Nathalie Sayago

20 years after 9/11: that impossible-to-fill void at Ground Zero

By Nathalie Sayago

Two decades have passed since that sunny morning of September 11, 2001—at the end of summer—when nearly 3,000 people lost their lives in the terrorist attacks in the United States. Ground Zero, the epicenter of these attacks, remains a void impossible to fill. It was there that 2,753 people perished; their names appear on a memorial where, these days, there is no shortage of letters and flowers in their memory.

For Ojo Público
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A letter in tribute to the Flight 11 crew, left by a flight attendant: “It has been 20 years since you left us. I have not forgotten you, and I never will. You are honored and remembered every day… Nothing is the same without you; may your souls be at peace, and may you bless and protect our fellow crew members.”
“Dedicated to those who feel and to those who carry on” is one of the messages engraved on the bronze plaque created as a tribute to the more than 300 firefighters who died saving lives on September 11, 2001.
Gonzalo Zhincay (54) poses inside his business next to photographs he keeps as mementos with his former boss, Mr. Minas, from the time he worked at the World Trade Center Concourse’s Tower 2. The photos bear the years 1988 and 2004, marking the start and end of his employment at the Minas shoe shop.
A visual comparison of Broadway and Cortlandt Street in New York City—showing the area ten days after the terrorist attack on the Twin Towers versus the present day. The photograph taken by Mr. Gonzalo shows a parked construction tractor, along with other equipment and machinery used to remove and clear debris from the site following the attack.
An old plastic bag from the Minas shoe repair shop, where Gonzalo worked for nearly 13 years until the day of the terrorist attack. Its old address—551 World Trade Center Concourse, New York, NY 10048—and phone number are still visible on the bag.
Gonzalo works at his shoe repair shop in the Astoria neighborhood from 7:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Monday through Saturday, maintaining the same work pace he has kept since arriving in the United States.
Photograph of One World Trade Center, which shares its name with the North Tower of the original World Trade Center—completely destroyed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Construction began in 2006, and the building was finally inaugurated in 2014.
Gonzalo shows one of the few physical mementos he has left from the time of the Twin Towers attack. His Walkman is about 30 years old; it was his source of distraction during his commute to and from work (a round trip of around one hour) and was one of the first things he bought after arriving in the United States.
A visual comparison of Liberty Street and Broadway in New York City—ten days after the terrorist attack on the Twin Towers—with the present day. In the photograph taken by Mr. Gonzalo, one can see a crowd of people attempting to view the structural remains of one of the towers.
The tools of Gonzalo’s shoe repair shop—symbols of the construction and rebuilding of a new life.
Portrait of Gonzalo in his store located in Astoria, New York, where he has worked since 2004.
A view from the north of the 9/11 Memorial—a monument honoring the victims of the September 11 attacks—and the Oculus (also known as the “White Dove”), designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava. The memorial opened to the public on September 11, 2011, and is open to anyone wishing to pay tribute to the victims. The North and South pools are built on the exact sites where the Twin Towers once stood.
A tourist poses with her dog in her arms in front of a tribute left at the 9/11 Memorial plaque.
An interior view of the Oculus—also known as the World Trade Center Station or the “White Dove”—reveals a structure that houses a transit station within a massive shopping complex. Designed by Spanish engineer Santiago Calatrava, the architectural project was completed seven years behind schedule and at a cost of $3.9 billion, double the initial budget.
A flower is left on one of the names carved into the bronze panels lining the site of the Twin Towers, as a symbol to honor and remember those who died in the 2001 and 1993 attacks.
A woman poses in front of the 9/11 Memorial Museum. Visible on the museum’s glass wall are a photograph of the former Twin Towers and a structural iron base that supported one of the buildings.
Every September 11th, a commemorative event is held in memory of those who lost their lives in the 2001 terrorist attack. It features the lighting of two massive beams that rise up from Lower Manhattan and can be seen from various points across the city.
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