Gotham Gazette has gathered a diverse collection of maps of the World Trade Center site-during recovery efforts, of the site now, and plans for the area's future. Look out for new additions to this site as planning continues.
Within a few days of the Sept. 11 attacks, a technology team began photographing the disaster area from above with special cameras. They used thermal images to map the location of "hot spots" where fires still burned, hidden in the rubble. These maps helped rescue workers and firefighters navigate the area.
A wide array of mapping technologies have been used ever since, as efforts moved from searching through the debris to plotting how a memorial will best fit into a rebuilt site.
In the weeks after the disaster, officials used three-dimensional maps to determine the volume of debris in the area that would need to be taken away. These maps were ready before the smoke had cleared, because planes flew over the site and gathered information using a radar-like technology. Hunter College researchers, directed by geography professor Sean Ahearn, analyzed the data and created many maps that the city used to monitor changes at Ground Zero. Many of these maps were later displayed in a Soho gallery exhibition, and are now part of a travelling show.
Now, architects and designers are using maps to envision lower Manhattan's future. The New York New Visions coalition, a pro-bono group of architects and planners, used a computer rendering program to develop 38 different maps of what the World Trade Center site may become, depending on how much space is devoted to a memorial. The coalition and several other civic groups have also developed maps that clarify different proposals for the Lower Manhattan, such as burying West Street or creating a transportation hub.
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During this past year, I have been searching for answers about why there were so few options for those innocent people trapped in the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. My husband, Rich, worked for Aon Corporation at 2 World Trade on the 103rd floor. I was told that he was last seen waiting for an elevator on the 78th floor Sky Lobby. Injured when the second plane's wing tip crashed through that floor and the walls fell in, he was still alive waiting to be rescued when the buildings collapsed.
We must address the critical issues relating to the emergency response to the September 11th terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center. I am deeply concerned about the information that has come to light in the past year regarding the fire department1s inoperable radios, lack of coordination with the police department and other emergency agencies, and unfamiliarity with the World Trade Center.
It is apparent to me that the input of fire experts must play a more important role in the development, design and construction of buildings. The fire service should no longer be left on the sidelines to come into the game only after the buildings are up, left to figure out how best to defend and evacuate them in an emergency. The fire service needs to have a voice in how to equip a building so that they can put out fires and rescue people more quickly, lowering the potential for loss of life, both uniform and civilian.
We can never again allow a building to be built that is immune from building and fire codes, as the World Trade Center was. The fire department had no authority over those buildings, and could not force the Port Authority to comply with their recommendations. If the Port Authority does not begin following building and fire codes, they should leave the real estate business.
Regarding coordination between the police and fire departments, the continuous turf wars must cease. The various agencies charged with the safety of the public need to learn to work together. The lives and safety of our loved ones are at stake. The agencies must realize that the first and foremost responsibility is the safety of the public, put aside the competitive nature that has been in place for many, many years, and start anew.
I was also deeply disturbed to find that there was no helicopter rescue available to those trapped on the upper floors of the towers. When was the decision made to no longer attempt rooftop rescues, and who told the occupants of those towers about it? It has been written that many occupants of the World Trade Center were believed that in case of an emergency or devastating fire, that they could be rescued from the roof. Instead, many found that the doors were locked leading to their eventual doom.
It is clear to me that there has to be a very concerted effort made to take a hard look at what happened on September 11th. We need to take a good look around this great city of ours. We need to be aware of potential dangers. We need to find ways to work together to ensure that if there is ever another devastating event, we will be aware of what needs to be done and can communicate those instructions and dangers to others.
I keep hearing about "lessons learned." But over a year later, some of the simple issues have not yet been addressed or changed. How many reports or meetings will it take to make use of these lessons?
Monica Gabrielle is co-chairperson of the Skyscraper Safety Campaign.
Remarks by Mayor Bloomberg at a Public Hearing on Local Laws
"The bill before me today, Introductory Number 252-A, will rename various public thoroughfares and public places throughout the City after eighty-one firefighters, police officers and civilians who died on September 11, 2001. The bill was voted out of the City Council unanimously and many of the members are here with me today."
"While no actions that we may take can ever adequately convey the appreciation that the entire City has for these heroes, erecting these signs throughout the five boroughs will at least express the City's desire to permanently remember their sacrifices and to rebuild our City in their memory. Without the courage and sacrifice of those firefighters, police officers and civilians who bravely gave their lives to rescue others, many more lives would certainly have been lost. Our actions today will show the world that our City and its people will never forget those who were lost on that terrible day."
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