Frightening moments

I was walking home about 3 hours ago, with my sight still blurred from an eye checkup, when fire engines, police cars, and sirens began to flash by while helicopters began circling above ……something very wrong was happening, as we all know here in NY when the copters hover…..and, as far as I am concerned, a very uncomfortable feeling sets in.  

I had just done some food shopping and I was at an ATM machine of my local bank when a woman nearby seemed shocked by whatever was been related to her over a cell phone. The sense of fear was justified: a small plane had just crashed into a high rise in my neighborhood. As I turned into my avenue smoke was raising into the sky, and as I got in front my apartment house I saw flames raging out of some apartments, which turned out to be the 40/41 floors of a new condo building just 2 blocks away.


Large crowds were everywhere and the entire avenue was closed and occupied by all sorts of emergency vehicles with flashing lights and armed personnel at every corner in the vicinity.  

The real details are still coming in through the tv coverage: it was a single engine place owned by a Yankee team player (Cory Lidle), which apparently encountered trouble while flying over the East river and was trying to get altitude, when it crashed killing the 2 place occupants and a couple on the ground.  Incredibly, another couple that was in one of the apartments that was hit, was able to leave their residence unarmed.  

The scene on the ground, however, as chaotic as it may have seemed, was one of “controlled pandemonium” as it was labeled by a tv reporter.  I must admit that what I was able to observe in the response by our city services was impressive for timing and coordination: thumbs up for our city emergency teams!