Page 26 - Contrast2009

before 'it was
",

"grollnd, zero" 'it' \",as

a beloved home

laura. n1a"no.s·hey

We wa~ted to transform this terrible poison into medicine,
to allow the pain and loss to unite us with millions of
others allover the globe who had been through the same or
much worse.

-Eve Ensler

,Residents. sometimes, spe akio f feeling uncomfortable near
the site, and SOme still consciously avoid walking by it.
While tourists stand around blithely taking pictur~s,
the'residen,ts cringe at that response. Seeing people act
calJ,.ouslyabout their tragedy is hurtful. Not' to mention
that th~ never-ending tourist populatior is just plain
disruptive every day. The locals have a deep respect for the
buildings themselves. Since the attacks, every Septeniber 11
two beams of light are projected into the night sky over
lower 'Manhattanr honoring the towers that used to stand
there. To the,residents, the "Tribute in Light" memorial is
incredibly meaningfuf. Although the towers are gone, the
lights replace them. This memorial honors the buildings
themselves, as the towe~s of light represent the strength
and presence of the World, Trade Center. The missing presence
is itself a grievous loss. To those who saw them every day,
the towers weren't the tallest buildings in the world. They
were a part of what made life'complete. Stores to shop in,
a place to cut through on a cold day. The tourists saw the
~win Towers as something incredible, a landmark worthy
of a picture. The locals saw them as just a part of the
neighborhood. We were focused ~n getting back, to normal,
-t o finding a 'way to go on with our lives, even with the
·c.hallenges we knew lay ahead. Planning the rebuilding of
t.he 'Wor,ld Trade Center began hours after the planes' hi t .:
By the end of the day, city officials were discussing New .
'Yorkers' st~erigths, talking about how the city would'bounce
back stronger than ever. No one knew what that would look

,like, but all were convinced that such action'was imminent.
Fast forward seven and a half years. The area now known as
Ground Zerb sits there, a deep trench in the middle of the
city: Filled with vehicles a'nd cranes, it looks like little
more than an average urban construction site. Nothing has
been built on the site. In fact, not every building that
was damaged in the attacks has even been torn down yet. And
it's not just at the World Trade Center. It's the roads and
buildings and sidewalks and bike paths for blocks around