October
2001
Two
Weeks of Community
By Samantha Knowlden
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In the immediate aftermath of the events on September
11, I witnessed an amazing and beautiful occurrence of community and communication
in New York City. Starting on September 11, and lasting a few days, cars
were banned from lower Manhattan. As a result, in the wake of such a tumultuous
and explosive tragedy involving the crashing of buildings and planes,
came the most peaceful and inspiring quiet. As I rode my bike around the
Lower East Side at night, it was so quiet and still I could hear crickets
chirping. I could hear myself think. Without the screeching, whizzing
and honking of cars there was more space to spread out and breathe. People
seemed less confined to their own little bubbles of personal space and
they came out onto the sidewalks and streets and talked to each other.
At Union Square Park thousands of people spontaneously converged
to express their feelings of grief, outrage, and shock. The relatively
sterile park
was transformed through peoples’ expression and interaction.
The barriers between people came down along with the fences as people
broke
through to the grassy areas and poured out their emotions through
drumming, dancing, singing and praying. Religions and cultures came
together
as
people stopped to fold origami cranes to add to the flock of thoughts
and prayers tied to the light poles, or sat with the Tibetan Buddhist
monks as they chanted on the grass. Flags from South and Central
America were flown alongside U.S. flags as people sang prayers and
songs in
Spanish.
Along the perimeter of the park, people left pictures of missing
loved ones and left candles and flowers and prayers in their memory,
bringing
into stark reality the depth of their tragedy. People paid tribute
to
the rescue workers and created beautiful candle and flower displays
that others stepped up to maintain and re-light as they passed by.
People from all walks of life communicated with each other by writing
their thoughts on huge pieces of paper hung on the fences and left on
the ground. They chalked messages onto the sidewalks and statues, and
left artwork and photography and political messages on the fences. Signs
went up to announce other vigils, marches, meetings and services, and
spaces were made to collect donations for relief efforts. Groups of people
congregated on the south steps debating facts and rumors and opinions
while others stepped up to listen and observe. An air of peace and cooperation
pervaded as people distributed food, water and blankets, nurturing those
who had come to this public space to mourn, react and express.
I met many new people while my friends and I spent hours, often staying
late into the night, circulating among the many groups and spaces created
in the park. Normally, the park closes at midnight and you are not allowed
to post signs or dance or gather in organized groups of 21 or more without
a permit, so we marveled at this display of community and use of public
space and wondered how long it would last. The answer came exactly two
weeks after the event. At lunchtime, Parks Department trucks pulled up
in front of the George Washington statue at the south end of the park.
Workers got out, and after putting some things aside to be preserved and
displayed in a different location, they began shoveling and scraping the
candles, flowers and signs into black garbage bags. The fences were replaced
and signs were put up admonishing people to show their New York spirit
and keep off the grass.
