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. 11th, 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. 11th 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. 11th 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. 11th 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.”
