Sept.
11 – six years later
Sept.
11 – six years later
TRANSPORTATION — Sangeeta Bhowmick
remembers her three co-workers. PEF members who belong to DOT and work at NYMTC
honored the memory of their lost co-workers by naming three conference rooms
after them. They also created a September 11 Memorial Program that provides
internships and research studies for students interested in transportation
technology and planning. — Photo by Carol Wilkinson
By DEBORAH A. MILES
Six years after Sept. 11, PEF members who survived the terrorist attacks on the
World Trade Center (WTC) said they are still haunted by the event, but have
moved forward.
They talk about having a deeper appreciation for life, the strength to continue
on, and fear of the future.
They remember 2,974 people died that day, including 31 PEF members from the
state Department of Taxation and Finance, and three from the Department of
Transportation (DOT).
Alicia Ferrer, a tax auditor 2, said the tragic event will always be a part of
her life, but she doesn’t think about it every day as she used to.
“You do heal from the initial shock and pain,” Ferrer said. “The experience
changed everything. I have lived in Manhattan my entire life and until that day
I felt safe. Manhattan was wonderful. Now I never feel safe or secure. There are
soldiers wearing camouflage, carrying big guns and standing on the street
corners. They are very prominent especially when there is a high security alert.
“It’s always in the back of your mind that terrorists may attack again,” Ferrer
said.
Wilfred Amanfu, a tax auditor, was on the 86th floor of the South Tower and
escaped on foot. He said his life and work are “normal” again.
That is until a fire alarm recently went off at the Tax and Finance office. When
he was going down the stairwell from the 16th floor, he began to shiver.
“Hearing the alarm and being in the stairwell triggered something,” Amanfu said.
“I thought I had moved on, but only halfway. No one knows the psychological or
emotional impact Sept. 11 had on us.”
Location matters
After the tragedy, Tax and Finance moved to midtown Manhattan.
“The commissioner was very thoughtful in selecting a new location for us,”
Ferrer said. “Having to work near the site would have been difficult.”
Sangeeta Bhowmick, an associate transportation
analyst for the New York Metropolitan Transportation Council, works near South
Street Seaport. Unlike Ferrer, she takes the train and it stops at Ground Zero
every day.
“Every time I see the remnants from the site, it brings back memories,” Bhowmick
said. “I have many mixed feelings.”
Fearing the future
“What is always lurking in the back of my mind is the possibility of having to
move back to the WTC after it is rebuilt,” Bhowmick said. “That would be
difficult for me.”
Ferrer agreed. “Fortunately for me, I will retire
before that time. I would be absolutely devastated if I had to work there. If I
couldn’t retire, I would quit. It’s one thing remembering it and knowing
everything you went through that horrible day, but it’s another if you have to
go back and work there. I know a lot of my co-workers feel the same way.
“If, in the future, someone decides to move this department to the Freedom
Tower, the only way it may work would be due to staff turnover. The new people
may not have as strong an objection,” Ferrer said.
TAX
AND FINANCE — Wilfred Amanfu and Alicia Ferrer take time to reflect upon the 31
PEF members who were killed on Sept. 11. The memorial lists the names of those
who perished and is located at the Broadway Office in midtown Manhattan.
Photo by Richard Dillard