I dont think words can express our horror at the events of Tuesday, September 11, 2001 - a date that will, without any doubt, live in infamy.
The American Banker and Bond Buyer offices are located at 1 State Street Plaza - opposite the Staten Island Ferry at the tip of Manhattans financial district. Our employees watched the second airplane swoop in over the Hudson River to strike the World Trade Center. Some watched from their windows, others from the street. Some had just come into the city under the World Trade Center, some via PATH trains, some via subway, others in taxis. The noise, the dust, the complete horror of it all.
The mother of one of our reporters, who worked in the WTC, came to our offices looking for her son. He had gone looking for her. She waited on the street corner for him until the area was evacuated. We finally, to our enormous relief, discovered the following day that hed made it out of the area alive and well. We have only one employee whose whereabouts remain uncertain. Hes a National Guardsman who was called to duty. Were proud of him and pray for his safety.
We have temporarily relocated our operations in Manhattan to midtown, to offices opposite Madison Square Garden and Penn Station. An hour ago, people rushed from this and other buildings in the area on a rumor that there was a bomb in the station. Shortly after, word came that this building was safe - but not before many people fled and others just couldnt bring themselves back upstairs. Thats the horrible, indelible corollary of terrorism: Terror.
And thats why September 11, 2001, will be a watershed date for all of us who live and work in the financial district in lower Manhattan and for those of us who live and work in the United States of America. In this atmosphere of hurt, bewilderment, fear, and loss, our thoughts and prayers go out to all those who are missing loved ones.
We will do all we can as publishers, as members of the financial community, and as citizens to assist in whatever ways we can. The American Banker and Bond Buyer newspapers and Web sites are open to all institutions and individuals to post important messages - whether youre informing or seeking information. Use our media to tell people where you can be reached, that youre safe, that youre looking for a certain individual. Our Web sites will be open and free to all for as long as theyre needed. Contact us directly at richard.burns@tfn.com, 212-803 8900/212-631 9013, if you think we can help in any way.
Richard Burns
President
Thomson Financial Media
American Banker/The Bond Buyer
