Ground Zero – 9/11/2007

In that the office is several floors above and lying just to the east of the World Trade Center area, the office’s wall of windows provided a fairly complete view of the bathtub and the September 11 anniversary proceedings.

It was a gray day.

In the morning, police from Great Britain (my guess, anyway) were standing at attention with their almost-conical, black, british bobby hats in front of the canopy on Church St. The canopy appeared to be one of two hubs for visits to Ground Zero. Underneath the canopy is a memorial that had been steadily built in advance of yesterday’s 9/11 anniversary. The other hub was the ramp into the pit.

When I looked toward the southeast corner of the WTC at the intersection of Liberty Street and Church Streets, I could see two police sharpshooters who had gear and binoculars in tow at a perch on the Century 21 department store. They were not the only police surveying the area.

Across Ground Zero, the media gathered in the World Financial Center – looked like they were ‘massed’ around the 10th floor with lights and cameras which, no doubt, provided a suitable backdrop for any broadcast.

The ramp into the pit had flags hung on its edges and around noon a steady procession of people began to walk in and out of a small, cleared area in Ground Zero.

There was absolutely no construction yesterday. I couldn’t even see a construction worker walking around the premises. This is the first time I’ve ever seen the site so quiet – it’s usually a hive of machinery and “ant” people.

Later, a torrential rain crashed into Lower Manhattan and temporarily left me stranded near a lunch location. For a few minutes, the rain was monsoon-quality which cleared the streets of any pedestrians. Umbrellas did not work.

Thereafter, I worked and occasionally peaked into the pit. At 7-ish, the clouds parted.

You can see the reflection of the office lights in the shot but it was a spectacular sunset.. one of the best I’ve seen yet. There weren’t too many visitors left outside, but those who remained stood silently and watched.

 

September 12th, 2007

Entry Filed under: East Village, New York City