1 World Trade Center rising from the WTC SiteI was last in NYC in the spring of 2001, and was due back to watch the US Open at the beginning of September; but plans had to be changed as I had to stay in Hong Kong to tend to some unfinished business.
I still remember the moment when the 2nd plane crashed into the North Tower, I was sitting at home alone in Hong Kong, speechless, motionless, in disbelief. It was a news bulletin that came on TV, when Hong Kong’s version of “The Weakest Link” was on. The news initially focused on the South Tower, which was already in flames from the first hit; then the 2nd plane came from the left of the TV screen and crashed into the North Tower. The image is still fresh in my mind… Immediately afterwards I placed a call to California, to someone who had no idea what had just happened 3,000 miles away on the East Coast. Our lives, his and mine… and yours, are forever changed.
Ten years on, NYC is still as beautiful, lively and energetic as when Carrie Bradshaw roamed the Madison Avenue and the tree-lined streets of the West Village pre-9/11. On the eve of the 10th Anniversary of 9/11, I was back in NYC at long last.
New skyscrapers are everywhere, and they are building bigger and taller ones. New hotspots like the Meatpacking District and The High Line have redefined how older neighborhoods could be revitalized. Washington Square Park is still IMO the best park I have ever visited… all the people-watching, children’s laughter, sun light reflected by buildings surrounding the park, the fountain where kids and adults soak and enjoy a little bit of folly… it’s so quintessential New York… so…. SNL, so 30Rock, so Woody Allen, and so David Letterman. But of course Central Park cannot be outdone. The lawn, the lake, the reservoir, the rocks… bikers, joggers, strollers… hot dog stands, hansom cabs, and of course the Met.
Sometimes when they do re-runs of SATC on TV, NYC always seemed to sparkle… It is comforting, that I could still see it and feel it when I was back after so many years.
Ten years on, one thing is for sure, for better or for worse, we all need to move on and reinvent ourselves.
I still remember the moment when the 2nd plane crashed into the North Tower, I was sitting at home alone in Hong Kong, speechless, motionless, in disbelief. It was a news bulletin that came on TV, when Hong Kong’s version of “The Weakest Link” was on. The news initially focused on the South Tower, which was already in flames from the first hit; then the 2nd plane came from the left of the TV screen and crashed into the North Tower. The image is still fresh in my mind… Immediately afterwards I placed a call to California, to someone who had no idea what had just happened 3,000 miles away on the East Coast. Our lives, his and mine… and yours, are forever changed.
Ten years on, NYC is still as beautiful, lively and energetic as when Carrie Bradshaw roamed the Madison Avenue and the tree-lined streets of the West Village pre-9/11. On the eve of the 10th Anniversary of 9/11, I was back in NYC at long last.
New skyscrapers are everywhere, and they are building bigger and taller ones. New hotspots like the Meatpacking District and The High Line have redefined how older neighborhoods could be revitalized. Washington Square Park is still IMO the best park I have ever visited… all the people-watching, children’s laughter, sun light reflected by buildings surrounding the park, the fountain where kids and adults soak and enjoy a little bit of folly… it’s so quintessential New York… so…. SNL, so 30Rock, so Woody Allen, and so David Letterman. But of course Central Park cannot be outdone. The lawn, the lake, the reservoir, the rocks… bikers, joggers, strollers… hot dog stands, hansom cabs, and of course the Met.
Sometimes when they do re-runs of SATC on TV, NYC always seemed to sparkle… It is comforting, that I could still see it and feel it when I was back after so many years.
Ten years on, one thing is for sure, for better or for worse, we all need to move on and reinvent ourselves.
The High Line
Lincoln Center and Juilliard School
Lincoln Center - Metropolitan Opera House
"Carrie Bradshaw"'s apartment
Midtown from Central Park's Lake
Washington Sqaure Park
The Met looking out to the Upper East Side