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Note from NYC
The last missing friend to be reappear on my radar (only yesterday) was Michael Stern, CEO of Information Markets Corp., headquartered close by the Wolrd Trade Center in New York. Michael sent this email out to his friends, and it is printed here with his permission. — DS Thanks to everybody for your concerns and your kind messages. Those of us who live and work in New York remain in a constant state of uncertainty, networking through to friends and relatives, while following rumors about former co-workers, ex-girlfriends, and anybody else who worked in the towers or nearby. We are all touched by death. As you know, Infomarkets' offices are close to the towers. When WT2 came down, our building was covered in debris and dust like volcanic ash. It was as dark as night, and the power quickly failed. My employees who were in the office at the time (I was not) closed the windows and waited. In time, the dust cleared enough that they could get out of the building, and they headed south to Battery Park, where they were waiting when WT1 collapsed. They, like most people in the area, suffered minor injuries from inhaling the subsequent cloud, and scratches to their eyes from running through it. None suffered more serious injuries. As for me, I was in Brooklyn, on the roof of my building, watching. I had been at the office until after 2:00am, and planned to return a little late. When the first plane hit, my landlord came to my apartment to reach the roof. We went up together and watched WT1 burn. At that point I assumed the crash was an accident. Why assume the worst? In 1945, an air force bomber hit the Empire State Building, and in 1960, a commercial jet had crashed in Brooklyn near where I now live. At 9:00am on Tuesday, we assumed this was similar. The weather was beautiful and the view of lower Manhattan from the roof was perfect. There was a light breeze and squirrels were playing along the eves of the brownstones. We might have gone inside after a couple of minutes, except that it was so beautiful that we took the excuse to sit and enjoy the day. "Look at that plane," my landlord said, as we watched a shiny commercial jet head up the East River, crossing our line of sight. It was flying fast and low, and looked as though it was going to crash into the ground or the river. The plane banked left, and hit WT2. There was a ball of fire, then we felt the blast, then heard it. We saw no debris fall to the street, and assumed that the plane disintegrated in the explosion. Later we learned that the plane had gone almost through the building, exploding out the far side. This is why WT2 fell first, even though it was hit after WT1. Between the destruction of the phone systems downtown and the fact that my rolodex is in the office, I've been hard to reach. Your best bet for a while is to use the following temporary voicemail box: 800-830-7759, box 7837601 ("STERN01"). You will have to leave me your phone number, as I have no access to it otherwise, and this is the first time I've gotten my hands on e-mail in two days. Not much else to say for now. I'm trying to find some way to help; I am an EMT and it's a little maddening to just wait. Until today, I couldn't even get into Manhattan from Brooklyn. People have started hanging posters around the Jay Street/Borough Hall asking "Have You Seen This Woman?" "Have you seen my brother?" I skim them. Some of these folk worked at Cantor Fitzgerald. Their offices were near the top of one of the towers, and almost every person at the firm was killed. One final thought: there is nothing that most of you can do to help. However, wars of terror are about destroying will and hope and solidarity more than they are about bodycounts. Wherever you are, and whatever your feeling about this country at other times, hang an American flag out your window. Let the world know that your hearts are with us. Michael Stern CEO Information Markets Corp.
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