Public Employee Press

2001-2011
"Everything was destroyed"

Since the Twin Towers collapsed in the terrorist attack 10 years ago, upgrading the infrastructure in downtown Manhattan has cost billions of dollars.

As Engineers-in-Charge at the Dept. of Design and Construction, Kalpesh Patel and Srimi Keshava play a key role in transforming the zone into the city's fastest-growing area - with a vibrant residential neighborhood and bustling diverse economy of nonprofits and law, media and financial firms.

After the attack, Patel and Keshava were members of the DDC team that led the cleanup at Ground Zero.

The horror of the attacks was always present, Patel recalled. All work stopped when the remains of Firefighters and Police Officers were uncovered. Workers would scramble for safety when a siren warned of a possible building collapse.

"Everything was completely destroyed," Keshava said, referring to the two-block area around Ground Zero. Keshava and Patel spent months supervising the removal of tons of toxic debris, overseeing the trucks coming in and out and protecting the public's purse by checking inventories. The two Local 375 members were involved in the surveying and mapping needed to rebuild the complex underground network of sewage pipes and electrical, telephone and other cables.

In 2006, when human remains were discovered in underground areas, the two returned to Ground Zero and monitored the loading and carting away of over 600 mammoth containers of debris over six months.

Today, Patel and Keshava focus on upgrading the area around Ground Zero. They look forward to the opening of the new WTC in 2013, but their job will probably go on another five years, Kasheva said.

—GNH