Ronnie Taste

Good Times

We referred to our headquarters as the “Twin Towers of Love”. I met my wife, Lori, on the 54^th floor, P&D.
Best holiday parties go to Aviation on the 65^th floor where there was the most dancing. Big-name summer concerts on the plaza were well attended, especially Wednesday CD-101.9 Smooth Jazz concerts.
I distinctly recall the beautiful chime sound when Lou Venech (CP&P, 61^st floor) would click pillars in hallway intersections.
Public outreach events like distributing keepsake “Tribbles” to PATH patrons for the 30th anniversary of a Star Trek episode was quite rewarding.

Great People

At 12:26pm on February 26th 1993 there was no real panic in TB&T. Many were out to lunch. I vividly recall looking into the eyes of heroic NYC Firemen as they were coming up through the smoke while we were exiting.

I was told that 8:46am on 9/11 was different. Terror erupted immediately in TB&T. Rodrigo Ortiz told me later he had to pry Phyllis Colon’s fingers from her desk and basically carry her out. Genelle Guzman (last person pulled alive from the rubble) told me that she and the 16 TB&T staff who died in an elevator had not experienced the bombing attempt. They huddled in the 64^th floor command center following instructions of Richard Fitzsimons (OCS Security) from the police command center located on the concourse. I was the TB&T civilian fire safety warden but not there that day to coordinate with Richard.

Steve Plate (Engineering, 63^rd floor) and I were sitting together when our NJ Transit train exited the Bergen Tunnels. I recall being completely baffled by – an image that I’ve never verified – the downward direction of the flames around the north tower! We know now about the jet fuel. Were Steve and I the only ones who caught that moment in time? Steve went on to be the Director of World Trade Center Reconstruction. I never got to compare those images with him again.

I never crossed the Hudson that day since I was heading to a meeting at TRANSCOM in Jersey City. Only the Director, Ray Brown, was at the TB&T Training Center in Jersey City when I arrived seeking to assist. Uniformed staff were already enroute to downtown. Ray was a retired NYC Firefighter. We later found out that his son, also a NYC Firefighter, was severely injured on 9/11 but recovered physically.

One publicly acknowledged heroine that I knew personally from the Training Center was Captain Mazza. She helped folks escape by shooting out some windows. I can attest that she was the caring type of human who deserves heroine status. A special mention about Summit Security Ground Floor Officer Samuel Fields. He shared with me that he had seven children. I hope they and all those impacted by those two bad days have turned out OK.

Leadership from our first COO, Ernesto Butcher, after 9/11 was widely appreciated. His steady guidance was enhanced later by our 15^th Executive Director, Chris Ward.