New York City

Forgotten New York

Bomber hits Empire State Building on 28 July 1945:

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Tue, 11 Sep 2001 14:36:04 EDT:

Lower Manhattan is in chaos. There is no way in and few ways out. Phone service was cut off for hours. The area around the World Trade Center is littered with the dead - many of whom died from aphyxiation. Many people here saw the collapse and are still in shock. Danger of major gas explosions still exists.

Wed, 12 Sep 2001 17:52:11 EDT:

Phone service has been restored, as has limited subway service. Some bridges/tunnels still not opened inbound. Check points have been set up on some.

Manhattan below 14th street is sealed off. No vehicles, except ambulances, police, fire, and dump trucks (to haul away the debris) are let in. Otherwise the streets are EMPTY - a bizarre setting. Even pedestrians have to show ID - proving we live here, to get below 14th street. All stores, presumably all businesses, schools, and city govt in this area are closed. The hospitals are filled way beyond capacity. Over 50 hospitals in the the metro area have patients. There has been no looting.

The wind has shifted and acrid smoke is blowing in my neighborhood. It's not nearly as bad as yesterday, when the smoke blew toward Brooklyn.

No one knows when the primary will be rescheduled. The polling places were abandoned as of around 11:00.

The death toll is staggering and I believe the reports are purposely underestimating it. They will never even find the bodies of the people who were vaporized. Many buildings within the World Trade Center vicinity may have sustained structural damage.

Thu, 13 Sep 2001 20:43:20 EDT:

You used to be able to see the World Trade Center from my building. Many people here witnessed the collapse of one of both of the towers, several became hysterical. It was obvious at that moment that the death toll would be staggering (possibly as much as 50,000) and few people probably got out alive. Some were literally vaporized, others crushed or burnt beyond recognition. Many in the streets around the buildings were killed by falling debris or aphixiated by the dust cloud that followed.

A massive evacuation of downtown then took place with hundreds of thousands of people fleeing on foot - some were clearly injured and bleeding. The hospitals filled shortly thereafter with victims overflowing into the streets. People had to be taken as far away as New Jersey, Brooklyn and Queens. Manhattan below 14th street was quickly sealed off. Only emergency vehicles and an endless stream of trucks to haul the debris away are being let in. Not even food is being delivered. People on foot can only get in if they can prove they live here.

A massive dust cloud containing large amounts of asbestos and other toxic chemicals has settled over this part of town. People have to wear masks in the streets. Without air conditioning it is difficult to breathe even in your apt. Someone died almost in front of the building and was there for hours. Medical care even for the direst emergencies is simply not available.

I am fortunate that I don't think I know anyone in the area that is missing, although many people in my neighborhood do. It took a long time to track everyone down, since there was no phone or Internet service for awhile. Fortunately my neighborhood never lost electricity or water, like some others. It will however take a long time to compile the list of the dead, since there will be almost no remains that are recognizable.

I am planning on going to Long Island for a couple of days as soon as possible. The trains out of the city are running (but not the subways to the train stations), although there are still sporadic closings of the tunnels.

Fri, 14 Sep 2001 07:46:36 EDT:

Have not been able to get to Long Island yesterday. Gave up when I heard Grand Central had been closed down because of the possibility of a bomb, figured Penn Station was next. There has been a continual fear that terrorists are still around - the arrests at the airports yesterday just confirm this. People on the plane, which the police invaded just before it took off, described security at check-in as surprisingly lax!!!

Phone service is still spotty. We are lucky that we have electricity and water, unlike some neighborhoods further south.

The official death toll being spouted by Guiliani et al is a joke. I think they are purposely trying to underplay the extent of the disaster.

Read about restaurants where you can't dine anymore.

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