9/11 Memorial

Today I visited the 9/11 Memorial for the first time. I was surprised that my first reaction when I entered the site was seeing the end of the Liberty Street bridge. I realized that this was the first time I had been on that side of West Street since 2001. I used to cross that bridge all the time, going down the escalator that ended in the parking lot right near the Greek Church. Now it ends nowhere.

The site is beautiful, for which I am very glad.

The first thing you see is the footprint of the South Tower. the waterfalls are really fantastic.

It was very interesting and emotional to see the items left by people to show their respect.

the waterfalls were constructed so that they move very quickly and spray about six feet away from the wall. Here are two views using different shutter speeds.

their shirts say "French Police Association...God Bless Our Souls"

 

Some other views

 taken in color, it looks B&W

The name of the memorial is "Reflecting Absence", a space that resonates the feelings of loss and absence. The design achieves that feeling. In addition, the reflections created by light on water  are amazing.

These are the same photo, taken with different shutter speeds. The first reminds me of the outside of the WTC buildings.

I hope you get to visit the site.

The Day...Continued

3:30pm.  We left again around 10:30, this time walking north along the esplanade. We ran into people displaying the American flag in many different ways.

We continue to see many of NY's finest. Now you would think they have their hands filled with the 9/11 issues, but their life is compounded by civil demonstrations. Near the street crossing at Warren and West Street we came across a group of unattractive individuals who had the audacity to call us New Yorkers "idiots" for passing the Marriage Equality Act.  I was personally offended.  I call them unattractive because their display of intolerance has made them ugly. You should only hear them, then you might ask, who are the real idiots?

The second crowd, standing across the street from J&R and St. Paul's Chapel, consisted all types of demonstrators, including those who still feel that 9/11 was a conspiracy. Perhaps the woman on the phone was trying to get an answer to her ? mark. If she does, I hope she shares the answer with us.

Then there were the more upbeat demonstrations. You got to love those Canadians, and I guess I do! (for those of you who don't know, Bob is Canadian). The gentleman with the flag was Italian and seemed to know everyone.

But my most fun encounter was sighting Daniel Libeskind and his wife. I am sure it was them, unfortunately I reacted late (I hate when I do that), so you will have to be content with a shot from the back. Their dress may be unisex, but their display of affection was heartwarming as he gave her a hug and a kiss. The 9/11 ceremony must have been a big success for him.

We continued walking along Church Street and came to the section where the families entered the site. There was a large TV screen, that was broadcasting the event to people on the street, showing family members reading the names of the deceased.

We headed over to the British Memorial Gardens in Hanover Square. The garden was created to honor and memorialize the 67 British subjects who lost their lives on 9/11. There was to be a choir at 1:30, but when we got there around 1 there were already tons of British and Canadian police, bands, the choir and spectators, all crowded into the small space.  One guy was waving a US flag but note the overflow of garbage in the can. I know that many garbage cans were removed for fear of bombs, something that was very common when I lived in London. So perhaps there were less cans around or perhaps, more likely, the Starbucks on the corner was having a good day with the increase in tourists.

As the time passed 1:30 it was obvious they were waiting for something or someone. There was a bit of excitement when some heavily armed black cars arrived. One poor motorist didn't heed the no parking sign and his car was promptly towed.  Someone said that the Prime Minister of Britain was attending and that maybe Obama was also coming. It could have been true, but my feet were hurting and I was getting tired of standing, so we left after about an hour of waiting. We never did hear the choir sing.

We headed home and this time, as we approached our street, we were finally asked for ID.

The Day...the beginning

We awoke at 5:30 am. The media on NY1 were reporting from Albany Street, right in our neighborhood, talking about all the police and the lack of access. So when we emerged from our building complex I thought we would be stopped. We bought a coffee at our local shop, roped off to stop people from going further north or east. I felt sorry for the single employee who was tying to fill all the orders from mostly police and reporters. I also felt for those people who desperately wanted to go north and were prohibited. Hopefully they figured out that they could walk around the esplanade to go in that direction.

We walked over to Rector Street and on the way a policeman asked if we lived in the area and had photo ID so that we could get back in later. We met some of our neighbors at Rector and the esplanade, including our friend Mindy. It was a beautiful morning.

We proceeded as a group to Wagner Park where they began the Battery Park City September 11th Observance.

It was a beautiful event, with songs and readings from our neighbors, everyone expressing their hope for a better future. The buzz of the helicopters in the sky prevented us from hearing the speakers as well as we would have liked, but we are used to it and manage to compensate. My friend Tequila showed up, she had read my blog postings and was motivated to come down. A photographer, she of course had her camera and press pass at her side.  The event was sponsored in part by BPC Authority and Chairman of the Board, William Thompson, came.

If you didn't know it was 911 or saw the coast guard ships with their armed guards, you would think it was an ordinary day. People walking, biking, jogging along the esplanade, cruise ships coming and going.

While we were there the USS New York sailed by, the ship that was forged from the steel of the World Trade Center.

After the ceremony we walked down to the end of the battery, where there is a display of Ribbons of Hope. Colorful ribbons, on which you can write your message, were blowing in the wind.

We proceeded north, through the park, where we came across a bagpiper, a familiar symbol of the events of 911.

From the top of the Rector Street bridge we could see the crowds. But we were unable to get closer. The World Financial Center is closed to the public all day today. We could see VIPs overlooking the events. We returned home to rest, watch the names being read on TV and getting ready to out again.

By the way, no one asked for our ID.