Smudges on the UES

New Yorkers flinch when we hear about planes hitting buildings.



But apart from the above photo (and higher quality more copywritten photos) to ground all the chaos happening ground level, 40-some stories below the actual crash site, the chaos was all just chaos. There were equal crowds of police and media. The police kept the media out, and let some in. Firefighters walked in huge lines, scene upon scene like cinematic intro sequences.

And though two deaths and several destroyed apartments is certainly tragic, I think the island breathed a sigh of relief that this accident was really nothing more.

The rain fell, and fell, and fell.



And the coverage went on, and on, and on.



And so did the response.