SM remembers terrorist attacks
CITYWIDE On a September afternoon six years ago, David Harbatkin left his Brooklyn home to attend a hockey game in Manhattan, driving underneath the World Trade Center en route to his destination.
The following day, two planes struck the Twin Towers, a colossal attack that fell the skyscrapers, taking down with it close to 2,600 people.
For weeks the shadow of the deadly attacks loomed over lower Manhattan and nearby boroughs, its pestering presence refusing to leave.
“I could smell the towers for two weeks over at my house,” Harbatkin said on Monday.“It was surreal and it was very chaotic for the first two weeks, probably even longer.”
Today, Harbatkin, who has since moved to West L.A. in 2003, feels his sense of security is unscathed in the post Sept. 11 world, despite believing the country is under a greater threat because of the war in Iraq.
“I don’t walk around daily worrying about it,” said Harbatkin who works in a travel agency in Santa Monica.
It’s been exactly six years since the deadliest homeland attack in U.S. history and the American public has been on heightened alert since. Though the threat of a terrorist attack may not consume their lives, Americans as a whole seem to be a little bit more wary now than before Sept. 11, 2001, keeping a watchful eye for bags left unattended on a subway car or a person appearing suspiciously nervous in an airport.
“I think in general, people feel a little bit less secure than we did before Sept. 11,” said Mayor Richard Bloom.“I think the events will live with us for our lifetime and change the way we think about the world that we live in.”
Though the cities are located on opposite ends of the country, the impact was felt in Santa Monica where several families lost love ones that perished in the attacks in Manhattan, the Pentagon and Shanksville, Pa.
Local authorities have stepped up efforts to ensure the public’s safety. For the Santa Monica Police Department, this includes collaboration with federal and county law enforcement agencies and the installation of surveillance cameras on the Santa Monica Pier and Third Street Promenade.
Concerns for enhanced safety in the downtown area were raised a few years ago after three men of Middle Eastern descent were seen suspiciously videotap-ing the pier, including access roads and the police substation.
Today, the Santa Monica Police Department plans to deploy more officers in and around the downtown area and the Santa Monica Pier.
“Being 9/11, it’s to provide a sense of comfort and calmness for the community,” said Lt. Alex Padilla.
Though the national threat advisory level has been elevated since Sept. 11, some people say they actually feel more secure now than ever before.
“We haven’t been attacked in six years,” said Northridge resident Frank Vincelli on Monday. “I think there’s a lot going on behind the scenes that we don’t know about.”
HONORING LIVES LOST IN THE ATTACKS The Santa Monica Police and Fire departments will honor the approximately 500 search and rescue workers that perished on Sept. 11.
The fire department will host an observance ceremony today at 6:45 a.m. at the five stations located throughout the city. Stations three and four will combine their ceremonies.
Police officers will participate in a similar ceremony at the start of the City Council meeting at 5:45 p.m. in remembrance of the public safety personnel that perished.
“I don’t think it will ever go away,” said Fire Capt. Scott Ziegert on Monday. “It still carries heavily in our hearts.”
Ziegert remembers the day of the attacks, sitting near the television awaiting word of the fate of his colleagues on the east coast.
“It was like we didn’t want to believe it; we were in denial,” Ziegert said. “But that’s what we do — run in.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 11, 2007. Read the original PDF.