i finally got a hold of my friend working in NYC. in fact she was across the street. this is what she posted on her website, the only indication i have that she is ok. it's pretty shocking
9.11.01 5:19pm I am here in NYC, stranded in Manhatattan, I am okay everyone. I was across the street from the WTC in the Immigration and Naturalizations building when it happened: I SAW IT ALL and shot six rolls of film. We fleed on foot down Broadway and I was ten blocks away when the north tower collapsed. It was surreal. I am shocked. I..am shocked. I saw the second plane hit, the first explosion shook our building. I was on the 41st floor. We threw our stuff together and beat feet to get the heck away from the area. When I looked back over my shoulder, I saw people jumping from the top floors of the World Trade Center. I was supposed to be there tomorrow. This is unbelievable. We can't get off the island. Our hotel was right next to the WTC; our clothes and things are still there as that entire area is under quaranteen. Right now I am on 45th and 6th, right around the corner from Times Square. We have to stay in a conference room for the night and then figure out how to get to the hotel to retrieve our things.
I have amazing respect for the people of NYC, where in a crisis that leaves people feeling on foot like this, people were helpful, respectful, and astoundingly collected. There was no shoving, no agressiveness, we all moved swiftly and cried together when the first tower collapsed. People set up tables outside thier businesses with paper towels and water for passersby. It AMAZED me. I took pictures of a shock victim, an old man covered in white dust from the collapse: he escaped and was trying to get away when the north tower came down. He couldn't remember his name. We couldn't flag down EMTs; they were headed straight for the Center and at this point we were about ten blocks away on Broadway. There is a city-wide blood drive right now. I don't know what my blood type is: they need type O. This...is....This is history. I just came back from walking around Times Square. There are no people out there. It's a ghost town. IN NEW YORK CITY! This is eery.