One World Trade Center Continues To Rise

I took this photo in front of my job in Greenwich Village - looking south. You can see One World Trade Center (formerly known as the Freedom Tower) rising to the right of the rebuilt 7 World Trade. When it's all said and done, One World Trade will be more than twice the height of 7 WTC.

This also gives you an idea of the view I had of the burning (and collapsing) buildings on the morning of September 11, 2001.

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Sunday Inspiration: West Point Students Walk 22 Hours to Pay Respects at WTC

Andrew, Phil and Gary. Photo by Peter Shankman

Blogger Peter Shankman encountered 3 tired-looking young men yesterday in Manhattan carrying big backpacks. They looked so out-of-place that he ask them what they were doing...

“Well sir, we’re walking from West Point, where we go to school, to Ground Zero to pay our respects.”

I asked them how long they’d been walking, “About 22 hours” was the answer.

I asked them if they were going to do anything when they got there.

“We have an American flag we’d like to hang on one of the fences if we’re permitted to.”

What incredible young men! And damn - I hope they bought Metro-North tickets and took the train back to school - at least they'd be able to sleep!!

SOURCE (via Gawker)

Last Night's "Tribute In Light"

I have always loved the annual Tribute In Light which illuminates the night sky every 9/11 in honor of the people we lost that day.  When I lived in Manhattan, the lights were visible from my roof and I always make a point of taking the time to observe their simple beauty. Now that I live in Queens, all I could see was a bright reflection in the clouds - but for some reason it's still comforting to know the lights are there shining brightly every year.

This year, according to Gothamist, they had to shut the lights off for about a half-hour because it was becoming a bird-magnet...

The lights had to be shut off around 11 p.m. after a group of about a thousand birds flew into the lights. The New York City Audubon Society had warned the folks running Tribute of Light about confusing the birds, and ordered the lights to be shut off. The beams were turned on about a half an hour later, and not as many birds returned. A similar bird gathering happened in 2004, and the Audubon Society warned the birds were "seemingly unable to break away - and in danger of depleting crucial fat reserves needed to carry them to their southern wintering grounds."

Next year - the tenth anniversary of the attacks - will be the last scheduled showing of the Tribute - although there is talk of making it permanant.  To do so they would need a long-term commitment of open space or a rooftop - such as the one they use now...

I really hope they can figure out a way to keep those lights shining into the heavens for many years to come.

18th Century Ship Found At World Trade Center Site

Cool stuff. According to Gothamist, a ship dating to the late 1700's was found while excavating a site near Ground Zero...

By Wednesday, the outlines made it plain: a 30-foot length of a wood-hulled vessel had been discovered about 20 to 30 feet below street level on the World Trade Center site, the first such large-scale archaeological find along the Manhattan waterfront since 1982, when an 18th-century cargo ship came to light at 175 Water Street.

The area under excavation, between Liberty and Cedar Streets, had not been dug out for the original trade center. The vessel, presumably dating from the mid- to late 1700s, was evidently undisturbed more than 200 years.

Archaeologists have been flocking to the site to examine the ship, which most likely ended up being buried as landfill 200 years ago.