JD’s Observations

JD writes:

As I arrived with my class towards the WTC site, I saw many people coming and going either from work or from enjoying the WTC site as many tourists in the area were doing. I saw “I Love New York” merchandise being sold by vendors and a few people hawking outy copies of the Daily News and New York Post. A homeless man playing a violin and a few dollars and some change were put in his violin case. By then I had noticed my classmates were off look around at the site writing down notes and looking around. A middle aged caucasian man with white hair was snapping shots with his camera at the site. Moments later, I went towards the World Trade Center Museum with one of my classmates. As I was walking towards the museum, a huge crowd of people from all nationalites and all walks of life were moving toward us rapidly. A man standing not too far from the museum tried to sell me candy for a basketball team yet I had no money to give him.

 

As soon as me and my classmate had gotten into the museum, we had realized that we had to pay a $5.00 fee. As we proceede into the museum after we had paid the fee, we saw many things that have been rescued from the World Trade Center site. An old prepaid cell phone, An FDNY jacket and helmet, Asian ceramic figurines, a business card and an I.D card, womens shoes, a wad of money, a complimentary doll from one of the businesses that was destroyed in the fire and metal that may have collapsed from the building and many more.It reminded you of all the people that had had died on 9/11. There was even “Missing” posters on the wall and a list of all the people that had died in the World Trade Center site and the list of the people on the plane that had boarded the very planes that hit the WTC buildings.There were paintings on the wall sent from people from all over the world that commemerated and honored the memory of the tragic loss of the people that lost their life on 9/11. There was even an interactive listening station where you heard voices of many MTA workers who saw the choas of 9/11 firsthand. A white woman with blonde hair sat next to me while I as klistening to the interviews at the listening station and hat picked up a spare headset and started to listen as well. I left the museum feeling quite dissapointed seeing photos of all of those who had lost their lives at the WTC. Before I left to go back towards BMCC, I had gotten some food from Burger King with my classmate. As I headed back towards the main campus at BMCC with my classmate, a huge crowd of people resembiling a stock of cattle started to charge us .

Access Plans for the Future WTC

The Daily News (4/6/0 published a map, illustrating the security that visitors to the future WTC will have to face:

RM’s Observations

The World Trade Center memorial on Church street is a place that I pass by quite frequently. On Thursday March 13th, I was able to spend an hour at the site for the first time. Nothing looked out of the ordinary that day, unless the given surroundings were viewed with a sociological perspective in mind. One thing that really struck me at first, was the differences between people who appeared to be New Yorkers/Commuters, and people who appeared to be tourists. The people who obviously were New Yorkers, rushed by without even turning a glance. Some traveled uptown, and some to the NJ transit  entrance, connected to the memorial by a long concrete staircase. The people who appeared to be tourists, all looked very sad and shocked. People just kind of shifted around the information booth, located directly in the middle of the memorial. They were reading all of the information printed on the exterior of the building, which included a timeline of the attacks. One thing about this situation that really grabbed my attention, was the diverse mix of people. They were of all races and ages, and I heard quite a few accents and languages spoken. In my time near the booth, I saw many people come and go. One thing that I found odd, was that most them didn’t even take a look at where the buildings themselves once stood. Although it is merely just a hole in the ground now, isnt the site itself  just as important as the information area? As far as police presence, I saw quite a few Port Authority officers. Although only one seemed to be circulating the area itself. I thought the man playing the flute was very interesting. I believe his songs kind of set the sad moods for everyone at the site, which clearly was shown by the expressions on their faces. Before I left the site, i wrote down some of the Regulations on the sign in front of the memorial, which caught my eye.

1)no distribution of printed materials within 25 feet

2)no distribution or sale of merchandise in absence or agreement with the port authority

3)no coordinated continuous expressive activity as part of a group of 25 or more people in the absence of a permit by the Port Authority.

MR’s Observations

MR’s Notes From Ground Zero

Environment

Steel staircase leading to path, disappears down into site
Newly paved cement around staircase
Green tarp on gate surrounding site
Peering through gate to see the inside, you can only see mounds of dirt, paved construction site with large cranes; along south fence there is a “better” view: ground is sunken several stories below street level, concrete walls holding up the streets, black plastic tarps used as coverings have an ominous appearance
Names of victims
2 flags: us and other (blue and yellow?)
On walls of information center: plans for memorial center, time-line of 9/11, map of area, pictures of rescue effort, firefighters, and tearful police officer
A sign posted by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey listing “Regulations”, including the prohibition of: “Distribution of printed material within 25 feet of the viewing fence and other prohibited areas; Coordinated continuous expressive activity as part of a group of 25 or more persons in the absence of a permit…; Attaching any items to walls, posts, fences or other property

People

Great contrast between commuters coming in and out of path and people visiting the site; fast moving commuters vs. slow walking, hesitant observers
Street musician playing anthem on flute; very emotionally evocative
People film and photograph the exterior walls of the info booth
People peering through gaps in the fence seem disappointed that there’s nothing to see
Lots of middle-aged business types going into the Path train; most are very consumed with cell phones conversations; they seemed completely detached from the site
Several groups visiting, including a group of about 40 students
Racial contrasts: many Europeans, Asians, and white Americans from out of state, only handful of black and Hispanic

Quotes

Group of 4 students, 3 visiting from Rochester and being shown around NYC. They didn’t really want to talk but one girl said being there was “intense”.
Man living in Chicago for 2 years, originally from Nepal said he “feels sad” And came to the site to “pray for people” He felt it was important to pay his respects while visiting
Group from Virginia H.S. chorus in NYC for a performance made a stop at the WTC site in fancy dresses and suits and no coats. Two of girls conveyed that visiting was important to them. One girl stated that her friend’s dad died in the towers- she teared up. She said being her was “touching”, that she was glad they were building something.. “that we’re getting back on track”. She said she would like to come back to visit after the memorial was built. As she walked away she said, “It’s really terrible what happened here.”
Mother and daughter from Dallas- mother wanted to talk, daughter was very weary and suspicious. In response to why they were visiting the mother said she wanted to “see the destruction, rebuilding…curiosity.” I found them again and asked for their reaction after seeing: “Devastating”. Daughter seemed unconcerned, pursing lips; she asked me what was down the stairs. She kept looking around.
Port Authority cops are instructed not to comment or answer any questions; they did refer me to an information booth outside of the site

Thoughts

Interesting and telling mix of New Yorkers hurriedly moving to their destination, in and out of Path train in contrast to the site visitors who hesitantly approached the fence area
The Regulations posted by the NY and NJ Port Authority clearly conveys how people are allowed to mourn or otherwise express their emotions at the site. It is dictated to us how we can interact with the events and memory of this site. The prohibition of “continuous expressive activity” along with any postings promotes a distance of our emotions from the events of 9/11.
How motivating is curiosity in the decision to make a visit?
Why is this a thing to do for people visiting NYC?
Why weren’t there more New Yorkers there?               (3/17/0

MY’s Observations

MY writes:

    On Thursday March 13th, Ground Zero was crowded with people, most of them are commuters and some visitors and tourists.  There is the World Trade Center Path Station that connects New Jersey and New York below this site.  There is stairs at the center of this area that takes you to basements.  Most of the people who were coming in here took this stairs and went to basements.  There was a long fence that divided where we were allowed to enter and the construction site.  There were some signboards on the fence that explains about what they are building, the names of people and so forth.  Also there was a small information booth and they had brochures in front of it.  Some visitors were taking pictures of the site, reading the signboard.  In the back of the fence there were two tall flagpoles.  There was the American flag on the left and the flag on the right was meant this site is ran by the Port Authority according to a person who was working at the information booth.  When I talked with a worker at the booth, he was mentioning that when 9/11 incident happened, he was in Europe and worried about her daughter who was living in New York City. 
He also mentioned that people in the city had their own individual and personal interests on what happened on 9/11.  There was an old guy sitting on the ground and playing a flute in front of the fence.  He also had flier/ handout type of sheet to give people.

KH’s Observations

KH writes:

During my visit to the Ground zero I took a moment to view everything around me. It was hard to believe that the twin towers once stood in the very place I was standing. I’ve lived in New York for twenty one years and I’ve never been to Ground Zero or what was once called the World trade Center. I felt very disturbed because I couldn’t feel the feelings that I know many families were feeling for the last seven years no matter how much I tried I couldn’t even imagine how some families must have felt. I continued to watch the tourist view the construction and I looked at some of the postings on the booth and it began to bother me that some people were acting as if the site were a playground, until I noticed a young lady who looked to be in her lat twenties or early thirties. Her eyes were red from crying and you could see the tears slowly dropping drown her cheek. It looked like she had been here before because she didn’t even take a glance at the construction. She stayed to herself in a corner wiping her tears away. I would assume that she was morning over someone and I wanted to ask her if she had lost someone during the 9-11 attack, but I didn’t have the heart. I watched until she walked away and kept looking at the tourist.

MT’s Observations

MT writes:

• 9/11 Memorial and Museum
• As I walk in and pick a spot to sit at, I notice that the memorial is surrounded by many people. There are tourists everywhere, taking pictures. They are in groups and here as individuals. I also noticed that in the background, a slow song was playing [like the ones in the sad movies that made you cry], it was being played by a homeless man who [of course had a hat out in front of him for money] sat down with nothing but his flute and a coat to keep him warm. Although this music seemed to be soothing to the ear and mind nobody seemed to pay any mind to it or the man playing the music, they just kept on looking around the museum taking their pictures.
• As I am sitting by a pole I notice an old lady, perhaps in her 60s. She is wearing a sweater that resembles the American flag: it has the red and white stripes and the stars to complete it. She is wearing light blue jeans, thick grey glasses and a black purse. Her hands never left her pant’s pockets. She slowly moved along the perimeter of the memorial, carefully gazing at all of the pictures. As she walked around the memorial she kept looking up and around the area. She was accompanied by a younger woman (maybe in her 30s) wearing a grey headband/earmuffs. She was dressed in all black, a black jacket and black jeans. She was holding a Century 21 bag [from her afternoon of shopping I guess]. Together they peacefully walked around the memorial stopping only to answer a phone call. As they finished up they slowly moved towards the corner of the street and made their exit from the site.
• Groups of all ages and sizes crowded the memorial. Speaking what seemed to be hundreds of different languages [Japanese, Spanish, Chinese, and English, among many others] with all sorts of accents as well.
• As the crowd grew larger I could observe a small group of four men [who seemed to me to be from Argentina] walking up to the memorial. All four men were wearing black sweaters and dark sunglasses. Two of them had on backpacks so it seemed as if this was a planned visit because they pulled items out of those bags [such as cameras, a map among other things]. As they stood there gazing at the pictures four women joined them and they began to converse. It seems as if they know each other, maybe they were together. They slowly walked away and reappeared on the other side of the memorial. They continued to walk rather fast around the memorial which made it seem as if it were only a short visit and not so much a planned full day event. However they stayed a while longer carefully admiring one particular side of the memorial. Four of the group members began to smoke [three men and one woman] and then huddled together [probably due to the cold weather]. They soon began to walk away from where I could see and then were lost in the crowd.
• As the time went on less and less people remained at the memorial.
• The more typical thing to do was take pictures. Many people who stopped by would bring their camera and just point and shoot until they either ran out of space on their digital cameras or until they decided it was enough for this visit, it wasn’t quite clear.
• People also tried to look at what was going on inside what seemed to be an impenetrable gate that safeguarded all the workers and new project being built. The gates were made out of steel followed by wooden barricades which seemed to just outline a weaker fence on the inside. However, police offices would circle the area and make sure nothing was out of order. If that wasn’t enough, there were guards on the inside of the work zone as well as workers who would not allow anyone in without proper identification.
• As I was getting up to stretch my legs out, six girls arrived [who were very well dressed and who also had on a substantial amount of make-up]. It seemed as if they were going to a formal dance/dinner after their quick visit or were taking a break from one, one girl kept asking another, “What time do we have to be back?” which probably meant that they need to be somewhere son and this is only a quick visit to help the time pass by. As I had suspected their visit was brief and they went on with their day exiting the memorial area.
• At around 4:57pm the crowd seemed to grow larger and more and more pictures were being snapped.
• Throughout the entire time I sat down by a pole, people would come up to me and just stand right in front of me looking dazed up at something behind me. At the moment I was preoccupied looking around trying to notice everything as well as simultaneously trying to take notes, but then I looked up behind me and noticed that behind me was a big display of all of the names of the firefighters would died in the tragic event. However, I also noticed that on the top of the sign it read: “Heroes” which caught my attention because they were automatically assumed to be heroes. Such emphasis on the firefighters seemed to catch my attention on a different level than the event itself.
• Also what seemed to catch my attention was that before coming on to the site, there were street vendors selling merchandise that dealt with the 9/11 attacks. It was weird to me that this was being allowed, this having been a tragic event [one with a great deal of significance in the United States history]. Then as I walked onto the site, there were signs that told the public to only purchase “authorized items” which seemed unreal to me. Why would the government want to make money off of such a tragic thing?

KI’s Observations

KI writes: 

While taking notes and observing the Ground zero site, I realized that there are mainly, but not restricted to two types of people who go to see, live around and travel past the site. Natives, the ones who are use to the gapping whole in the middle of the center of their homes, and the tourist, the people who seem to be fascinated by it. What are they looking for? (I asked myself observing them), there is nothing more to see, there are no bricks from the once tallest man made structure, there are no families around waiting for questions to be asked about that day, no celebrities to be seen with.

If anything I can compare Ground Zero to the Roman Coliseum. They both have a history of both being something grand and universally known, they both have their own stories to share. In that way I could understand the reason for tourist to be pulled towards the Ground Zero site. I know if I were to travel to Italy today the Roman Coliseum, and the leaning tower of Pisa would places I would go to.

In my paper I am developing, I will focus in the history of the Twin towers, its remains (ground zero) and the effect or non effect it has (or had) on many New Yorkers. Since I did not travel with the class to the site, I had to go the next day by myself, which I gather was more awkward then if I had went with my class. My first task when I arrived was to observe the people, all of them. The people passing by, all in a hurry to go to where ever they have to reach, pushing by   the tourist who stop and pull out cameras and gather to take pictures with each other. The tourists who stop to read and see the images placed outside of the gates separating them from the site. I believe the characteristics of tourist seem to be that of aww, and fascination. Something that they can say they have seen and talk about. But for the Natives, we know all about it, we’ve talked about it and we’ve lived through it, so for us what is there left to mention?

The census from the natives I took was very little to almost none at all. There were hardly any natives standing around the site, and I wasn’t surprised. But what I did gather from some people was that from one Native “Why has it taken so long to build a memorial, or any type of building? Week after week I pass by the site and nothing is ever being done… but talk.”

One tourist stated when I asked the question why are you here? Why are you standing here? Was: “ I don’t know, curiosity I guess, something to say I have seen.”   That would be a similar answer to a question if someone in Rome asked me why am I so interested in the leaning Pisa.   Something to see I guess.

TM’s Observations

TM observes:

One of the things that always strikes me as surprising is how despite the years that in the almost seven years that have passed since Sept. 11^th, 2001, the area referred to as Ground Zero has changed very little. New walls and barricades have been added and dirt has shifted and staircases removed, but like the events of 9/11, the reconstruction of the site is a politically volatile issue.

However, I have noticed through people’s actions at the site, especially at the entrance of the New Jersey PATH system, that despite the tragic events that unfolded years before, people, at least residents and commuters, have learned to go about their daily lives. In a sense, time didn’t stop for them on Sept. 11^th and if it did, it was only temporary. However, it is funny how tourists see the exact opposite. In that sense, I think it is arguable that to them, because they were presumably hundreds or thousands of miles away, the events of Sept. 11^th seem unimaginable to them until they see the actual site where the Twin Towers once stood.

The enormous scale of development, especially residential, that has occurred in the area immediately surrounding Ground Zero is noteworthy when you consider how the view from these buildings is of a giant, empty plot of land. It almost represents a parallel in time in that all around the actual site of the World Trade Center, the unstoppable evolution of human activity has persevered.

I didn’t notice an immense amount of security, either. It is possible that there was a large presence there, however I thought it was interesting how much time and money is spent on policing city residents and establishments when very little is aimed at the large tourist presence which using the same logic given by the New York Police Department and various elected officials, a potential “threat” exist despite who the person happens to be. It went on to make me think how I can’t think of that many noticeable examples of tourists, foreign or domestic, that go through any security screenings that I see residents going through on a daily basis. It made me think that despite the assumed gravity of any security threats that are announced, the city doesn’t want to inconvenient any economy-aiding tourists. However, all of the bag checks and searches that I see in subways are all traced back to Sept. 11^th in some way.

One of the things that did stand out to me that I hadn’t noticed before was a sign that was posted on the fence that surrounds that site. It is a list of rules and regulations with regard to visitors to the site. I found the first one on the list to be especially ironic given all of the political commentary on how Ground Zero represents freedom – so much so that the largest building planned for that site is to be named the “Freedom Tower.” Yet despite this is a rule which prohibits “coordinated, continuous expressive activity as part of a group of 25 or more persons in the absence of a permit by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.”

MG’s Observations

MG writes:

Observations:

Ø  All visitors seem to be tourists, both domestic and international.  There is a heavy flow of regular NY commuters who use the train, with no notice of the site.

Ø  Lots of picture taking, which I found odd since there really isn’t anything there.  The most common shots were of the hole itself through the fence, the flag, and of the posted writings and pictures.

Ø  Some people seem to have dressed for the occasion by wearing USA/FDNY influenced garb, sweatshirts, hats, jackets, etc.

Ø  Seems to be two types of people that come to the site.  One seems more involved in the site personally while the second seems to be just checking off the list of tourist attractions.  Easily can tell the difference by amount of time spent at the site.  Those involved read all posts and linger for up to an hour, while those not truly engaged rarely last more than 20 minutes.

Ø  Tragic homeless man/war vet plays flute for money, sad, but is he profiting off 9/11?

Ø  Most people that I tried to talk to were not interested in answering any questions, it would seem that a majority were the ones that seemed to be “just killing time,” however, on the flip side of that, the ones that actually took interest in the site were much more open to questions.

Interviews

Ø  Bill and Shelly Ulane – Married couple in mid to late 30’s, from Chicago visiting family, left the kids with the grandparents, just wanted a morning out to do some errands and minimal site seeing, didn’t think the kids would be too interested (too young).  They spent about a half hour, Shelly was the most interested since it had an effect on her grandparents, she was looking for insight

Ø  Darby Starr – An energetic woman from Boca Raton, FL, late 60’s, was highly interested in the site and took her time reading all the posted info, was at the site for at least an hour, she was wearing an American flag sweater which she wore on purpose to “support the fallen”

Ø  Roman Vachenko – Mid to late 20’s, was wearing an FDNY hat, but it wasn’t on purpose, it’s just the hat he wears everyday, it was originally purchased on his last trip to the US in 2002.  He is from Moscow, Russia.  He needed to waste some time while his girlfriend was shopping, he was at the site for about 15 minutes.

Ø  Valerie Thomas – Low 40’s, teacher from Detroit, Michigan, was moved by the terrorist attacks and wanted to pay respects on her visit to NY.  She spent about 40 minutes,

Ø  Melissa Grant – Mid to late 20’s, from London, England, just one of the many tourist attractions that she had on her list of things to do, was not very impressed with the site at all, thought there would be more, which led to her not spending more than 15 minutes at the site.