9/11 AND BLAME

Every time the subject of 9/11 comes up, the sunshine soldiers and summer patriots of the “could’ve, would’ve and should’ve” school of criticism lecture us about all of the mistakes that were made when 9/11 happened and its immediate aftermath. Back in the real world, 9/11 was the most deadly attack on American citizens – claiming thousands of victims – that has occurred in the long history of this country. Further, the strike was unexpected and without warning or suspicion of impending doom. Of course, once it happened, the City could have simply been shut down. But this would have devastated the economy of New York and in turn, since New York is both the central financial hub of both America and the world, not only would America’s economy have been ruined, but there would have been a worldwide economic collapse.

On June 22, 1941, when Russia was attacked by Germany, Joseph Stalin was so paralyzed that for days he locked himself in a room in his Dacha, paralyzed into inaction, while the Nazis overran his country, killing and capturing literally hundreds of thousands of soldiers, and destroying the Russian air force – and this was after he was warned by numerous sources that the attacks were about to occur.

This was not what happened here in New York. The institutions of government were reconstructed on an immediate basis. If business did not go on as usual, at least there was a reasonable facsimile thereof. On the West Side Piers there was the astounding spectacle of each of the City agencies up and running in makeshift, but functioning, mode. Large signs were hung over desks indicating “Corrections Department,” “Sanitation Department,” “Water Department,” “Social Service Department,” etc. Huge fax machines spewed out hourly updates on the conditions of gas and power lines in the smitten area. The Mayor gave almost hourly reports to the public, keeping them informed and calm in the knowledge that there was a steady hand at the helm. An adjacent building was turned into a survivor’s center where missing loved ones could attempt to be contacted through a network of hospitals and aide centers. While all the searching went on, Chaplains, aide workers, Red Cross workers, etc. were available both to administer to the family’s needs and take care of children at a play center while the adults went about their grim business. Sadly, there were literally no survivors, but that was the fault of the despicable fanatic Muslims and certainly not the fault of any City official.

Furthermore, notwithstanding any temporary confusion, the Federal Government immediately recognized who the guilty parties were, the armed forces were mobilized and accomplished devastating strikes against the right people.

With the visual acuity of hindsight, the Emergency Response Center could have been constructed differently and in a different location. Different precautions could have been taken to protect first and second responders. But who knew? If we knew when it was going to rain with any degree of certainty, we would never be caught without an umbrella. The City acted on the best available information both before and after the event and, incidentally, as far as the Emergency Response Center was concerned, various Federal agencies were located in the same building and in the vicinity, and they, too, were devastated.

Anybody who witnessed New York and the downtown area immediately after 9/11, at the same time had to be appalled at the degree of devastation and marvel at the correctness of the response of a Mayor who led rather than dither. He wrote the textbook for the role public officials should assume when catastrophe strikes. The people coming out of the woodwork now could well fit under the category, to paraphrase Shakespeare, “He jests at scars that never felt a wound.” Let us, and public officials – including the Mayor – be praised for what we did that was right, and not condemned for what could have been done differently, because we view, and judgment is made through the prism of time and knowledge certainly not available on 9/11.

100th Anniversary of the Plaza Hotel

This week I attended the 100th anniversary of the Plaza Hotel. About 1,000 people were packed into the area in front of the Hotel, by invitation, after having gone through a double security check. There were many police facilities around the event, all paid for, undoubtedly, by the City. Performing was an orchestra that looked like the New York City Pops, and behind that was a jumbo-thon television screen. The orchestra seemed to be playing primarily Cole Porter songs. Whoever made the choice of music was blithely oblivious to the fact that Cole Porter lived at the Waldorf Astoria and, in fact, his piano is still there. It became apparent that most of the people were in real estate, congratulating each other for the reformation of the Plaza Hotel. The unworthy thought that occurred to me was – congratulating each other for what? There was no work of beauty to elevate or enoble a man’s sensibilities, there was no new invention, discovery, that will help people in terms of their health or welfare, no housing for people who don’t have homes – just a lot of people congratulating each other for building condominiums to sell to very rich people. Is this really something that we need to celebrate?