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Honoring The Port Authority
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As part of NY1's special 9/11 coverage, Gary Anthony Ramsay takes a look at how the terrorist attack affected the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
Video clips can be viewed with the free Real Player.
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Imagine, just for just a moment, your home or your workplace, under attack.
On September 11, that nightmare became a reality for thousands of Port Authority Employees. At the very least, the Twin Towers were their headquarters.
For many, it was a home away from home, where their coworkers were friends and sometimes became family.
Seventy-five members of this family died that day.
They came from all walks of life and from all over the Tri-State area. They were executives, uniformed public servants, janitors and elevator operators. Some were scheduled to work, some were not, but all lost their lives at their second home as terror was delivered to their doorstep.
Here are some of their stories, and the stories of those they left behind.
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FOLLOW THE VIDEO LINKS TO WATCH THE COMPLETE PROFILES
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Ed Strauss
Ed Strauss was the chief of operations at the World Trade Center. He went to work on September 11 as he did almost every day for 20 years. It started out an a normal day - but at 8:45 that would all change.
Shortly after 9 a.m., his wife, Jane, received a phone call in which her husband said he was all right, but busy. His wife didn't think the conversation would be their last - Ed knew the building better than anyone and was a survivor of the first bombing in 1993.
But he would not escape terror at the World Trade Center this time. Witnesses said he was last seen leaving the south tower, aiding emergency personnel during the evacuation.
Ed began his career at the towers working as a maintenance worker. As chief of operations, one of his jobs was to raise and lower the flag every day - the same flag that survived the attacks and later became a symbol of America’s pride and hope.
 
WATCH VIDEO [6:45]
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Kathy Maaza
The names, faces and tales of heroism may seem like a blur since there are so many, but one name is well known - Moira Smith, the only female New York City police officer to die on September 11.
But she was not the only female cop who acted heroically and paid the ultimate price for her bravery that day. Kathy Maaza, 46, of Farmingdale, N.Y., was a police captain with the Port Authority who gave her life while trying to save others.
Kathy, who had worked for the Port Authority for 14 years, was the first female commander at its police training academy. Trained as a nurse, she led the academy’s emergency medical care training program. She was named 1999 Basic Life Support Provider of the Year by the Regional Emergency Medical Services Council of New York City.
Kathy’s body was found in the lobby of 1 World Trade Center. She is survived by her husband, NYPD officer Christopher Delosh.
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WATCH VIDEO [6:34]
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Kenneth Teitjen
Kenneth "Kenny" Teitjen wasn’t working at the Twin Towers on September 11, but went there to help out anyway.
Born in North Bergen, N.J., Kenny joined the Belford Volunteer Fire Department after he turned 18, and then went on to join the Port Authority Police Department in 1992.
Kenny received several awards for his actions in the PAPD, which including arresting a man who rammed a police car and stabbed a sergeant. He made the news nine months before the terror attacks when he pulled over a suspicious truck near the Holland Tunnel and found more than half a million in stolen merchandise.
It's not clear where Kenny was when the fist plane struck the World Trade Center, but he and his partner made their way to Midtown and commandeered a cab to get to the Twin Towers. Witnesses say Kenny helped several badly-burned people get out of Tower One. He then grabbed the last respirator he could find and went into Tower Two.
Not long after that, the tower collapsed.
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WATCH VIDEO [6:47]
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Neil Levin
Neil Levin was the Executive Director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. And according to those he supervised, Levin was no ordinary boss.
Levin was in charge of one of the most complicated agencies in the country, whose command center was so symbolic that it was targeted for attack.
Levin, 46, gave up a career as a banker at Goldman Sachs to work in public service, first on Capitol Hill, alongside then-Senator Alphonse D'Amato, where he helped draft legislation to protect investors.
He had held the position as head of the Port Authority - and landlord of the World Trade Center - for only five months before 9/11.
Levin’s widow, Christy Ferrer, is now Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s official liaison to the relatives of the Trade Center victims.
At Levin's memorial service, Governor George Pataki announced that the 65th school in the state university system will be called the Neil Levin Institute of International Relations and Global Commerce.
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WATCH VID [10:04]
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