New Exhibit At Visitors Center
Honor Unsung WTC Helpers

By ARI PAUL

For Jennifer Adams, the CEO of the September 11 Families Association, it was a Sanitation Worker coming by every day to collect trash when she did volunteer recovery work at the World Trade Center site that provided humanity and normalcy in an otherwise turbulent time.

The Chief-Leader/Pat Arnow 9/11 HEROES: Transport Workers Union Local 100 President Roger Toussaint spoke Jan. 29 about the pivotal role transit workers played at Ground Zero during and after 9/11 at the opening of the 'Inside the Fence' exhibit at the Tribute WTC Visitor Center. Looking on is September 11th Families Association CEO Jennifer Adams.

And along with agency and department managers, union leaders and 9/11 activists, she helped open an exhibit Jan. 29 at the Tribute WTC Visitor Center documenting and honoring the contributions of workers from the Department of Sanitation, various transportation authorities and the construction trades during and after 9/11.

'Long Overdue'

"This exhibit is long overdue," said Michael Bimonte, the First Deputy Sanitation Commissioner, of the "Inside the Fence" exhibit.

The exhibit features photographs of workers on the site as well as their written testimonials about their work there. Installations explain how each group of workers contributed to the recovery and rescue efforts.

Transit workers were responsible for transporting first-responders to the site and taking civilians from the area. Teams from the Sanitation Department were the first to bring heavy equipment to the site, while construction workers in various trades helped other uniformed workers sift through the debris there. One installation explains how one group of members of Ironworkers Local 40 were told to go back to their regular jobs but insisted on staying where they were.

An audio booth features the testimony of Renee Banks, a New York City Transit Train Operator on the IRT No. 2 line, who speaks about how she tried to calm passengers who were covered in debris during the attack as the train was halted under the Park Place station.

Toussaint's Memories

During the opening ceremony, Transport Workers Union Local 100 President Roger Toussaint spoke of his own experience on 9/11, when he was in Brooklyn and taking a barely-audible phone call from his wife, who had been shopping across the street from the World Trade Center, and was unable to leave the borough for two days.

He acknowledged both the hard work and the sacrifice of his members on 9/11. He cited one Train Operator who ignored orders to bypass stations near the World Trade Center so he could transport more people away from the site, and a Bus Operator who drove injured people to St. Vincent's and Beth Israel Hospitals.

Mr. Toussaint was quick to point out that transit workers, like uniformed first-responders, also suffered from 9/11-related illnesses. One retired member, he said, was struggling to breathe, adding that he believed that the July death of Renee English, the acting chair of the union's Structure Division, was a result of the 9/11-related illness.

Honored by Recognition

NYC Transit President Howard H. Roberts invoked the Saint Crispin's Day speech before the Battle of Agincourt in William Shakespeare's Henry V when he said that he regretted not being in New York on 9/11, and thus unable to fully comprehended what people went through that day.

"I have a great weakness for people who are going in when others are going out," Mr. Roberts said. "NYCT is honored to be recognized."

"Inside the Fence" will be open through June 9. It is sponsored by the American Red Cross, Motorola, The History Channel, Deutsche Bank and the American Express Foundation.

Lee Ielpi, the president of the September 11 Families' Association, whose firefighter son died on 9/11, vowed to enable members of unions involved in the clean-up efforts at Ground Zero to get free admission to the Tribute Center.

"There were many heroes on 9/11," he said. "Today, we're acknowledging just three of those groups."