October 12, 2006
By Robin
I finally spoke to my sister that lives within a block of the plane crash in Manhattan yesterday. She is on the 30th floor of a nearby building. She went onto her balcony and was doubled over by a putrid smell in the air which caused her to leave the Apartment.
She told me that she was on the street within 3 mins. of the crash and as she walked out she was scared out her wits. Explained that it was unbelievable all the emergency teams that had magically arrived so quickly. There were Special teams, Fire-fighters and Police seen running toward the scene. She was told by an officer that she would not be allowed to enter her building again for several hours as 72 and 73 were cordoned off. She got back in via a 71st back-street door. She added that the odor was not at street level just higher. She also told me that 73 around the bldg. is still off limits as it is a crime scene.
In all that she told me the most interesting part was that she could not make any phone calls. The majority of the family live here in Va. and the cell phones were inoperable. She has since heard that all cell phones were taken down. She added that not being able to reach anyone was worse than what she was in and that was about as stressed as she could be. I found that interesting. She is guessing that the City (Govt.) has a system in place to interfere with the communications network as a part of emergency procedures.