Nov. 3 marked a day of restoration for New York City and for the nation, particularly those who survived or were affected by the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
One World Trade Center, nicknamed the Freedom Tower, opened for business on the first Monday morning of November. Almost 200 tenants employed by companies such as Cónde Nast moved in to start the work week.
Although the tower is newly occupied, the past cannot be ignored. Many survivors of the fall of the Twin Towers have taken time to reflect about what this means to them and the city of New York.
Leeky Behrman, an author and speaker, was a tenant on the 61st floor back in 2001. Behrman said she was especially inspired during the workday by the view of the city that surrounded her.
“I loved working up in the clouds,” Behrman said. “I’m excited for the new tenants. I would love to work there again.”
Behrman, who now resides in St. Louis, doesn’t let the traumatic events ruin her love for the city and the World Trade Center site. She said she has a positive attitude about its transformation.
“It’s great to see the progress that’s been made,” Behrman said. “Not just the building, but the museum and the new tower.”
Gary Smiley, a retired member of the New York City Fire Department, said he is ambivalent about the tower.
“I don’t know how comfortable I would be (working there),” Smiley said.
However, Smiley does plan on visiting the observation deck on the 101st and 102nd floor of the tower once that feature becomes available. It is located at the same height at which the Twin Towers stood. This new attraction is projected to show tourists and New Yorkers the beauty of the building, which embraces the past and stands with confidence.
The One World Trade Center will stand at 104 stories, which towers over 1,700 feet. It will be deemed the tallest building in New York and the entire Western Hemisphere, according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
Robert Ryan, a survivor native to New Jersey, said he admires the thought and detail put into the construction. The staircases were designed to be in the same spot as they were in 2001, which Ryan said was an “eerie tribute” to survivors.
Ryan said the rebuilding of the One World Trade Center has allowed him to reflect upon how his own life has progressed in the 13 years since the attack.
The final product stands as a firm sense of accomplishment for survivors nationwide. Each survivor’s thoughts about the new World Trade Center site differ from one another, but nonetheless, the tower brings them together.
Memorials and museums surround the site for tourists and survivors to visit and they can’t avoid catching a glimpse of, as Ryan referred to the One World Trade Center, the “bright new beacon of hope.”