The Freedom Tower

February 26, 2008

Amanda Farinacci of NY1 Remembers:

In the shadow of September 11th, 2001, February 26th, 1993 is not a date that immediately registers with most. But it was 15 years ago today that the World Trade Center first came under attack, and as NY1’s Amanda Farinacci explains in the following report, it is a day that has not been forgotten.

It’s been 15 years since terrorists detonated about 1,500 pounds of explosives in a rental car parked in the garage of the World Trade Center. Six people were killed, more than a thousand were hurt in the bombing.

Tuesday morning a memorial service was held to remember those lost.

“Days like today are always about loss and about hope and remembering, as today we did,” said Port Authority Director Anthony Shorris.

A moment of silence at 12:18 p.m. marked the exact time of the bombing. And while the memorial service was relatively low-key, mostly family and friends of the six victims, Shorris says the intimacy of the event has nothing to do with the anniversary being forgotten.

“Sure, time changes our perspective on things, and certainly 9/11 cast a shadow, and we’re all still living here, so we understand that,” said Shorris. “But nothing takes away from what the six people who lost their families, whose families lost somebody that day felt, and that’s why every day, every year, around this day, we gather, and try to remember.”

Six men were later convicted in connection with the bombing, including Islamic Cleric Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman and Ramzi Yousef who are serving life sentences.

For those who survived the bombing, the anniversary is a day of quiet reflection. Michael Hurley was working for the Port Authority back in 1993 on the 107th-floor observation deck of the South Tower.

“I can remember some of the details like it was yesterday, I really can,” said Hurley. “In fact, today, when you look outside, it’s the same kind of day. It’s not quite as cold today, but it’s that overcast kind of grey skies, very similar to how it was then.”

Hurley also survived the 9/11 attacks, working as the Trade Center fire safety director at the time. He’s now the World Trade Center site manager, a job he says he’s embraced because he feels lucky to have survived two times.

“I look at it besides an interesting and huge project to be involved with,” he said. “There’s sort of a personal aspect of it, as something was taken away from us, and it’s nice to be a part of putting it back together.”