story429.xml
Title
story429.xml
Source
born-digital
Media Type
story
Date Entered
2002-04-17
911DA Story: Story
TJK:
My cousin Steve in Oregon twisted my arm to write down what I saw on 9/11. About four weeks ago, I finally sat down (during working hours, of course) and wrote out as much as I could remember. Steve is an native NY'er so he is familiar with the street locations, etc. I wrote this on 10/22/01 You may find it interesting (or crushingly boring) but here it is:
Dear Steve:
I just wanted to let you know how much it means to all of us to know of your concern. It has been very tough since the disaster. The building Grace worked in has been closed since September 11th as it sustained structural damage. The building, 90 Church St. is two blocks north of where the WTC once stood. She has been relocated to other quarters. She was in an interior office and was unaware of the plane crashes until she was told to evacuate and go north. She reported that when she went into the street, there were shoes everywhere, probably from the plane, and also because lots of people wear sneakers and comfortable shoes to work, and change into dress shoes when they get there.
My story is as follows:
The morning of September 11th was truly amazing, great weather and not a cloud in the sky. I had a routine court appearance that morning in Foley Square and started for the courthouse via subway. About 9 am, the subway stopped at Houston Street, and the conductor announced there was a delay in service due to a "smoke condition" at the Cortlandt St/WTC stop. I consider that the understatement of the century. Houston Street is 4 stops north of the WTC on the same subway line. (What they should have said was "Due to the apocalypse occurring at Cortlandt St....")
Stuck in the station, I decided I was close enough to walk to the courthouse, and I climbed out of the subway and there they were, both towers in flames right before my eyes. Both towers had orange rings of fire all the way around the upper stories. Bizarrely, and I don?t know what I was thinking, I guess because the enormity of what was going on did not sink in, I walked to court, on the assumption that "Just because the WTC is on fire is no reason not to go to work." So I walked south from Houston Street to the courthouse, which is also closer to the WTC; no one tried to stop me from heading south, though there were literally tens of thousands of people in the street watching. As I walked south, all the while there were hundreds of fire trucks and police heading past me going to the WTC. When I got to the courthouse at about 9:30 am, I was told everything was closed, so I just stood in the street and watched the towers burn like everyone else. At this point I was six blocks from the WTC. I have to tell you, I was close enough to see dark objects coming out of the upper floors and falling to earth. I could not tell what they were, but knowing what we know now, many of them had to have been people. No one got out above where the planes hit.
About five minutes to 10, I decided to call the office and let them know I was going to have a problem getting in that day, and I walked down Worth Street about 50 feet to a telephone booth. So I was not looking at the buildings when suddenly there was a tremendous "CRACK" sound, and the ground rumbled. I ran back to the corner, to where I had been watching, and of, course the south tower was gone, and the dust was coming. The south tower did not drop straight down, but rather fell over to the south down Greenwich and Washington Streets, right past the building I worked in between 1986-91. I later found out that three people in that building (Bankers Trust, 130 Liberty) were killed also.
Until the south tower fell, no one thought they were going to collapse, they had both taken direct hits by jumbo jets, and the jets just seemed to be absorbed into the buildings. I just kept thinking, "This is going to be an amazing repair job." After the south tower fell however, we all knew it would just be a matter of time before the north tower followed its twin.
At this point, the police who had been relatively calm about letting me and everyone else in Foley Sq. just stand around and watch, started yelling at us to get out of there, and we did. I was lucky to be where I was because I was allowed to go north and stay in Manhattan. People just south of where I was standing, were forced to go over the Brooklyn Bridge into Brooklyn, where they were stranded for hours. All public transit was stopped. I know this because a friend of mine was one of the unfortunates stuck in Brooklyn until late afternoon, even though she lived in Manhattan. Generally, you could leave Manhattan, but once you did, you could not get back in.
I started going north as quickly as I could. Even though there were thousands of people heading north, we were travelling at pretty good rate, since everyone was going in the same direction. Some people were covered in white ash, and a number of women were without shoes. About 10:20 a.m. I found myself at Sixth Avenue and Bleecker Street, and I decided I had seen enough and I was entitled to a cigarette. I went into a shop, bought a pack and went out into the street to light up. By this time there was no traffic. All traffic was ordered off the roads and cars were pulled into the side with the radios on. The north tower was still standing, and because I was north of it, and the wind was blowing south I had a perfect unobstructed view. As I was puffing away, the north tower just suddenly crimped on both sides, the antenna on top fell to the side, and the tower dropped straight down onto itself. It was all over in five seconds. That is the only consolation the families have is that it was over so fast, no one inside would have had time to know what was going on. By this time the enormity of the situation had sunk in, and as the north tower collapsed straight down into itself, I knew I was witnessing the moment of death of thousands of people. I do not remember anyone in the street screaming or shouting, as it happened, everyone just stood.
I knew all public transit was shut down and I had to start walking home to 96th and West End Avenue, a long walk indeed. I started for the Hudson River to walk up along the bike path, when the first of the fighter jets came over us. When I got to the river I started north. All along the route, there were cars pulled over to the sides with their radios on and clusters of people gathered to listen. Everyone was listening to Newsradio 88, since most of the other radio stations went off the air when the WTC antenna was destroyed. That is where I heard about the Pentagon and the crash in Pennsylvania. There was also a report that there were 8 more hijacked planes, but thankfully that turned out to be false. There was also a substantial detour at 34th Street at the heliport because of the tanks of helicopter fuel.
Also there was a line of ambulances from about 42d Street and the West Side Highway, up to 59th Street and the West Side Highway and the police were sending about ten at a time south to the site. Actually, as it turned out, very few people were injured, people either got out, or didn?t.
There were thousands of people heading north along the river, some covered in dust, but we were all moving in the same direction, north. All the tunnels were closed, so I was lucky that I was only going to 96th Street, there were people I talked to who were heading for the George Washington Bridge at 181st Street to walk home to New Jersey.
I got home at about 12:30 p.m. There were several messages on my answering machine, the most frantic one from mom. I called her right back.
Lower Manhattan was closed for the remainder of the week, and we were not allowed south of Canal Street until the following Monday. The building I work in, 26 Broadway, was closed for a week, but we are back in business. Battery Park has been closed and turned into an army campsite with tents and trucks. When lower Manhattan was first re-opened about a week after the disaster we had to show photo ID and have a reason for being down there. To get to my building I had to pass through two army checkpoints and have my briefcase searched, something we are not used to in NYC. Actually, once you were cleared through the checkpoints, you were pretty much free to roam around in the area you were cleared to enter. Because of the location of my office, I was as close to the site as civilians were allowed.
Even though I had seen it all on TV, over and over, and thought I knew what to expect, when I first saw the site from the corner of Nassau and John Street (2 blocks away) I gasped. That 13 story piece of the skin of the building was still standing, and it looked like a giant claw. You have seen the pictures of it. Also, it was not silver colored like it had been; it was copper colored from the fire. The site was stunning, the only way to describe it is as six stories of flaming rubble. I know you have seen the pictures, but the devastation is far vaster in person than you can get a sense of on TV. The big problem in lower Manhattan now is the dust, it is everywhere, and just keeps coming as they work on the site. The building I work in has put in special vents and air purifiers, which do seem to work somewhat. The smell of burning plastic is hard to get over. I was given a face mask to wear on the street, and people with breathing problems like asthma were given gas masks. Even now five weeks later the smell of burning plastic is still obvious and many people still wear the face masks (a lot depends on which way the wind is blowing) The site is still on fire.
At lunch on the first day back I walked down to Greenwich and Washington Streets (which was pretty close to ground zero) and every window was cracked or shattered. Afterwards they closed that area and you could not get as close again until this week.
There are lines of dumptrucks and large flatbed trucks all the way down Trinity Place to Battery Park, they go up Church St, load up, and then go down Broadway right past my office window. The parade of trucks goes 24/7. On the flatbed trucks sometimes there is only one giant piece of twisted metal.
Actually, a funny story from the day of the disaster is when Marc called. Marc is now a sergeant in the NYPD. When he heard about the planes loaded with jet fuel hitting the WTC, he called my office to tell me to get the hell out of there. When the receptionist told him I was not in, he just said, "That?s good, thank you," and hung up, without bothering to tell my co-workers to get out. As it turns out, they were stuck in the building until about 3pm until the police could evacuate them safely up the East Side Drive.
The enormity of the disaster did not sink in for several days, but I can tell you, I have not slept through the night since 9/11. I generally wake up around 3:15 am, and that is it, I am up for the day. Many other people do the same, and when we talk about it, it is funny everyone seems to wake up between 3 and 3:30am.
Let me know when you come into town, either for Thanksgiving of Christmas.
Regards,
GPK
My cousin Steve in Oregon twisted my arm to write down what I saw on 9/11. About four weeks ago, I finally sat down (during working hours, of course) and wrote out as much as I could remember. Steve is an native NY'er so he is familiar with the street locations, etc. I wrote this on 10/22/01 You may find it interesting (or crushingly boring) but here it is:
Dear Steve:
I just wanted to let you know how much it means to all of us to know of your concern. It has been very tough since the disaster. The building Grace worked in has been closed since September 11th as it sustained structural damage. The building, 90 Church St. is two blocks north of where the WTC once stood. She has been relocated to other quarters. She was in an interior office and was unaware of the plane crashes until she was told to evacuate and go north. She reported that when she went into the street, there were shoes everywhere, probably from the plane, and also because lots of people wear sneakers and comfortable shoes to work, and change into dress shoes when they get there.
My story is as follows:
The morning of September 11th was truly amazing, great weather and not a cloud in the sky. I had a routine court appearance that morning in Foley Square and started for the courthouse via subway. About 9 am, the subway stopped at Houston Street, and the conductor announced there was a delay in service due to a "smoke condition" at the Cortlandt St/WTC stop. I consider that the understatement of the century. Houston Street is 4 stops north of the WTC on the same subway line. (What they should have said was "Due to the apocalypse occurring at Cortlandt St....")
Stuck in the station, I decided I was close enough to walk to the courthouse, and I climbed out of the subway and there they were, both towers in flames right before my eyes. Both towers had orange rings of fire all the way around the upper stories. Bizarrely, and I don?t know what I was thinking, I guess because the enormity of what was going on did not sink in, I walked to court, on the assumption that "Just because the WTC is on fire is no reason not to go to work." So I walked south from Houston Street to the courthouse, which is also closer to the WTC; no one tried to stop me from heading south, though there were literally tens of thousands of people in the street watching. As I walked south, all the while there were hundreds of fire trucks and police heading past me going to the WTC. When I got to the courthouse at about 9:30 am, I was told everything was closed, so I just stood in the street and watched the towers burn like everyone else. At this point I was six blocks from the WTC. I have to tell you, I was close enough to see dark objects coming out of the upper floors and falling to earth. I could not tell what they were, but knowing what we know now, many of them had to have been people. No one got out above where the planes hit.
About five minutes to 10, I decided to call the office and let them know I was going to have a problem getting in that day, and I walked down Worth Street about 50 feet to a telephone booth. So I was not looking at the buildings when suddenly there was a tremendous "CRACK" sound, and the ground rumbled. I ran back to the corner, to where I had been watching, and of, course the south tower was gone, and the dust was coming. The south tower did not drop straight down, but rather fell over to the south down Greenwich and Washington Streets, right past the building I worked in between 1986-91. I later found out that three people in that building (Bankers Trust, 130 Liberty) were killed also.
Until the south tower fell, no one thought they were going to collapse, they had both taken direct hits by jumbo jets, and the jets just seemed to be absorbed into the buildings. I just kept thinking, "This is going to be an amazing repair job." After the south tower fell however, we all knew it would just be a matter of time before the north tower followed its twin.
At this point, the police who had been relatively calm about letting me and everyone else in Foley Sq. just stand around and watch, started yelling at us to get out of there, and we did. I was lucky to be where I was because I was allowed to go north and stay in Manhattan. People just south of where I was standing, were forced to go over the Brooklyn Bridge into Brooklyn, where they were stranded for hours. All public transit was stopped. I know this because a friend of mine was one of the unfortunates stuck in Brooklyn until late afternoon, even though she lived in Manhattan. Generally, you could leave Manhattan, but once you did, you could not get back in.
I started going north as quickly as I could. Even though there were thousands of people heading north, we were travelling at pretty good rate, since everyone was going in the same direction. Some people were covered in white ash, and a number of women were without shoes. About 10:20 a.m. I found myself at Sixth Avenue and Bleecker Street, and I decided I had seen enough and I was entitled to a cigarette. I went into a shop, bought a pack and went out into the street to light up. By this time there was no traffic. All traffic was ordered off the roads and cars were pulled into the side with the radios on. The north tower was still standing, and because I was north of it, and the wind was blowing south I had a perfect unobstructed view. As I was puffing away, the north tower just suddenly crimped on both sides, the antenna on top fell to the side, and the tower dropped straight down onto itself. It was all over in five seconds. That is the only consolation the families have is that it was over so fast, no one inside would have had time to know what was going on. By this time the enormity of the situation had sunk in, and as the north tower collapsed straight down into itself, I knew I was witnessing the moment of death of thousands of people. I do not remember anyone in the street screaming or shouting, as it happened, everyone just stood.
I knew all public transit was shut down and I had to start walking home to 96th and West End Avenue, a long walk indeed. I started for the Hudson River to walk up along the bike path, when the first of the fighter jets came over us. When I got to the river I started north. All along the route, there were cars pulled over to the sides with their radios on and clusters of people gathered to listen. Everyone was listening to Newsradio 88, since most of the other radio stations went off the air when the WTC antenna was destroyed. That is where I heard about the Pentagon and the crash in Pennsylvania. There was also a report that there were 8 more hijacked planes, but thankfully that turned out to be false. There was also a substantial detour at 34th Street at the heliport because of the tanks of helicopter fuel.
Also there was a line of ambulances from about 42d Street and the West Side Highway, up to 59th Street and the West Side Highway and the police were sending about ten at a time south to the site. Actually, as it turned out, very few people were injured, people either got out, or didn?t.
There were thousands of people heading north along the river, some covered in dust, but we were all moving in the same direction, north. All the tunnels were closed, so I was lucky that I was only going to 96th Street, there were people I talked to who were heading for the George Washington Bridge at 181st Street to walk home to New Jersey.
I got home at about 12:30 p.m. There were several messages on my answering machine, the most frantic one from mom. I called her right back.
Lower Manhattan was closed for the remainder of the week, and we were not allowed south of Canal Street until the following Monday. The building I work in, 26 Broadway, was closed for a week, but we are back in business. Battery Park has been closed and turned into an army campsite with tents and trucks. When lower Manhattan was first re-opened about a week after the disaster we had to show photo ID and have a reason for being down there. To get to my building I had to pass through two army checkpoints and have my briefcase searched, something we are not used to in NYC. Actually, once you were cleared through the checkpoints, you were pretty much free to roam around in the area you were cleared to enter. Because of the location of my office, I was as close to the site as civilians were allowed.
Even though I had seen it all on TV, over and over, and thought I knew what to expect, when I first saw the site from the corner of Nassau and John Street (2 blocks away) I gasped. That 13 story piece of the skin of the building was still standing, and it looked like a giant claw. You have seen the pictures of it. Also, it was not silver colored like it had been; it was copper colored from the fire. The site was stunning, the only way to describe it is as six stories of flaming rubble. I know you have seen the pictures, but the devastation is far vaster in person than you can get a sense of on TV. The big problem in lower Manhattan now is the dust, it is everywhere, and just keeps coming as they work on the site. The building I work in has put in special vents and air purifiers, which do seem to work somewhat. The smell of burning plastic is hard to get over. I was given a face mask to wear on the street, and people with breathing problems like asthma were given gas masks. Even now five weeks later the smell of burning plastic is still obvious and many people still wear the face masks (a lot depends on which way the wind is blowing) The site is still on fire.
At lunch on the first day back I walked down to Greenwich and Washington Streets (which was pretty close to ground zero) and every window was cracked or shattered. Afterwards they closed that area and you could not get as close again until this week.
There are lines of dumptrucks and large flatbed trucks all the way down Trinity Place to Battery Park, they go up Church St, load up, and then go down Broadway right past my office window. The parade of trucks goes 24/7. On the flatbed trucks sometimes there is only one giant piece of twisted metal.
Actually, a funny story from the day of the disaster is when Marc called. Marc is now a sergeant in the NYPD. When he heard about the planes loaded with jet fuel hitting the WTC, he called my office to tell me to get the hell out of there. When the receptionist told him I was not in, he just said, "That?s good, thank you," and hung up, without bothering to tell my co-workers to get out. As it turns out, they were stuck in the building until about 3pm until the police could evacuate them safely up the East Side Drive.
The enormity of the disaster did not sink in for several days, but I can tell you, I have not slept through the night since 9/11. I generally wake up around 3:15 am, and that is it, I am up for the day. Many other people do the same, and when we talk about it, it is funny everyone seems to wake up between 3 and 3:30am.
Let me know when you come into town, either for Thanksgiving of Christmas.
Regards,
GPK
Collection
Citation
“story429.xml,” September 11 Digital Archive, accessed December 22, 2025, https://911digitalarchive.org/items/show/7171.