A grand view from 3 World Trade Center on 20th anniversary of 9/11
BY TODD MAISEL
Real estate developer Larry Silverstein
could not be present at his gettogether
at 3 World Trade Center
on Sept. 9 because the 90-year-old was not
feeling well.
But his towering achievement of rebuilding
the World Trade Center complex was on
view from the 80th fl oor of the 1,079-foot
building for his guests, building executives
and city leaders two days before the anniversary
of the devastating attack that killed
2,977 people, 19 hijackers committed
murder-suicide, and injured 6,000 others.
Many more, mostly fi rst responders, have
subsequently died of 9/11 illnesses.
The event was also a showcase for
Silverstein Properties photographer Joe
Woolhead who spent years documenting
in photos the rebuilding of the main tower,
1 World Trade Center, and subsequent
construction of accompanying structures.
Woolhead, along with co-author Scott
Raab, unveiled their new book, “Once
More to the Sky: The Rebuilding of the
World Trade Center,” published by Simon
and Schuster.
Woolhead, an immigrant of Ireland in
the early ’90s, had been a construction
Silverstein Properties held a get together at the new 3 World Trade Center,
the final sky scraper. Photographer Joe Woolhead signed books of photos of
the rebuilding of the World Trade Center.
worker when he was seriously injured in a
construction accident at the nearby Chase
Manhattan Bank by a granite slab in 1996.
It was then that he began to develop his
photography skills and having worked in
construction, it was natural for him to
photograph construction sites.
He was present when the second tower
collapsed, having traveled by train to the
PHOTO BY TODD MAISEL
World Trade Center on 9/11. It was then
that he began his photography odyssey of
the site from destruction to reconstruction.
At fi rst, he worked for Esquire Magazine,
but then, an old roommate hooked him up
with Silverstein Properties who needed
photos of the groundbreaking ceremony
of the Freedom Tower, now 1 World Trade
Center. He was then asked to document the
rebuilding – from nothing but a hole in the
ground referred to as “the bathtub,” to the
current towering structures.
“I became obsessed, driven by the idea
that the prevailing narrative of the World
Trade Center as a place of doom and
gloom could be transformed, that people’s
perceptions could be altered by the visuals
of the progress of work at the site and that
ultimately, seeing my pictures in the news,
people would see progress and construction
where he old towers used to be, and they
would be made aware of the great changes
happening on the ground and high up above
the restless city streets as steel and concrete
were riven together into spectacular form
and new towers were seeded into New York
bedrock,” Woolhead says in his book.
Woolhead photographed throughout
the rebuilding process, sometimes butting
heads with the Port Authority of New
York-New Jersey who at one point, banned
him from the site for six months after he
photographed crane inspectors at the top
of the tower – a picture that adorns the
cover of his book. He never understood the
reasoning for the ban.
Among those attending the get-together
were Democratic Mayoral nominee Eric
Adams, and Congressman Jerrold Nadler.
WTC restaurant workers call for fair wages on 9/11 anniversary
BY MORGAN C. MULLINGS
On the 20th anniversary of the
tragedy, several Windows of the
World workers reunited to honor
the lives lost, and advocate for a fair wage
in the future.
Over 70 employees from the Windows
of the World restaurant — which had
occupied the 106th and 107th fl oors of
the North Tower — died after becoming
trapped above the impact zone where
hijacked American Airlines Flight 11 hit.
At that time 20 years ago, the federal
minimum cash wage for tipped workers
was $2.13. Activists pointed out Saturday,
the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks,
that it remains the same $2.13 today.
Former Windows worker Fekkak Mamdouh
said that at his last shift, he never
thought that would be the last time he
walked into tower one at the World Trade
Center.
“I lost three important things: I lost
my brothers and sisters that worked with
me, I lost my sense of security and safety,”
Mamdouh said, adding that he had to hide
his identity as a Muslim in the weeks and
months after the attack.
He later formed ROC-United, the fi rst
national restaurant worker organization,
Visitors could see 1 World Trade Center from 3 World Trade Center.
and is now the senior director of One Fair
Wage.
“We can’t just name their names and
light candles anymore,” said Saru Jayaraman,
president of One Fair Wage and
host of the event. “Only by changing the
industry and ending the scourge of a sub
minimum wage, can we truly honor who
they are.”
Though, they did take turns lighting
candles for the coworkers they lost.
One Fair Wage gathered the Windows
PHOTO BY TODD MAISEL
alums on the roof of the Color of Change
offi ce just blocks from One World Trade,
with speakers including former Secretary
of State Hillary Clinton, Senator Chuck
Schumer, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams
and many more showing their support
for an increased minimum wage.
The working conditions and low wages
combined with the demographics of the
industry alarmed leaders like Williams.
“You show me an industry that is primarily
Black, brown, immigrant women, I’ll
show you an industry where people aren’t
paid what they’re supposed to be paid, and
probably in substandard conditions,” said
Williams.
Jayaraman contended that low wages
for tipped workers are a continuation of
slavery, based on historical record of tipped
workers being paid zero dollars and relying
only on tips.
“And we went from zero in 1938 to $2.13
today … That is a shame,” Jayaraman said.
The support that restaurant workers
need, speakers noted, comes up during
every crisis. Workers sought help from
One Fair Wage after Hurricane Katrina,
and now during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Both times, they stressed that the main
issue was that they needed wages to live.
Senator Schumer added to that perspective,
saying “The reason there’s a shortage
of workers in restaurants is that restaurants
don’t treat workers well.”
Raising wages, benefi ts and health care
opportunities will bring workers back,
Schumer said.
Former Secretary Clinton also thanked
the former Windows workers for turning
their loss into an ongoing movement for
better wages.
“Every one one of us will do everything
we can to make that so,” Clinton said.
10 September 16, 2021 Schneps Media