The two terrifying attacks on the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s home at the World Trade Center were inextricably linked. Life safety measures that were introduced as a result of the February 26, 1993 bombing helped save thousands of lives during the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
When the dust had settled after the horrific attacks, the Agency along with an army of workers and volunteers were assembled to rescue and recover the Ground Zero site, a mammoth effort that took months rather than years to complete. Immediately after the attacks, Peter Rinaldi, Assistant Director, Engineering, was assigned as an Agency representative at the site, where he worked from September 2001 to July 2002, when the Agency took back site management from New York City. For Peter's retirement in 2010, Chief Engineer Francis Lombardi asked Janie Kazas, Administrator, Office of the Chief Engineer, to produce a short film of Peter's extraordinary role at Ground Zero. The result is this eight minute video compiled from resources available at the time.
Working on adrenaline, Agency staff and contractors worked around the clock to work on the rebuilding effort. As time passes, we should not forget that it took knowledge, engineering, ingenuity and dedication to rebuild the World Trade Center site. We owe a debt of gratitude to all who labored tirelessly and passionately toward that effort.
With this same passion, two retirees prepared these videos. Joseph Englot was the Chief Structural Engineer and Robert Davidson was the Chief Architect during both attacks.
In his three hour-long videos, Joe covers the building of the World Trade Center, the attacks on it and how the Twin Towers fell.
Bob covers the post-9/11 transportation planning and design efforts in which he, as the Chief Architect of the Port Authority, and his staff were so intimately involved. These were the first projects that served as a reopening of the World Trade Center site to daily commuters and to the Lower Manhattan streetscape.
Joe and Bob were interested in documenting the Port Authority’s role, making sure that those lost souls were not forgotten. They have contributed their vast experience and knowledge to educate retirees and new generations of employees so that they would feel proud to be part of a great family of professional public servants.
Peter Rinaldi, PE
Assistant Director, Engineering from 2001 to 2002, Port Authority of NY & NJ
Janie Kazas
Administrator, Office of the Chief Engineer from 2004 to 2013, Port Authority of NY & NJ
Robert Davidson, FAIA
Chief Architect from 1991 to 2004, Port Authority of NY & NJ
Joseph Englot, PE
Chief Structural Engineer from 1992 to 2003; Assistant Chief Engineer for Design from 2003 to 2005, Port Authority of NY & NJ
Frank Lombardi, PE
Chief Engineer from 1995 to 2010, Port Authority of NY & NJ
ABC News, 2002
PANYNJ Engineer Recounts Effort to Preserve WTC Slurry Wall (Link courtesy Spectrum News)
Downloadable Presentation to the June 2018 AIA Conference on Architecture
Robert Davidson, FAIA
Chief Architect from 1991 to 2004, Port Authority of NY & NJ
