We often forget the scope of the rescue work in which the city engaged in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001. While the day itself will forever be memorialized, the weeks after the Towers fell saw thousands of people sacrifice their time, energy and health to participate in the rescue mission. Allan Rosen, writing at Sheepshead Bites, discusses the ceremony and praises the MTA and its employees who went above and beyond during the trying weeks after the attacks. He writes: “From the MTA employees who guided people to safety to the heavy lifters searching for survivors and later for bodies, to the bus drivers shuttling rescue workers and victims’ families, each did their part exceedingly well. As one of the speakers put it, there was no one giving orders, and if you paid these people a million dollars, they could have not worked any harder.”
Rosen attended a small ceremony earlier this week for those at the MTA who put themselves in the line of duty on the day of and the days after the attacks. He talks about the people who were driving trains south of Manhattan when the planes struck and urges us all to remember how “in times of crisis, the agency excels.” As the ninth anniversary of the attacks passed last Saturday, it is well worth a minute or two to salute those who did their all to help cope with the aftermath and keep casualties as low as possible.
3 comments
Excuse me but I find this post a little funny after countless posts describing the S/A job and useless and non-essential, we have a reference praising MTA workers for leading people to safety.
Well who do you think DID that? MTA managers? Jay Walder?
No the station agents did.
People forget the work MTA/TWU workers did on 911.
And they forget the work those same MTA/TWU members in the recovery and cleanup.
No Union had more people working recorvery and clean than Local 100. And they never get the credit. Opinions are one things and everyone is entitled to one, but hypocrisy is something else.
It wasn’t only the stations agents. Hundreds of titles within NYCT were involved immediately and during the clean-up. Bridges and Tunnels and even the Long Island Railroad and Metro-North employees contributed.
I regret that I did not record any audio especially the tribute by Jeff Johns, Response Team Supervisor who was one of the best speakers I have ever heard in my life. Listening to him was extremely moving and my article and Ben’s didn’t even begin to capture his sentiments. Luckily Transit Transit recorded the entire event and portions of it should be available for viewing on next months’ Transit Transit.
True, true. I will never forget being on canal street that morning and watch station agents side by side with cops directing traffic and directing people walking in the street. MTA bus drivers taking firefighters and police to the disaster site. Bridge and tunnel and port authority employees running to the smoke instead of away from it.
Lots of heroes that day civilian and workers, bless them all.