I was there watching my building burn. I worked in the North Tower on an IT team for a financial firm. I was 5 minutes from work on the Jersey City side at 101 Hudson when they shutdown the PATH train just after the 1st plane hit. There were several hundred people on the streets near the PATH train talking about how a plane accidentally flew into the North Tower. Since the PATH train was closed, I walked down towards the Hudson River to catch a ferry accross to my building when the 2nd plane hit the South Tower. I knew this was no coincidence and immediately started walking in the opposite direction 6 blocks to the next PATH station that could take me West to my home because I knew the trains would be shut down soon and I didn't want to be trapped.
I made it home about 10:30 a.m. I was in complete shock when I turned on the tv watching my building collapse to the ground. I stayed inside my home for several days remaining in shock.
Since the phones were tied up, my IT team communicated thru our pagers (yah we had those back then). Everyone was ok. NYC was on complete lock down. My coworkers had to walk home. Some to Brooklyn. Others all the way uptown accross the GW Bridge over to Jersey.
A few days later, my IT team was relocated to our 101 Hudson building in Jersey City which is literally right on the edge of the river on the Jersey side directly west of the twin towers. It was very depressing every day eating in the cafeteria watching the buildings burn for weeks. The towers are so massive that sitting in the cafeteria across the river looked like you were viewing them across the street.
Sadly, a friend of a friend tragically died that day. Me and my coworkers use to hit up Windows on the World (107th floor North Tower ) for Latin night every Thursday after work where the restaurant has live Latin music and a DJ. My coworker/friend Ross had a group of female friends that would hang with us. One of them was walking home after the collapse of the buildings. She walked towards the World Financial Center building which was connected to the North Tower via a catwalk. She was on the phone with her mom telling her she was ok when the catwalk fell on her crushing her instantly. Very sad.
Monday, September 10, was looking to be a miserable day, with torrential rain and wind. The day before, Australian tennis upstart Lleyton Hewitt had aced American Pete Sampras, and, on Saturday, Ve…
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This is what I remember. Sorry for all the details, but it's rather therapeutic for me on this day.
I've been back to NYC a few years ago when they were constructing the Freedom Tower. I didn't even recognize the area without the twin towers there. Perhaps it's time I visit the completed Freedom Tower to reconcile the past. This video below brought some happy memories and tears.