not imagine New York
City without the twin Towers, at the same time, I realized and was
devistated by the thought that hundreds, if not thousands of people
had either perished or were trapped, just a short distance from where
I was staying. I immediately ran out of the building and headed to
Manhattan to see if I could be of any assistance. To my entire street
was surrounded by police, fire and other emergency vehicles, going to
Manhattan. A few moments later, I heard that the second tower had
collapsed. I was stunned, and I am still stunned. At about the same
time, hundreds and hundreds of people started streaming over the
Brooklyn Bridge (two blocks from the entrance of the Manhattan
Bridge). I then walked across the bridge taking these and other
photographs. I was stunned by what I saw. The Brooklyn Bridge ends in
front of City Hall. The state of City Hall was very somber. Every
police officer was extremely polite. Everyone, including myself, was
in a state of shock. The entire area was coated by a film of fine
dust and ash. Thick, dark smoke was everywhere. I, as well as
everyone else, including the press, was not allowed to go south in
the direction of the World Trade Center, so I walked west, hoping to
catch a glimpse of what was happening. I walked west to Hudson
Street, were, normally, one could easily see the Trade Center, only
two blocks south. Nothing was visible except thick, thick smoke. I
was directed by the police to travel north, where I went to Harrison
Street, about 4 blocks north of the center. I quickly discovered that
after the initial attack on the first Trade Center Tower, a huge
number of rescue vehicles and personnel had gone to and entered the
building to assist the injured. When this building collapsed,
apparently, many, if not most were trapped or killed. Much of the
rescue equipment was damaged or destroyed. This was confirmed to me,
to a degree, after I went to the roof of 40 Harrison Street (39
floors) and saw that emergency vehicles, that had been as far away as
2 blocks from the Trade Center, seems to have been destroyed. At the
same time, I noticed that the eighth and ninth (?) floors of 7 World
Trade Center (49 floors), were on fire. Otherwise, 7 World Trade
Center appeared to be, from my norther vantage point, in good
condition. What I later discovered was that the southern side of the
building had sustained major damage and was in critical condition.
About 1.5 hours later, this building also collapsed. The noise of the
collapsing building was not as loud as one might imagine. It sounded
like a massive thud. As loud, or perhaps louder, were the screams of
hundreds of people who witnessed the collapse from street level, far
below my vantage point, now on a terrace on the 29 floor of 40
Harrison Street. Upon collapsing, a huge, huge plume of smoke,
resembling an ocean tidal wave rushed up Greenwich Street. The owner
of the apartment that I had been at saw the on rushing plume and felt
that it may contain a ball of fire or at least, be of a choking
density. We ran back inside and closed the glass door. Within 2
minutes, the immediate danger had passed and we went back outside and
saw a massive cloud of smoke, small debris strewn along Greenwich
Street and two relatively small fires on the street that were quickly
put out. I believe that few, if any people were injured in this
collapse since most, if not all the people had been evacuated from
this building prior to its collapse. I had been told that rather
little rescue work had been done as of 5:00PM in the center the
disaster zone. Indeed, from the top of 40 Harrison Street, I could
see little direct work being done and it seems that no attempt had
been made to save 7 World Trade Center. Most of the saved victims
seem to have been on the peripheral of the disaster center. I will
speculate that the reason for this is the on going fires at the site
and the fact that a number of rescue personnel have perished. I
presume that victims remain trapped beneath the rubble. A friend of
mine lives at 310 Greenwich Street, on the 23 floor. He had had a
clear view of the former World Trade Center. After the first plane
hit this building, he saw 13 people jump to their deaths to escape
the enormous heat (which is now estimated to have been 1500 degrees
Fahrenheit). In one case, a couple kissed, held hands and jumped
together from about the 80th floor. Another friend of mine had
visited her clients on the 102 floor of the first building which
collapsed. She is deeply concerned about their fate. I, as most New
Yorkers, have been in the World Trade Center, many, many times. It is
truly hard to imagine that they no longer exist. A friend of mine,
who imigrated to the USA from Lithuania, was fascinated by the
enourmous size of the World Trade Center and used to affectionatley
call the two towers as the "Twins". This is a tragedy of
huge and horrible proportions.
A couple of other observations.
Immediately after the collapse of the twin towers, my cell phone did
not function and all broadcast televisions stations, with the
exception of Channel 25 and Channel 2 (CBS) ceased to function. ABC,
which normally broadcasts on Channel 7, in New York City, started to
broadcast on Channel 25, which is owned by New York City. I believe
that these two stations have transmitters on top of the Empire State
Building, rather than on top of the Trade Center, as the other
stations had had. Cable TV was not effected. By noon, my cell phone
was working. Electricity was available in all of Manhattan, at first,
but by 3:00PM, the electricity had been cut off in certain areas
around the Trade Center. By 7:00PM, telephone service to lower
Manhattan seems to have been disrupted. All bridges and Tunnels into
Manhattan have been restricted to emergency use only and for out
going pedestrian traffic only. Road blocks have been set up on both
sides of all bridge and tunnel entrances. As of 11:00PM, there is a
total curfew in Manhattan for all areas south of 14 Street, from the
East River to the Hudson River. Anyone caught out after 12:00AM, will
be arrested, according to Mayor Giuliani, and charged with a class B
misdemeanor. Tomorrow, all of Manhattan will be closed to vehicle
traffic and all of Manhattan, south of 14 Street will be closed to
non-residents of that area. The stock exchange and other facilities
are closed. All airline flights in the USA have been grounded.
Besides, and far less important, than the terrible human toll, there
is also the economic loss. So many companies had important offices in
the former World Trade Center. Even if backups exist of important
documents, one has to wonder, who will be able to use them. Before
this disaster, the World Trade Center had 50,000 highly educated,
skilled workers as well as an estimated 70,000 visitors each day. ---Frank
X. Didik, 9:00PM, September 11, 2001 |
