Behind The Lens has been photographing the World Trade Center site since the attack on 9/11/2001 and has been tracking progress at the site over the years. On May 5, 2011, I was at the site to photograph the rally that took place during President Obama’s visit to place a wreath just days after the killing of Osama Bin Laden.   As I walked around taking pictures, I realized that I was photographing many of the same locations that I had photographed during the week following the attack in 2001.  I began to look at the faces in the crowd, the faces of the police, security forces and construction workers.  It is these images that really tell the story of the progress in lower Manhattan.  

On this day in May, 2011, the police were out in force and ready for anything that might come along, but the stunned looks of heartbreak and astonishment that were evident in 2001 were gone.   The looks on this day were of pleasure and pride, along with the satisfaction that they were there to protect this site and give a sense of security to the many visitors that swarmed to the area.  The people in the crowd were not looking around in horror at rubble and destruction; but with pride and joy at the progress of the construction of the buildings and the memorial.  The despair in their eyes was gone.  

In September 2001, on the street in front of St. Paul's Chapel, there were crowds of aid workers and doctors helping the rescue teams.  In May 2011, the crowds in front of the same church were rushing to their appointments and checking their Blackberries; and yet, as they walked, they could not help but glance down the street at the Freedom Tower under construction – it’s mirrored panels reflecting the white clouds in the sky.   A fence that had held a rescue worker’s respirator in 2001 was now the hitching post for a group of balloons that helped to celebrate the accomplishments of the day. 

The view from Church Street of the last remaining steel beam from the WTC now, instead,  gives people a complete view of the 9/11 Memorial structure and the progress of the other  buildings as they reach towards the sky.  It has been said that 10 years is a long time and progress should have been greater, but I feel that progress is more than the number of floors completed or the number of steel beams on the site.   Progress is the rebirth of the area, the look in the eyes of the people, and the feeling that now is the right time for the site to evolve into its next phase.  You can see it in the faces of every police officer and security agent surrounding the construction site.  You can see it in the pace of the construction workers, and you can see it in the casual glances of the NYC workforce as they go about their daily business.  We can never forget what took place at this spot on 9/11/2001, but we are - at last - in the process of rebuilding, renewing, and paying tribute to those who were lost.

This layout was published in the Fall issue of OUR USA Magazine

Our USA MAGAZINE

http://www.ourusamagazine.com

Fear of the unknown in the eye of a female police officer Sept 2001 on a corner on Broadway , a block from the WTC site

On the same corner on Broadway, another police officer gives directions to tourists on May 5, 2011

Looking west from Broadway down Dey St and seeing the destruction that had been the World Trade Center Towers and the horror of 9/11

Looking west from Broadway, one block from Dey St., on Fulton St and seeing the beauty of the new Freedom Tower
 

Aid and rescue workers using the St Paul's Chapel as a hospital, treatment center, place to rest, and a place to cry

Outside of St Paul's Chapel on May 5, 2011, the pace of NYC does not slow down.   But everyone looks towards the  WTC site and smiles

Rescue equipment hanging on the fence while its operator was treated in Trinity Church

In August 2003 the last remaining steel beam from the original  WTC tower as viewed from Trinity Place