The Customer Relations Department of TB&T came to work at the usual time the morning of September 11th 2001. An hour later our lives had changed. Not all of our colleagues on the 64th floor made it out. Others had escaped down the stairs, either running or being helped.
Outside, those just arriving to the office & seeing the second hit, realized some of the falling debris was in reality…people jumping to their deaths. My surviving workmates and I walked to our homes in NYC or to the ferries crossing the Hudson River.
That evening I received a call from my supervisor, Audrey Mancher, to determine if I was alright and if I had seen anyone else. Audrey updated me on whom she had talked to, or heard had survived.
She then told me that TB&T Customer Relations would be setting up in the Port Authority building above the Jersey City PATH station. Was I up for that? Oh yes I was. We survivors were transported the next morning to Jersey City and amidst the trauma there was joy at seeing each other.
In a large room we found a pile of telephones with the cords so tangled it took some time to separate them. In late morning we were ready and the signal was given to flip the switch and make the phones live. I will never forget the cacophony of all the phones ringing at once, and they never stopped. We, TB&T Customer Relations answered calls the remainder of the day. People seeking information about transportation, loved ones, what they could do, information which in many cases we did not have. We did what we were able.
At the end of the day, the phones were shut off and we sat in the silence knowing that we had done our jobs. We were there the day after the attack and together. Then we returned each day for months to serve the public. And above all keep the American flag flying.
In 2014, those who had not retired moved back to a new building know as Building 4 - in the location that will forever be known as “Ground Zero,” to continue the work of the Port Authority and complete a full circle, together.
