That morning I was still in bed, trying to sleep as I had been up very late the night before. Groggily I hear the sound of an approaching, low-flying airplane. As the sound builds I realize it sounds like a large jet! The roaring, screaming engines pass overhead and then the Doppler Effect follows, with the roar subsiding until a few seconds later I hear a BOOM!!!
I'm located 1.25 miles north of the WTC. There goes any hope for further rest. My girlfriend calls to tell me she's watching the tower burn from her 32nd floor apartment near Gramercy Park. With clear skies, I'm convinced that this was no accident while the breaking news flashes are trying figure out what size plane was involved.
Late that morning I finally get the desire to go to the roof of our 12 story building near SoHo, just to observe the smoking carnage from a safe distance. When the wind momentarily shifts, the smell is disgusting, like burning plastic and rubber. Some ironworkers were building a bulkhead on our roof and they told me the plane flew directly overhead and was so low it shocked them. They had a clear, unimpeded view of its final seconds of flight.
I distinctly remember all the people marching north, away from the towers, as all public transportation had ceased. Many people were covered in white ash (probably gypsum dust from pulverized sheetrock) as was almost every vehicle in motion that I observed. Firemen were commandeering the Great Jones Lumber delivery trucks because their rigs were crushed in the collapse. My nearest firehouse, the Great Jones fire station, lost 10 of the 14 men who responded to the attacks. For hours there was a constant drone of emergency vehicles sirens racing past my windows on Broadway.
Neighbors set up tables outside with cups of ice water and other refreshments for those walking home to quench their thirst. For about two weeks we were in a locked zone where photo ID with proof of address was absolutely essential to gain admission. Phone and internet service was knocked out here; finally Verizon set up free temporary phone kiosks on the street. For about 10 days my out of state relatives and international friends couldn't reach me.
Some of the stories I heard first hand from friends; walking up the canyons of Wall Street and lower Broadway, seeing plane parts and miscellaneous body parts, smoldering on the steet. Someone escaping one of the towers because she was a single parent and wanted to get back to her young child. Disobeying the orders over the PA system and making it out alive, then having to walk over 120 blocks to her daughter's day care center.

I will NEVER forget....