09/11/2026
Twenty-five years later, we both remember that morning so clearly, but from two very different places. I was working as a buyer for Barneys New York with offices at 47th and Fifth Avenue. It was Fashion Week, so we were all at work early. The sky was so blue and the air so crisp after so many days of rain. We all stood on Fifth Avenue looking downtown, watching the towers burning. Claudio was downtown, sleeping in after another long night at the restaurant. I called him and told him he needed to leave. He went up to the roof and took pictures, looking at the damage and thinking, “How are they going to fix that hole?” At that point, no one really understood what was happening.
He went back inside, calling me, trying to understand what was going on and what to do. Then the first tower collapsed. The building started shaking like crazy, the power went out, and Claudio and a few others in the building ran down the stairs in the dark.
Outside was chaos. As Claudio remembers it, no one knew where to go or where was safe. The police were screaming at everyone to keep running north, afraid the gas pipes underground might explode. All kinds of debris was coming down, and the dust was so dense you could barely see in front of you. He just kept running north.
By then, cell reception was very spotty. We kept trying to reach each other and somehow managed to arrange to meet in front of St. Vincent’s Hospital at 14th and Seventh. Once we found each other, Claudio and I started walking downtown with one of my colleagues. We wanted to see if our apartment building was still there. Before we got there, Building 7 started coming down. We all ran. Later, we would see our apartment building again and again on television, used as a backdrop by many of the news stations covering what had happened. We wouldn’t move back home for four months. And yet, one of the things we remember most was how people came together. There was so much humanity in the middle of something so terrible.
Tonight, on the eve of the 25th anniversary, we felt that again. Seeing so many people downtown, gathering around the Freedom Tower, remembering and honoring those who were lost, was incredibly moving.
We also had the privilege of hosting a large family gathering at Da Claudio tonight. They had lost members of their family that day and came together to remember them. Thank you for sharing your stories with us and allowing us to be a small part of your evening.
Twenty-five years later, we remember that beautiful blue sky. We remember the fear and confusion, but we also remember how people came together.
Claudio always says how grateful he is to still be here. And we both think of and pray for those who are not.
Tonight, seeing people come together again to remember and honor them was something very special.
We will always remember.
