Brian Cichetti was working on a Goldman Sachs construction project in Jersey City on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, with a clear view across the Hudson River to Lower Manhattan.
He saw the first plane slam into the south tower, where his wife worked on the 94th floor. Cichetti couldn’t call her because cell phones were down and he had no way of knowing if she was dead or alive.
“The calendar tomorrow will say it’s seven years since that tragic day,” Cichetti said Wednesday, “but I’ll tell you, in my mind it’s like yesterday.”
As luck would have it, Cichetti’s wife was safe. She arrived at work late that morning after taking their son to his first day of pre-K.
Cichetti spoke at a press conference before signing his name on a steel beam that will be part of the 9/11 memorial construction. The 4-ton, 37-foot beam was in Battery Park for New Yorkers and visitors to sign on Sept. 10 and will be there on Sept. 11 too.
Wearing work boots and a white construction helmet patterned with American flags, Cichetti described the dozens of men from the Jersey City work site who volunteered for the rescue effort on 9/11.
“All these men lined up wiling to go over and help, not knowing what they would walk into, just knowing they needed to help,” Cichetti said. He was one of those men, and two years ago he returned to the World Trade Center site, again to help. Cichetti works for E.E. Cruz as a W.T.C. site safety manager.
“Each day I walk on the site, I am honored to have a role in the rebuilding,” Cichetti said. “It’s great to do something positive.”
Mayor Michael Bloomberg stood before the beam Wednesday morning and encouraged New Yorkers to sign their names and fill out cards for the 9/11 memorial museum describing their memories of that day. Bloomberg then signed the beam with his name and the words “Never forget.” He underlined the word “never.”
— Julie Shapiro
