Produced by Holly Peterson. Reporting by Pamela Gross.
The Children’s Hour
Photographed by Oliviero Toscani at the Bronx Preparatory School.
January 11, 2001: Marina Bernard Damiba (the 30-year-old principal of the Bronx Preparatory charter school) and some of her 154 students.
“The day after the disaster we closed our school and told the parents we’d open at 10 a.m. Thursday. The next day children started showing up at 8 — because they just wanted to be there. I’m proud of us. We definitely have the New York spirit here. On the wall of a fifth-grade classroom we have a sign: NEVER, NEVER, NEVER EVER GIVE UP! It’s still up — and will stay that way.”
The Directors Guild
Photographed by Jean-Baptiste Mondino at the Pen Top Bar atop the Peninsula Hotel.
September 10, 2001: Martin Scorsese and his cinematic coterie look out over the city they’ve immortalized in film.
From left: Paul Schrader (screenwriter, director), Nicholas Pileggi (writer, producer), Griffin Dunne (director, actor), Jay Cocks (screenwriter), Martin Scorsese (director), Thelma Schoonmaker (editor), Jane Rosenthal (producer), and Nora Ephron (screenwriter, director, producer).
“New York holds more real-life heroes than any other location on earth. People are talking about rebuilding the World Trade Center, and I think that commitment to rebuild and keep going will invigorate the film industry and invigorate the stories that we tell. When you shoot in New York, people from the tiniest farm communities or from Islamabad recognize the city without having to be told in the title card. It’s the people and the character and the diversity of New York that are the city’s true landmarks.”
The Giants of Jazz
Photographed by Alexei Hay at Chelsea Piers.
July 30, 2001: For more than four decades they’ve kept the city swinging.
From left: Lorraine Gordon (owner, the Village Vanguard), Wynton Marsalis (trumpeter; artistic director, Jazz at Lincoln Center), Renee Rosnes (pianist), Albert Murray (author), Jimmy Heath (saxophonist), Jon Hendricks (vocalist), Percy Heath (bassist), Eric Reed (pianist), and Illinois Jacquet (saxophonist). Styled by Sarajane Hoare.
“The spirit of jazz is one of improvisation. It’s free-form and random. But you change the key or the tempo and the music adjusts. This emergency is one of the biggest blows Americans have had to deal with. But we will, because improvisation is part of the American character and procedure. America invented jazz, which is perhaps the greatest metaphor for the American way.”
The Heavy Hitters
Photographed by Francois DeWitt at The Four Seasons.
Michael Bloomberg, Henry Kissinger, Barbara Walters, Donald Marron, and fellow New York power brokers.
The Food Network
Photographed by Sylvia Plachy in Central Park.
July 18, 2001: The flock of tastemakers who have nourished New York’s culinary scene.
From left: Drew Nieporent (Myriad Restaurant Group; Montrachet; Tribeca Grill; Nobu), Ariane Daguin (D’Artagnan), Daniel Boulud (Daniel; Cafe Boulud), Nina Griscom (columnist, Food & Wine), Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Eric Ripert (Le Bernardin), and Alain Ducasse. Styled by Sarajane Hoare.
“The New York food community is the greatest food community in the world. It’s the diversity, the huge selection, and the New York restaurants that makes them so vibrant and special. The culture of food is part of the fabric of the city.”
The Provocateur
Photographed by Jake Langbehn in the East Village.
July 6, 2000: Photographer David LaChapelle (center) and his stylists, designers, and counterculturalists make sure the city doesn’t lose its edge.
The Mix Masters
Photographed by Iris Brosch in Tribeca.
June 6, 2001: The pioneers who helped make urban culture a global phenomenon.
From left: Damon Dash (producer, Roc-A-Fella Records), Russell Simmons (founder, Def Jam Records; Phat Farm), LL Cool J (rapper, actor), Kimora Lee-Simmons (former model; creative director, Baby Phat), Kevin Lyles (president, Def Jam Records), and Sante D’Orazio (fashion photographer).
“I knew this disaster would stop me and force me to think and feel differently about things, to consider what’s valuable and important in life. That’s what will happen to a whole new young generation. We were getting isolated and superficial. Now it’s important for us to grow, to rebuild ourselves from within.”
The Power Players
Photographed by Bruce Davidson on Central Park South.
May 30, 2001: Wall Street’s blue-chip kingpins unwind at their Sunday-night poker game.
Clockwise from top left: Harry Joe “Coco” Brown Jr., Nelson Peltz, James A. Finkelstein, Leon D. Black, Samuel D. Waksal, and Carl Icahn. Styled by Sarajane Hoare.
“When I look back on these pictures I realize how frivolous parts of our lives were. Day after day, when you see the incredible rescue efforts of the firemen, the police, and others, I know there is tremendous goodness in the world and that we will rebuild our city, our nation, our lives, and yes — someday maybe we’ll even play poker again.”
