On the surface my job sounds pretty dull: watch footage, type exactly what people are saying, repeat. But with a project like this one, it doesn't bother me at all. It's like my contribution to the cause; I'm a crucial cog in the mechanics of making such an important series. I'm doing my part in service of the stories of heroism from that day and telling the public about what's been going on down there for the last 9 and a half years. You really wouldn't believe some of the stories I've heard straight from the source.
I started this job the first week of March and the first interviews that I had to transcribe were with the Memorial Museum chief curator, Jan Ramirez, and with the Memorial Project Manager, Ron Vega.
Talk about moving. Ramirez spent her hour interview telling her own tale of 9/11 and how she became the curator, complete with scouting visits to the still smoldering pile in search of artifacts not already collected by authorities for the purposes of criminal evidence, personal property or corporate property.
"I'm happy to say [some artifacts] were saved, and, in fact, I'm even more happy to say will be shared in the Memorial Museum. And the artifact that particularly comes to mind, um, is the bike rack. I remember rounding the corner on Vesey Street, which was less damaged side of the side to the North and there was this bike rack. It was coated with dust and there were these gnarled tires and maybe 8 bikes chained there and it was just that moment of people. First, it put people at this scene and you didn’t know their fate. No one had come back to claims these bikes. And it just struck us as such a poignant kind of evocation of what we were all feeling and, you know, the concern for the missing"
She went on to talk about other personal items that had been donated to the museum collection. Items that had been returned to families by the NYPD Property Clerk's office and they, in turn, placed in the care of the Museum. One story in particular struck me. A wife of a victim came in and present Ramirez with a wallet.
"It was for her that moment of truth that he had died. And it wasn't just because the wallet contained his driver's license, his library card, his social security card and his actual evidentiary name, address, social security number and so forth. It was because when he had proposed to her, he had given her a two-dollar bill, he had said, "This is our second chance at love. We're two of a kind. I'm going to have a two dollar bill, you're going to carry a two dollar bill and everyday we go through our wallets and we pull out this oddity, this two dollar bill, we'll think of each other." And in the wallet was the two-dollar bill and that was what she needed to know that he had died."
Ron Vega was a very different yet equally poignant interview. He knew no one that died, but he worked for the City of New York on 9/11 and his team was dispatched to bring equipment and supplies to the site after the first plane had hit. They thought they would need scaffolding and things to keep debris from falling on passerbys while they sorted out the fire, etc.
Of course, we all know what happened after that.
Although he was originally summoned as part of an assignment, Ron Vega has been at Ground Zero every day since 9/11. He is one of the many volunteers who is dying because of the exposure to the deadly toxins in the air and yet to this day he refuses to leave the site.
"I don't think it will be fully known until these [TV] programs like this come out, how much was done to find their loved ones. And s, that's the signs of hope. Basically, you meet people that finally get it, and instead of like regretting- if they haven't found any of their loved ones there's always that resentment, like you didn't try hard enough- once they get what we did, how hard we worked, how if it could be found, we did find it and if it wasn't found, we inhaled it, and they live in us. There's no doubt that if technology gets better and they cut open these lungs, they're gonna find someone's loved one there, a microscopic particle of them. So, that gives me hope."
Most of the interviews are more about the science, the technology and the engineering behind the new structures, but every so often I can be found glued to my computer screen, tissue in hand, tears in my eyes, riveted by the incredible stories that we've managed to capture on film.
Although most days were spent in my cubicle with my keyboard, I did have the odd opportunity to go out into the field. Three times I have been in Tower 7, the final building to fall on 9/11 and the first to be rebuilt. We filmed a number of sit-down interviews there.
Then in early April, I was granted my first trip on to the actual site.
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| Do you like my uniform? Florescent colors are hot. And those safety glasses... nicceeee. |
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| Bedrock.... Bedmud? |
We were in what will be the basement of Tower 2 and the foundation of the Transportation Hub, 150 steps (about 10 stories) below street level (I know because I counted on one of our treks back up to street level). I can now say that have have been below the level of bedrock in New York City.
Although I looked like a pack mule with a backpack on my back and one on my front, had completely clean and unscuffed work boots that stuck out like a sore thumb and the dorkiest looking glasses (reminiscent of high school chemistry goggles). It was still an awesome experience. Construction sites are like obstacles courses only with power tools. In another life I want to be a carpenter.
Now for those who are not familiar with the site let me give you a brief overview of what it will look like. The major elements are the Memorial, the Museum, Tower 1 (aka the Freedom Tower), the transportation Hub, the vehicle security center and then towers 2, 3, and 4.
The Memorial
The Memorial takes up 8 acres of the 16 acre site. The major feature is the 2 "Reflecting Absences". These are two man made waterfalls (largest waterfalls in the country) that are the exact location and dimensions of the 2 original towers. Around the pools will be bronze panels with the names of the victims etched into them. The remainder of the 8 acres is park space with paths, benchs, and trees. This will be fully functional and open to the public on 9/12/11, after a special opening and ceremony with family members of victims and first responders on 9/11/11.
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| Plaza |
The Museum
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| Museum Atrium/Pavilion viewed from the Plaza |
Tower 1
Tower 1 will be the tallest building in North, South and Central America standing at 1776 ft. Get it? 1776, 'Freedom Tower'. Those crafty architects. Simply put it's a tall office building with an observation deck. However, I have watched an incredible amount of footage explaining all of the design and engineering decisions that will make this building the greenest, most technologically advanced, safest and most meaningful building in the world. The little nods to the original towers, the intense scrutiny of the stairs and elevators, and sheer strength of this building are what make it so awe-inspiring. Next time you drive toward the city or look at the skyline take a look for it. It's at about 68 stories and rising. It's already the tallest building in Lower Manhattan. Look out Empire State Building.
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| Looking down into Transit Hall from Museum Atrium |
The transportation hub has be classified as the 'modern day Grand Central' but there is so much more to it. It's the gateway to Ground Zero and the entry point for hundreds of thousands of visitors and commuters to Lower Manhattan. It's not just an impressive physical space (and believe me, it's incredibly beautiful), it's also a symbolic sign of rejuvenation and vitality returning to Lower Manhattan and the World Trade Center. One of the major reasons why it has taken so long to build at Ground Zero was because the MTA refused to shut down the 1 train because they had just opened a brand new South Ferry station shortly after 9/11. That means that in order to complete all of this construction they needed to dig around the 1 and 9 (9 train used to run here too) 'box' while the train continued to run right through the site. Can you imagine trying to support and excavate under a fully active train line with a subway coming through every 4 minutes? Nightmare. Not to mention it's next to the museum underground, beneath the Memorial and the Plaza, and has 4 towers sprouting up around it.
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| Puddle where Tower 3 will be with Tower 4 rising just south. |
The Towers
Towers 2, 3, and 4 are all underway at this point. 4 is already up to about the 35th floor and they've just begun the 'curtain wall' glass facade. Each of these buildings will provide approximately 1 million square foot of office space to Lower Manhattan. Can you imagine that? Including Tower 1 there will be over 4 million square feet of function commercial space infused into Lower Manhattan. These buildings, like Tower 1, also have special nods to the original towers and the Memorial site as part of their design structure.
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