New York Times article excerpt on residents at Ground Zero,

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

• t+ THE NEW YORK TIMES METRO TUESDAY, DECEMBER 24,: 4 CITY

Bittersweet Homecoming Next to Ground Zero 'ontinued From Page Al ing will ultimately be condemned in drilling echo through the halls as the name of redevelopment Rumors contractors continue repairs, an circulate that the heavily damaged 125 Cedar Street echo of the past The elevators break day, side by side, with ground Deutsche Bank skyscraper next down repeatedly. Not all of the hall­ in a neighborhood at once door, draped in black protective net­ Articles in this series are ex­ ways and the landings have been e and familiar. ting, will have to be demolished, amining life at 125 Cedar Street painted; still visible in some places residents of the squat tum-of- though a company spokeswoman in the aftermath of the World are the bright orange markings the itury loft building confront said its fate had not been deter­ Trade Center attack. Earlier ar­ Fire Department painted to denote •etum with a welter of emo- mined. ticles in the series are online at that the building had been inspected. - anxiety, sadness, joy, longing And there is the effect on the psy­ Peter Davies and Mark Scherzer, nytimes.com/nyregion. ■ past, but mainly relief. Many che, the tinge of sadness that comes who also moved back yesterday, still iiuffled from one temporary from living so close to where so have a twisted piece of metal from nent to the next, adrift in a city many died. The lingering fears over the trade center on their rooftop ter­ d cm the dead. They entered whether the air is truly safe. mental Protection carried out the cted negotiations with their cleanup, using the E.PA’s stand­ race. The begonias swept with ash An electric air filter hums in Gail from the collapse have grown back rd, and later city and state Langsner’s living room on the 12th ards and guidelines. It has now nmental officials, over the floor. She moved back last week, and cleaned and tested 813 apartments in oddly, with leaves curled instead of ig of the building. spent an angst-filled first night Lower Manhattan, but Christopher flat and shorter stalks. residents shoveled out reams “I was lying there thinking. Is the 0. Ward, the commissioner, called Asked when they thought life in the «rs and building parts blown air toxic? Have I been a fool?” said 125 Cedar the worst building would be back to normal, eir spaces when the planes hit Ms. Langsner, who runs a parrot­ “Here, we had this building that Mr. Scherzer replied, “What’s nor­ le towers feU. But most of the care service from her apartment was sort of the poster child for debris mal?” Though relieved to return nents, especially those with and had fled the collapsing towers and damage,” he said. home, Mr. Scherzer said “thinking facing windows overlooking with several birds. It was one of three residential about coming back has made me I y Street, were coated in a fine Michael Mulhern, a painter on the buildings that had remained vacant think about Sept. 11 all over again.” J a some cases several indies ninth floor, has moved almost all of since the attack, all on the same ' Mr. Wheelwright and Ms. Hicks said Many residents threw out fur- his artwork and belongings back in. block on the south rim of ground they were elated to be home. The and clothes they deemed hope- But he has yet to spend the night for zero. At 114 Liberty Street a nine- Christmas tree stand was in place, contaminated, and the dozen reasons he cannot articulate. unit condominium building next door awaiting the tree they would get to­ 5 who live in the building sought “It’s been such a long time,” he to Cedar that was pierced by pieces day. Christmas gifts were packed up ve their damaged works re- said. “Maybe I’m a little nervous.” of debris, the owners are embroiled in moving boxes. Mesa, their golden i, with mixed results. Peter Wheelwright, Eliza Hicks in a dispute with insurers over re­ retriever, dozed on the floor. 4 building was finally declared and their three children moved back pairs and cleanup. And at 110 Lib­ But as they took a break from ir habitation on Nov. 16, but the yesterday. But not before they reno­ erty, a 12-unit building recently unpacking they could not stanch a rd and the tenants have had to vated part of their apartment. It cleaned by the city, a few tenants feeling that they were still displaced, ! walls, ceilings and floors dam- would have been difficult to return to have begun returning and the land­ still not quite home. by emergency workers, Con­ the same old place, Ms. Hicks said, lord is seeking new tenants. “This is a non-Christmas for us,” ors and a series of plumbing with memories of fepL 11. But the residents of 125 Cedar said Mr. Wheelwright, chairman of es. There is still no phone serv- “Coming back now,” she said, have been the most vocal in reclaim ­ the architecture program at the Par­ □me residents say their apart- “feels like a fresh start” ing their building, which they re­ sons School of Design. 1 will not be ready until next habilitated themselves a quarter­ Nobody, not the residents, the land­ me it feels as if in some ways 1, though some pushed to get in century ago in one of the first office the“To lord or city officials, has an easy ex­ tape has just started to roll 3 Christmas. buildings to convert to residences in planation for why it has taken so long. e but a few tenants in the 23-unit the financial district For several months after Sept. 11, again,” he added. “I feel like we have £ ng plan to return, but being police refused access to the building Part of it is the below-market been on pause for all this time, like . they are learning, does not ease rents of $800 to $1,500 for high-ceil­ we have been in some kind of sus­ but for brief visits. Then came pro­ sir anxiety about returning to a tracted negotiations over how thor­inged apartments up to 2,000 square pended animation. Everything else barged with emotion and under oughly the apartments should be feet many with a wall of windows in my life, my professional life, has I my from dty planners and devel- cleaned. The federal Environmental that faced the World Trade Center. zoomed ahead. But not home.” , not to mention tourists. Protection Agency, which had not But there was also the sweat equi­ He said he was particularly I spite an assurance to the con- ty they put in when they originally pleased that none of the conceptual had standards for indoor air quality 1 from the Lower Manhattan De­ in residential buildings, developedrented their places and did much of plans released last week for the 1 ment Corporation, the resi- strict standards. the renovation themselves. trade center site called for the re­ 1 . cannot help wonder if the build- The City Department Environ- Now, the sounds of banging and moval of Us building; under one ! plan, however, a wing of an office ( 1 _____________ tower would soar some 40 stories over the rooftop. ( But the residents are still suspi­ 1 8 cious of developers and find it hard sSj to believe planners would save their io little home. Even If 125 Cedar re­ mains, some residents believe any f kind of monumental building would I ■ n attract terrorists again. “I don’t want to be another target,” I a said Pat Moore, whose third-floor apartment was heavily damaged. Ms. Del Rivero spent a harrowing - yJ N afternoon last week as the elevators broke down with several of her art Sis pieces stuck inside. To calm her nerves, she lay on S ’ i shelving along the windows spar­ L "I®' kling with her lights. While her hus­ ’Bute

a band, Kyle Brooks, a preservation photographer, excitedly waits to watch the transformation of ground zero, Ms. Del Rivero, a visual artist who uses paint and paper as her F medium, has already decided to move her studio space away from the window. They will begin living .y

.J ^^8 here on .New Year’s Day, when the lease on their sublet runs out She ran her fingers over the lights and took a. glimpse out the window and sighed, thinking about resuming life here, next to ground zero. She Ozier Muhanunad/The New York Times searched for words to explain her :hael Mulhern, a painter, has moved almost all of his artwork and belongings back into his ninth-floor feelings and after a long pause came rtment But he has yet to spend the night. “It’s been such a long time,” he said. “Maybe I’m a little nervous.” up with tUs: “It affects my souL”

NYC-WTC_000151917