The Kneeling Fireman statue in front of Emigrant Bank on East 43 Street between Fifth and Madison Avenues, Manhattan
Photo credit: L. Tripoli
I am in New York City on a day when politicians ride the subways to reassure people that there’s no threat posed by terror. I pass through Grand Central Station at a time when there seem to be a lot of police around and other enforcement personnel –not sure whether they’re federal, state, or possibly local—with big guns. I walk to Times Square where the police presence is maintained. I act as if there’s no threat, like I’m not thinking about it, like it’s not a beautiful sunny day like one particular one in our collective past.
I am not alarmed, I do not worry, but when I walk by the Kneeling Fireman in midtown, I am reminded of 9/11. I stop, I read about this piece—it was originally destined for a different location before the 2001 terrorist attack but stayed here as a tribute—in front of Emigrant Bank, whose early customers had indeed emigrated from other places to this one, whose kids often grew up to be firefighters.
I am just cruising by on a bright fall day, but when I see this statue I become like so many other tourists: In the present, curious, willing to stop, to learn, to consider the history of this place.
—Lori Tripoli
Originally commissioned by the Firefighters Association of Missouri, Kneeling Fireman was in New York City on September 11, 2001 and was later given by its manufacturer to the Federal Law Enforcement Association.
Photo credit: L. Tripoli
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