G

The second day of our return to New York City, a Saturday, we walked with a friend all the way from Lincoln Center to the remains of the World Trade Center, about four miles. The temperature had taken a sudden fall to about 40 F or 42 F and in the shade we were glad to have sweater and coat on. Again, the route was familiar and nice to be on. Along the southern 1/3, especially on Hudson street, we found there had been much gentrification. Old warehouses and derelict buildings were now mostly absent. 

We eventually got to the WTC area and walked clear around it. Tourists like us can't get within two block of the former central plaza. From most streets it is possible to get a glimpse of the remains of a building and of the cranes working on them. But you are too far away to be impressed immediately by the scale of the destruction. Lots remains up to the immagination. Funnily enough, one of the most potent sights for me was the minor damage to one building in the adjacent World Financial Center (WFC). There, parts of the corner of the building, from about the 25th to 29th floors, have simply been knocked away, presumably by falling debris. Knowing the strength of the WFC, seeing its supporting steel peering out from the stone facade, it's easier to imagine the Niagara of debris raining down on the victims.

It being a Saturday afternoon, we were not too surprised to see many other visitors like us. The narrow approaches to the best viewing stops meant we often inched forward. In a few places, there were hand written, or even more accurately, hand scrawled signs sayings "No Pictures" or "No video, no photos". It was like this at the first stop we happened to visit. As Gerry took a photo we heard a woman behind him say to her friend (and maybe him), "It's no photos! If they take them what can you do?" Still later, at another spot, We learned from a police woman that if we went around the corner we would find an observation platform. Still later we came to a spot where the building remains and recovery work were hidden behind a chain link fence that was covered by a green nylon cloth. It happened there were four-foot high flower pots there and person after person climbed onto the pots to get a view and take a picture, including us. While up there several people, perhaps not so athletic, handed up cameras and asked us to take pictures. As you can see, we are not among those who think it wrong to take pictures. Perhaps they see it as ghoulish or disrespectful, but we don't. We don't believe in censorship and do believe first hand experience leads to better understanding.