View of 911 aftermath



Photo from a terrace on Manhattan's upper west side several hours after the attack, the black smoke still rising and fouling the air for miles

I was in my office in midtown Manhattan when we learned that terrorist planes came crashing into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center. We were ordered to evacuate our building, and I hurried out with one of my co-workers. The streets filled with people fleeing, trying to find ways to get home. Vehicles were not allowed on bridges or through tunnels, and subways had stopped running. Many began the long trek to outer boroughs by foot over the bridges. I live in Queens and was terrified to risk crossing the bridge. My co-worker invited me to stay at her family’s apartment on the upper west side until I felt able to return home. When we got to her apartment, we looked out the windows at the black smoke billowing high above what used to be the World Trade Center. No phones, land or cell, were working, and my family and friends were unable to get through to find out whether I was o.k. It would be many hours until they could reach me. Towards evening, when no further attacks had occurred and subways began running again, I made the decision to return home. I wanted to be at home when phone service was available again. Taking the subway back home made me feel as though I was going through a war zone. I don’t recall ever being as terrified as I was when I finally risked that subway ride back home.