In 1990, I wrote a magazine article about flying around NY. I needed some photos to illustrate the article and flew the route with a dear friend and co-worker, Vincent Onorio who took these pictures. They've lain in an album for 11 years but now, in the light of the horror of 9/11, I feel a need to share them on the web as a tribute to the heros and a memorial to the murdered.
This beautiful city will heal it's wounds and Lower Manhattan itself will bear no scars from this atrocity. We, the citizens of New York will bear the scars, but we will heal and grow strong and harbour a renewed devotion to the city we love. New York was once the "Golden Door" of immigration to the United States. As the grandchild of immigrants, it hurts me deeply that our immigration laws were abused by the perpetrators of this crime. I pray that the "Golden Door" remains open - but only to those who love America as deeply as my immigrant grandparents did, as much as I will, always.
Our flight will be in a Robinson R-22 helicopter based in Linden Airport, NJ. We'll proceed over Staten Island and Upper New York Bay, towards the East River. Then around Manhattan, down the Hudson River and back to Linden.
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Military Ocean Terminal, Bayonne, NJ (R.I.P.)
Mike Sturm
October, 2001