Were You in New York on 9/11?

yes, I live in Manhattan and worked in Soho. I had just gotten up and turned on TV to have my coffee and only one local channel had the picture of the first tower that was hit. everyone thought it was a small plane at first and then someone said a plane flew into the other tower and that was when it became very clear as to what was happening. I actually left to go vote as it was a primary day here and while there, the first tower fell. One of the workers was listening on a radio.. I returned home just as the 2nd collapsed. I still remembering feeling so freaked out about the people above the planes and seeing them hanging out with towels trying to attact attention.. I always listen every year to the names being read on TV. I feel it is least I can do out of respect.

No, I was a sophomore at a university in the nation's capitol when 9-11 happened, not at all far from where the attacks on the Pentagon took place. I was in an early morning class and did not find out until after class ended That was when the university cancelled everything for the rest of the day and the traffic in the city was a mess. There was complete chaos and confusion.

I was about to leave my apt. when it happened. It was a day where it was sunny but breezy so I turned the TV on to NY1 to see what the weather was like. That way I knew whether to bring a jacket with me or not. The news were showing breaking news and showed when the 2nd plane hit the tower. At first I thought it was a bomb and was very nervous. I left to work a few minutes later because I didn't want to be late. As I was walking to work, I saw a lot more people on the street than normal. Most of them had dust on their clothing. These were the survivors.

It's a day in NYC history that I will never ever forget. I can't believe it's already been 7 years since that horrible and sad day. :(

yes. i was on may way to work, on a bus going across the Verrazano Bridge from Bklyn to Staten Island. i was right over the middle of the bridge watching the smoke billow from the buildings which were still standing. it must have been about 9:15 or so.

a guy in my high school class, and the older brother (a firefighter) of my coworker that day were killed. another acquaintance survived, only because, when the North Tower was hit first, he could still feel it working near the top of the South Tower. somehow a "sixth sense" took over, and he immediately walked all the way down the stairs without looking back. it was not too long after he left the South Tower that it was hit. when he got to street level he just walked as fast and as far away as he could. on that day he had "smart legs"...

I live in New Jersey(Middlesex County) and it was my junior year of high school. The first plane and nothing happened, principal came on the loudspeaker and said that a plane had hit the WTC.

About 3 minutes later, we heard a faint bang, the lights flickered, and then nothing but silence. It was the second plane hitting.

To make things even more scary, I was in French class and we were learning past participles. My friend had just answered Ils sont descendus to a question. The principal came on just after he answered to let us know that both towers had fallen and a plane had hit the Pentagon.

Ils sont descendus means they have gone down.

I was in elementary school and I remember sitting down when the principal made the announcement over the speaker. At first, I thought it was a joke until parents started picking their kids up from school and then I realized it was THAT serious. My dad did not pick me up from school until dismissal time and I had an afterschool program after that. So when I went home, my mom came back early from work and told me she walked all the way from 23rd street (where she used to work) all the way home (in Queens) and we had the tv on and it was very shocking. They told me to continue to go to my afterschool program and when I was there, everyone went crazy. I remember that night, I could not sleep at all. It was probably the hardest night I went by ever. I was sweating and I was scared and I had those images in my head so I went to my mom's bed.

Yes I am a New Yorker. I was sleeping when my sister-in-law woke me up crying. My brother was on a plane that morning going to Washington DC (he is OK) and she was worried he was dead. I turned on the news and saw the Twin Towers in flames. Phone lines weren't working so I couldn't reach him on his cell or his assistant. I was in the kitchen when my upstairs neighbor came down and told me the Pentagon got hit. We were able to reach my brother. He was in a hotel in DC watching the Capitol get evacuated. When the Towers collapsed, it didn't seem real. I knew it was all real when my sister-in-law and I were on our front lawn and saw an F14 fly overhead.

The next day was when everyone felt the emotional impact. Everyone in the NYC area knew someone who worked in those building and no one knew yet who was dead and who was alive. I went to the store and it was dead silent even though people were everywhere. A man was parked in an SUV next to me crying hysterically on his cell phone. You could smell the smoke in the air. There was a sense that nothing was ever going to be the same again.

was in my school (I'm a teacher) in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. Many of the kids in that school live in the Fort Greene Projects, and those with windows facing Manhattan had fabulous views of the WTC. Some of the latecomers actually told a teacher about the first plane hitting the building, and she didn't believe him.

I am an intervention teacher, and was about to go into a classroom with another intervention teacher when I found out. We were in a hurry, and didn't have time to notice that people seemed upset in one of the rooms we passed. Then, just as we were about to go into the classroom, one of the custodians told the teacher I was with. She literally pulled me out of the room I was halfway into, and told me what happened. (This was just after the second plane hit.)

We went up to the intervention room and listened to the radio for a few minutes to confirm what we'd heard, but by then, we could also see the smoke rising up.

We went back to the classroom we were going to, and before we could really get started, an announcment came on the loudspeaker to say there would be assemblies for different age groups of children. I went with the lower grade assembly which was earlier, so I could hear what was going on. It was then I found out about Washington, DC.

As I went to the back of the auditorium, another intervention teacher said to me "they're both down, now." I said "what are you talking about?" And she told me.

I was so frightened by this, I went to call my husband, but none of the phone lines were working. I was worried about him because, depending on which subway line he took, he might have taken a train that went under the WTC. (It was primary day, and I didn't know if he had gone to vote first or was going to vote later, and which way he did this made a difference in which subway he took. It turned out that he took the train that went over the Manhattan Bridge instead and saw the WTC burning from train windows. No one on any subway train was hurt, as it turns out, but I didn't know that at the time.)

As it turned out, I knew two people who were killed that day - both of them were firemen. No one I knew who had worked there or in the area was hurt. I finally reached my husband at 2:30 that afternoon. I was so relieved to hear his voice.

I was in San Antonio, taking a shower when it happened (I did not have to work that day). My mother had been trying to call me, and after she finally got a hold of me, I stayed glued to the T.V. for pretty much the rest of the day... just trying to scoop up as much information as I could. Everyone seemed confused, the newscasters, everyone. It was an unprecedented event. It was a day of shock and sadness for everyone... especially those in NYC and D.C., but also for those expecting to meet loved ones (from the airplanes) at other destinations... and for those of us who could only look on, helplessly.

I was only in kinder garden I live in Ny I went home early thinking "Oh cool no school!" I didn't know what happened so my mom her friend just went for ice cream(wITH ME AND MY SISTERS OF COURSE) My dad is a cop for a court so he stayed LATE that night my mom was terrified I lost a tooth that day all very disappointing