2001: Everything Changed

Without doubt, the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 generated the biggest news stories of the past 50 years, in or out of the industry. And indirectly, Sept. 11-related news still happens on a daily basis, with every report of building-security methodologies and the ongoing race against time that TRIA has become. Every step toward the revitalization of Downtown and the efforts to create the long-sought 24/7 community that Lower Manhattan is to become harkens back to that horrific event.

Certainly, GlobeSt.com responded to the attacks with on-site coverage from Ground Zero as well as follow-ups throughout the day and in the days after as we all struggled to make sense of the attacks.

But Sept. 11 was not the only news of the year. Ironically, just nine weeks before, all of us in the network assumed we had covered the biggest story of ’01 when Larry Silverstein took the keys to the World Trade Center master lease for $3.22 billion. People may even forget that an initial frontrunner in the bid was a JV between Brookfield and Boston Properties.