A few stories from friends and neighbors
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I've checked with all of my friends and neighbors, and by the grace of God they all survived. - A church friend who worked in the upper stories of the first tower to get hit went to the bank before going to work. She had just missed an elevator and was waiting for the next one when the plane hit. She ran out into the street and was then pushed along by everyone else trying to get out. Her brother who was working on the 38th floor ran down the stairs and also survived. - A neighbor who works on Wall Street walked through one of towers about 2 minutes before the plane hit. When he saw the tower on fire he took off for battery park. - A coworkers daughter who was 9 months pregnant ran down from the 20th floor and got out. - Another coworker lives in a high rise in Jersey City, facing the financial district. The car taking her husband into the city arived about 1/2 hour late, just in time for them to watch the first tower burst into flame. She said she wants to move, the view has become so depressing. - Two of my coworkers friends who work on the 90th floor stopped off for a cup of coffee, missing being trapped in the tower by about 10 minutes. - Another coworker almost certainly lost a relative who worked in the tower and hasn't been heard from since the disaster. - Questions are being raised about the integrity of the towers. - Many of the companies in the tower may not be covered, since acts of terrorism are often excluded in insurance policys. - The towers were being sold by the Port Authority to a private development firm. It will be interesting to see how the blame game is played out between the builders, the Port Authority, and the new owners. - Many firms were moving their back offices to New Jersey anyway before this disaster happened. Lucent and ATT have several large empty buildings that they were trying to sell. The general feeling is that most companies will leave NYC for good.
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I've checked with all of my friends and neighbors, and by the grace of God they all survived. - A church friend who worked in the upper stories of the first tower to get hit went to the bank before going to work. She had just missed an elevator and was waiting for the next one when the plane hit. She ran out into the street and was then pushed along by everyone else trying to get out. Her brother who was working on the 38th floor ran down the stairs and also survived. - A neighbor who works on Wall Street walked through one of towers about 2 minutes before the plane hit. When he saw the tower on fire he took off for battery park. - A coworkers daughter who was 9 months pregnant ran down from the 20th floor and got out. - Another coworker lives in a high rise in Jersey City, facing the financial district. The car taking her husband into the city arived about 1/2 hour late, just in time for them to watch the first tower burst into flame. She said she wants to move, the view has become so depressing. - Two of my coworkers friends who work on the 90th floor stopped off for a cup of coffee, missing being trapped in the tower by about 10 minutes. - Another coworker almost certainly lost a relative who worked in the tower and hasn't been heard from since the disaster. - Questions are being raised about the integrity of the towers. - Many of the companies in the tower may not be covered, since acts of terrorism are often excluded in insurance policys. - The towers were being sold by the Port Authority to a private development firm. It will be interesting to see how the blame game is played out between the builders, the Port Authority, and the new owners. - Many firms were moving their back offices to New Jersey anyway before this disaster happened. Lucent and ATT have several large empty buildings that they were trying to sell. The general feeling is that most companies will leave NYC for good.
"- Questions are being raised about the integrity of the towers. " I do not think that there is any fault in the design or construction of the buildings. From what I understand, they were designed to withstand the impact of a Boeing 707 which, at the time, was the largest commercial aircraft in use in the US. The planes that hit them were larger. I feel confident that they did indeed feel the buildings were exceptionally well built given the knowledge and technology at the time. After all, the Empire State Building survived a collision with a twin engine WWII bomber (albeit a much smaller aircraft than those which hit the towers). The terrorists also picked transcontinental flights that were carrying a full load of jet fuel. The buildings seem to have withstood the impact but the unimaginable heat from the 1000's of gallons of burning jet fuel literally melted the steel. You can't plan for everything. No one knows what the future may bring. "...The general feeling is that most companies will leave NYC for good." I would hope that this does not turn out to be the case. I've seen a lot of discussion about whether or not we should carry on with ball games and other sports this weekend around our country. I think that we should continue on with business and all other activities as best we can. To show those who brought this horror upon us that we will not cower down! We will not hide! We will continue! We will unite! We will bring justice! I also urge everyone to steel themselves for the near future. If we do go to war, and I think this likely, we must be prepared. The media can bring the horrors of war home to our livingrooms in far more detail and frequency than in previous wars. The civilian casualties may be high. We must have a strong stomach. We must remain united and unwaivering in the challenges ahead. We must prepare ourselves for greater sacrifices in all aspects of our lives should this escalate beyound what we may hope for. But when these people destroyed the WTC, they killed citizens of many countries. We have the support and resolve of many nations including Russia. Justice and freedom will prevail. Remain strong. Keep the faith. WillCodeForMoney
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"- Questions are being raised about the integrity of the towers. " I do not think that there is any fault in the design or construction of the buildings. From what I understand, they were designed to withstand the impact of a Boeing 707 which, at the time, was the largest commercial aircraft in use in the US. The planes that hit them were larger. I feel confident that they did indeed feel the buildings were exceptionally well built given the knowledge and technology at the time. After all, the Empire State Building survived a collision with a twin engine WWII bomber (albeit a much smaller aircraft than those which hit the towers). The terrorists also picked transcontinental flights that were carrying a full load of jet fuel. The buildings seem to have withstood the impact but the unimaginable heat from the 1000's of gallons of burning jet fuel literally melted the steel. You can't plan for everything. No one knows what the future may bring. "...The general feeling is that most companies will leave NYC for good." I would hope that this does not turn out to be the case. I've seen a lot of discussion about whether or not we should carry on with ball games and other sports this weekend around our country. I think that we should continue on with business and all other activities as best we can. To show those who brought this horror upon us that we will not cower down! We will not hide! We will continue! We will unite! We will bring justice! I also urge everyone to steel themselves for the near future. If we do go to war, and I think this likely, we must be prepared. The media can bring the horrors of war home to our livingrooms in far more detail and frequency than in previous wars. The civilian casualties may be high. We must have a strong stomach. We must remain united and unwaivering in the challenges ahead. We must prepare ourselves for greater sacrifices in all aspects of our lives should this escalate beyound what we may hope for. But when these people destroyed the WTC, they killed citizens of many countries. We have the support and resolve of many nations including Russia. Justice and freedom will prevail. Remain strong. Keep the faith. WillCodeForMoney
The WTC towers had their share of problems before the airplane strikes. Every time a hurricane threatened NYC there was concern that the glass in the WTC would pop out and turn into shrapnel, along with a storm surge flooding the subway system. NYC was already losing business before the WTC disaster. City rents were sky high, they were taxing everything they could think of, and the commute was becoming too much for most people (2 to 4 hours a day by bus, subway and train). This may give companies the final push they needed to move their back offices outside the city. New Jersey is starting to really feel the effects of the Telco crash, so office space is cheap and there are plenty of IT workers available. When you have T3 pipes everwhere why do you need to be next to Wall Street? Of course for the few times one does need to go there, it's 1-2 hours away by commuter train. Also, dispersed back offices are less of a target and more robust.
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The WTC towers had their share of problems before the airplane strikes. Every time a hurricane threatened NYC there was concern that the glass in the WTC would pop out and turn into shrapnel, along with a storm surge flooding the subway system. NYC was already losing business before the WTC disaster. City rents were sky high, they were taxing everything they could think of, and the commute was becoming too much for most people (2 to 4 hours a day by bus, subway and train). This may give companies the final push they needed to move their back offices outside the city. New Jersey is starting to really feel the effects of the Telco crash, so office space is cheap and there are plenty of IT workers available. When you have T3 pipes everwhere why do you need to be next to Wall Street? Of course for the few times one does need to go there, it's 1-2 hours away by commuter train. Also, dispersed back offices are less of a target and more robust.
I can believe the taxes and rent are too high. I'm surprised ANY business can afford to operate in that city. I've never been to NY. The farthest north I've been is the Washington DC and Reston, Va area. Man! I spent a few months there and that was enough for me! :eek: I was caught in rush hour traffic one workday coming out of the national mall and I didn't think I would ever see home again! :-) But the cost of living there was beyond anything I could have imagined in America. Maybe someday I'll visit NY. But I may have to have a few cold ones first. :-) WillCodeForMoney