Photos from the celebration at the World Trade Center site after the announcement of the killing of Osama bin Laden.
I had just gotten home from playing in a soccer game on the Upper West Side and was ready to settle in for the night, when I heard news of President Obama’s announcement. For about an hour, I watched the news and followed online as Twitter exploded with reactions to the news that bin Laden was killed in a targeted raid by US forces in Pakistan. Feeling the tug of history in the making, I took my camera, got back on my bike, and headed toward Ground Zero.
Pedaling up the empty Williamsburg bridge, around 1AM.
The city was empty and quiet, but as I neared the Financial District, I started to hear scattered cheers. I locked up my bike just feet from where a crowd of hundreds had gathered.
This flag waver must have had thousands of photos taken of him last night.
I pushed my way into the crowd to get a few different angles. The main throng was younger and had a decidedly fratty flavor. “USA! “USA!” was the preferred chant, with “Yes We Did!” and “Fuck Osama” enjoying a lesser popularity.
The official Navy scorekeeper.
Captain America made an appearance.
As I stood amid the tourists, drunk 22 year-olds, New Yorkers, cops, photographers and reporters, my eyes kept being drawn to the site itself, and the form of the very recently begun Freedom Tower. I hadn’t been near the site in a few months, and was surprised to see that the new tower is beginning to take its place in the New York skyline. Yet it seems strange that, 10 years after the attacks, Ground Zero is still a giant, fenced off construction site.
A night of mixed feelings, but I’m glad I made the trip.
There are a few more photos on my Facebook page.
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