People are moving into the new WTC today

When you glance across the river today and your eye fixes on the new WTC take time to appreciate that after 13 years someone is showing up to work at the WTC site. Conde Nast is moving a small portion of their workforce into 1 World Trade this morning. It has certainly been a long, tragic, frustrating, maddening and triumphant thirteen years. While the site is 60% rented Johnny is still waiting to take his massive camera lens up to the observation deck there when it finally opens.

Twitter must hate freedom

Because when you can't post a simple animated gif, a gif you made on the fly because you love America (in a hurricane no less) even while walking the dire wolf, well then somebody hates freedom. Pixel after precious freedom pixel.

Please power down your electronic devices before takeoff

Except for Delta Airlines Captain Jerry Walsh who is allowed to get out his camera (cell phone cam?) and take this amazing picture of the new One World Trade peeking out above the clouds while the city goes on about its business unseen. Not only can he steer the plane with his knees, he's got a real good eye.

The World Trade Center gets its hat, er spire!

Amazing scene down by the river this morning as WTC workers raised the final 408 foot section and permanently anchored the spire atop the WTC, making it a cool 1,776 feet in height. That last section really does make it look incredible. It antenna leading to the spire looks almost a third taller though Johnny will write that off to an optical illusion. Too bad the stupid humidity ruined any great clear shots from the west siiiiide of the Hudson. Stupid humidity.

WHEN DOES IT LIGHT UP?!?! Johnny saw in an article elsewhere the LED lighting is such it will be visible for 50 miles lit up on clear DAYS. Like a day beacon. Imagine it at night. There will be fistfights and elbowing in J. Owen Grundy park between photographers is our guess.

Johnny wasn't here in 2001. He understand as an American the impact of that day but too knows it is a much deeper kind of hurt to his new NJ and NY friends who were here. But he is every bit as proud as someone who looks at it every day out his window and while walking around town as anyone who was here before. It is a triumphant moment of pride and achievement the regulars, the interlopers and the interlopers becoming regulars all share with this grand wonder.

WHEN DOES IT LIGHT UP?!?!

The spire that will sit atop the WTC is on the way

The spire that will sit atop the 1 World Trade building which will give it it's iconic 1,776 feet in height is on the way by barge, being delivered in eighteen sections. The Associated Press picks up the story:

Eight of the sections are being transported via barge 1,500 nautical miles south from Canada on the Atlantic Salvor. It left Quebec on Nov. 16 and is expected next week at Port Newark in New Jersey.

When the time comes for the sections to be installed it will take about three months to complete. The spire itself will stand 408 feet in the air from the top of the WTC.

Don't fires normally come with smoke?

Johnny's all over the WTC fire on the 88th floor this morning. It's top news everywhere and supposedly  90 firefighters are battling the blaze. Johnny's been looking out his window with the super binoculars but he can't see any smoke. In the words of Officer Barbrady on South Park "Move along people, nothing to see here."

If you are heading into lower Manhattan on PATH today, go early and stay late

PATH service to and from the WTC stop will be halted at 3pm today until at least 6pm as President Obama visits the National September 11 Memorial. He'll later head over to Carrie Bradshaw's house in the Village where she lives with Ferris Bueller for a fundraiser.

PATH is going to run as many trains as possible from Journal Square and Hoboken to 33rd Street during the closure, officials said.


The Exchange Place stop will also be closed lest creepers get down ob the platform, head through the tunnels, under the river, beat the Secret Service and the NYPD security detail, and get at the President. What, it could happen.

Say Mayor Healy, Johnny spoke with you eons ago when you were running for your last term. You rightly pointed out you were the first mayor of a big city to endorse this President as a candidate. How about calling in a favor and have him speak and or raise money here? We'd love to have the President (and don't get all angry readers, Johnny means only to respect the office of President. The last guy was an assclown but would command respect should he choose to speak as President in JC) say give a speech at the Katyn Memorial or somewhere along the river. Certainly he'll need support during the campaign, seriously, call in a favor and have him speak here.

Just watching this guy on video doing his job gave Johnny the heebies

Tom Gordon, you'd probably see him on the train or at a show or on the street and never think twice. Yet what an amazing story this guy has to tell. A very unique skillset being applied to very unique dangers.

Johnny's a wuss, no way he could do harrowing let alone precise every day like Mr. Gordon:

As 1 World Trade Center steadily climbs above the Manhattan skyline, hopefully becoming the country's tallest building, about 200 crane operators continue their work completing one of the most important architectural feats in recent history.

Among the brave 200 is Tom Gordon, a 45-year old veteran of the sky, who begins his workdays at roughly 3:30 AM in Long Island to commute to Lower Manhattan in order to get the monumental job done one day at a time.

Watch the video, hoo golly that's quite a view.

Being up that high reminds Johnny of an old joke about bad sports seats. "My seats were so bad I turned to the guy next to me and asked him what he thought of the game. He said "What game, I'm flying to Pittsburgh."

A delightful Sunday morning

Let's invite the new neighbor over for coffee sometime soon.

Around 2 pm today the new World Trade Center will pass the Empire State Building in height

And once again the Empire State Building will be back to being second tallest building on the NYC skyline. Hopefully this time for good.

Interesting and thoughtful read on the new One World Trade and the Port Authority price increase

Joe Nocera with the New York Times writes a very intelligent and thoughtful piece on the cost overruns at the new One World Trade and just how the new Port Authority price increases, which Nocera points out will cost an average commuter using the George Washington Bridge by 2015 will be paying north of 62$ a week just to get to work.

Follow this link and take a read and let us know what you think.