The biggest difference was that our leaders and experts saw this coming months ago. China was building large hospitals within a week and it was just passed off as interesting time-lapse video instead of, "Oh shit, did you see that movie CONTAGION? This shit is for reals, yo!!!" Politicians failed us yet again. As they always do...again and again and again and again and again... But who voted for them....again and again and again and again... If only Jared had worked harder on getting a secret "back channel" to China. — Jim Smithers on Reflecting on another crisis, 19 years ago

The biggest difference is the lack of community; being unable to reach out,unable to get together; to share. 9/11 was a bullseye hit. The dust and air and lies hit us all hard. But you were either a 9/11 survivor or you were not. This virus is world wide. And it will pass at some point and the world will "move on." After serving food for 8 months at St Paul's Chapel I went on to be (and still am) a docent at the 9/11 Tribute Center. Will people still come from all over the world to hear a 9/11 survivor's tale? The City has also broken up our super local preparedness teams (Tribeca CERT is now just a part of city-wide geographic divisions serving chunks of the city--no neighbor to neighbor outreach).Global pandemic. Government lies. Lots of lives lost. Nothing changes without truth. — Jean Grillo on Reflecting on another crisis, 19 years ago

But what of the effects and the aftermath? After 9/11 what happened?, we went to war, we beefed up security everywhere so that the smallest activity involved a search or a metal detector, some effort was made to coordinate first responders but the world largely went on as before. Few, if any, real lessons were learned What will happen after this? Will lessons be learned? Will the richest country in the world actually discover that our health care system is not as great as we thought even though many of its workers are heroes. Will we learn that immigrants and ‘foreigners’ and low-paid workers actually are the backbone of our human services not enemies to be penned behind a wall or to be short-changed with pay that barely allows survival. Will we start to conceive that maybe human life and its quality is really more important than the Dow Jones Industrial Index? Will we understand that working from home may not be ideal for some but can give flexibility to others. Will the terrible inequalities in economic and social life be evened out at all? I doubt it. I suspect that this lesson which nature has dealt us will not be absorbed and it will be ‘business as usual’ as soon as the lock-down is lifted. Reflections and the lessons of the past are, sadly, seldom applied to the future. But this time, we could try. — Bob on Reflecting on another crisis, 19 years ago

Tribes citizen commented about 2 wks ago that their neiborhood was low on corona deaths due to income status.Maybe you should rephrase that arrogant statement — Clayann Said on Peter Panayiotou, the owner of Gee Whiz, dies from the coronavirus

Incredibly sad to hear this. RIP to both, and condolences to their families. Gee Whiz has been part of the fabric of the community for decades. :( — Scott on Peter Panayiotou, the owner of Gee Whiz, dies from the coronavirus

Duane Park lights flashed on and off at 7pm last night! It was *awesome*! — Nichole on Seen & Heard: Alicia Keys from the rooftops

Right, sorry — Tribeca Citizen on Seen & Heard: Alicia Keys from the rooftops

Sad news to these families & our neighborhood. RIP to both Peter & Andy and condolences to surviving friends and families. When my wife (girlfriend at the time) was relocated to NYC for work in 2004, we chose a small rental at 22 River Terrace in BPC. Our first weekends, we explored the TriBeca neighborhood on foot, discovering Gee Whiz (which we lovingly referred to as “Cheese Whiz” from an inside joke). It became one of our go-to dinera “back in the day.” It was a huge family space that made us feel at home. TriBeca Kitchen still provides us that same feeling and just as quality food (before CV19 lockdown). Thanks to the families for continuing the owner legacies by continuing to help feed and gather our neighborhood together. We look forward to reconvening for a meal after we get through this crisis together. — MattieNYC on Peter Panayiotou, the owner of Gee Whiz, dies from the coronavirus

So so sad. I lived above Gee whiz for 14 years. And now a block from Tribeca Kitchen. Have many memories of both Andy and Peter, remembering their warmth and kindness toward me and my pup (who they waved at often through the window and turned a blind eye to when she came in). Extremely sad news for the neighborhood. Rest In Peace. — JD on Peter Panayiotou, the owner of Gee Whiz, dies from the coronavirus

Your video is on Church (and Duane) and not Broadway. — Me on Seen & Heard: Alicia Keys from the rooftops

I was 17 and living in Tribeca on 9/11. Despite the horror, I know that I and many of our neighbors spent the subsequent days going to friends and family for comfort. We gathered in lobbies and on corners, we walked the margins of the neighborhood together to find groceries or pay phones. We shared and we talked and we were physically together trying to make sense of it all. Now we're forced apart. No contact. No connection. No comfort. As another poster said, the face-to-face communal experience is absent. This is a very solitary tragedy that is - paradoxically -impacting everyone on earth simultaneously. The scope is wider and yet so much lonelier. — Elizabeth on Reflecting on another crisis, 19 years ago

Oh...and my GO bag has become a STAY bag. — Heide Fasnacht on Reflecting on another crisis, 19 years ago

Yes. Thank you — Cami on Reflecting on another crisis, 19 years ago

Happy Easter to all in Tribeca and around the Beautiful city of New York♥️ Everybody has the right to an op inion, but at the day it’s what we each chooses in life that makes us happy and Keeps us well that matters. Please stay safe & love one another. I want to leave you with this???? I don't know who wrote this, but it's beautiful.. ♥️ We fell asleep in one world, and woke up in another. Suddenly Disney is out of magic, Paris is no longer romantic, New York doesn't stand up anymore, the Chinese wall is no longer a fortress, and Mecca is empty. Hugs & kisses suddenly become weapons, and not visiting parents & friends becomes an act of love. Suddenly you realise that power, beauty & money are worthless, and can't get you the oxygen you're fighting for. The world continues its life and it is beautiful. It only puts humans in cages. I think it's sending us a message: "You are not necessary. The air, earth, water and sky without you are fine. When you come back, remember that you are my guests. Not my masters." Sincerely Elena — Elena Linares on Razzledazzle Barbershop has closed

That's it! — Tribeca Citizen on Where in Tribeca?

Everything Heide says is true. No one above Canal knew what was going on. And the smell. I will never forget the smell, never forget sitting on the bus watching a flag covered body being escorted out of the pit. Oh yes, we were lied to. And now all these years later. people have died, have recurring cancers, have PTSD, are numb, 9/11 eventually became an individual experience because we each had our own experience. The one difference between 9/11 and this virus is everyone in the world is suffering in some way because of this virus, we all understand. — Maryann on Reflecting on another crisis, 19 years ago

Terra, West Broadway and Franklin Street — James on Where in Tribeca?

For me, the big difference is that on 9/11 I was forced out of my home; now, I am forced to stay at home. As part of the human family, our instinct is to reach out and help. That was easy to do after 9/11 -- I remember stirring huge kettles at Bouley. Activities helped us to feel like heroes rather than victims. That is a great gift to survivors. And, of course, having an enemy that can be seen without a microscope makes it too easy to visualize and hate. At least this time around, we can avoid that and, if we do declare war, it will be on a disease! — Betty Heller on Reflecting on another crisis, 19 years ago

New York welcomes everyone and as usual anything different ruffles feathers and intimidates others, that’s proven by these negative comments, even from those that didn’t even give it a shot. You are inspiring and it was great to have you in NYC, with your energy and spirit. Small Business raise communities and we are grateful that you too a chance and invested here. All your clients will miss your kind heart and GREAT haircuts! See you in Miami! ???? — Mayra on Razzledazzle Barbershop has closed

RIP to two pillars of the community. — So sad on Peter Panayiotou, the owner of Gee Whiz, dies from the coronavirus

That's the north side of Warren, just fyi, but yes, same spot... — Tribeca Citizen on Seen & Heard: Making noise in the neighborhood

This is not my attempt to one up a tragedy, or say one had a “greater effect” on one than the other, or decide which factors of a tragedy bear more weight, rather simply a specific observation. During 9/11, going immediately back to work in the face of losing many friends and colleagues, as crazy at it sounds, was a way to cope with the grief, something to take your mind off of events and bizarrely using it to ignore a lot of feelings. Probably not the right way to cope but it helped. Covid does not offer that option, rather it has the added stress of not earning any income, and the strain of wondering for how many years things will be financially difficult. It just feels like a lot of industries are going to be harmed for a long, long time. This won’t end with the flick of an “ok” switch. As a local I fear which great small businesses can actually survive, the ones that make this area a place we all want to reside. If they can’t make and are replaced by chains, or remain shuttered for years, we’re then left with (even more) mediocrity. It could have a ripple effect anywhere from increasing crime to schools deteriorating to having to spend too much to live in a place that lost its magic. Again these tragedies have real human injuries and loss of life, devastation to families. Financial aspects are nowhere near as important , but that doesn’t mean they don’t also exist and have the ability to be felt negatively for years. — Trib Ecka on Reflecting on another crisis, 19 years ago

Stefan who manages Les Enfants de Boheme is an extraordinary individual - he gives so much to our community. Let's save our small, favorite places. — danielle on Seen & Heard: Lights of Hope

Thank you. — JP on Reflecting on another crisis, 19 years ago

While the rest of the country did declare solidarity with us after 9/11, they did not experience the 6 month long fires and toxic air that we did. But most importantly I want to say this: we were lied to then and we are being lied to now. Christine Todd Whitman, then head of the EPA told us the air was safe to breathe when it most definitively was not. Bush blamed the Iraqis and lead us into a war built on lies, dismantling societies everywhere with massive support on both sides of the aisle. The press did not dare to challenge him. Are we still recovering? Some would say we have not. Because now we are being lied to by Trump and his team. But today, there are segments of the government, fed, state and local, and the press standing up for the truth. As the curve sharpens and flattens, as the days and weeks turn into months and years, our neighborhood, and all neighorhoods bear enormous responsibility to vote for those who stand for the truth. This did not have to be this bad. Never again, again. — Heide Fasnacht on Reflecting on another crisis, 19 years ago