I embrace all whose loved ones died on 9/11 and those who died subsequently from exposure to its chemical and emotional toxins. While the numbers of lives lost to Covid-19 far eclipse those of 9/11, grief is always singular: hearts break one at a time. Today, most of all, I remember the kindnesses and sacrifices that buoyed that long autumn of 2001, when strangers helped each other simply because it was the right thing to do.  Photo: Cinema Village, Sept. 2001, East 12th St.,

Less than 24 hours afterthe bombing of the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001, New Yorkers began calling for rebuilding the site, a smoldering pile that would burn for three months. A timeline of events on the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey’s website documents the efforts that led to the new World Trade Center. Adapted from my book, One World Trade Center: Biography of the Building, the timeline tracks the birth of one of the largest and most profound collaborations i