I lived blocks from Ground Zero in 2001. Newly unsealed records reveal what we were breathing
Grappling with the health effects of 9/11
In the fall of 2001, KTVU reporter Aaron Dickens was a student at New York University living just a few blocks from the World Trade Center when the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks occurred.
SAN JOSE, Calif. - Editor's note: The following story is the firsthand account of KTVU reporter Aaron Dickens, who was in college in New York City during the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
In the autumn of 2001, I was in college at New York University. Like thousands of other young adults, I had packed up my life, said goodbye to my family, and moved into the Water Street dormitory in Lower Manhattan, just a few blocks from the World Trade Center.
Then September 11 happened.
We were evacuated, forced to flee as dust and debris blanketed the neighborhood. I had left earlier for class that day and was standing in front of Trinity Church when the first plane hit. I remember seeing office papers fall from the sky.
‘Safe to breathe’: A reassuring message
A few months later, city and federal officials delivered a simple, reassuring message: the air was safe to breathe, and it was time to come home.
Relying on those assurances, my classmates and I moved back into our dorm room to finish out the school year. I still vividly recall the heavy lingering heat, the constant fine soot, and a distinct, metallic smell that hung in the air every time we opened our windows.
Three months after the attack, when my father came to visit, he took photos near Ground Zero. A massive crater still gaping in the earth—a towering reminder of the destruction just a short walk from where I slept every night.
Nearly 25 years later, those memories have taken on a far more ominous tone.
Photo from New York City in the months after 9/11/01.
Mamdani unseals 9/11 documents
This week, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani unsealed more than 170,000 pages of municipal documents from those critical months following the attacks. The archive reveals that while public leaders were telling residents, office workers, and students that the air posed no health risk, internal environmental monitoring reports showed persistent, dangerous spikes in airborne toxins.
"The devastating truth is that the suffering did not end once the smoke cleared," Mamdani said during a City Hall press briefing. "People got sick because the leaders they trusted lied and told them they were safe to breathe in toxic air."
Revelations and consequences from toxic air
For me and many of my fellow NYU alumni, the revelation lands close to home. Recently, some of my former colleagues have been diagnosed with breast cancer and colon cancer—illnesses.
"You were definitely in the zone where there was exposure," said Dr. Jacqueline Moline, director of the Northwell World Trade Center Health Program, when I spoke with her about our time at the Water Street dorm. "It is not surprising that those with a similar exposure are becoming ill with World Trade Center-related cancers."
According to Moline, the environmental sampling recorded in these unsealed municipal records showed elevated levels of asbestos that lasted far longer than the public was ever told.
"There were persistent readings of asbestos for many, many months at higher levels," Moline noted, adding that medical programs are now seeing a surge in cases as the decades-long latency period for these cancers comes to an end. "As the years go by, it takes our bodies a long time for the cancers to develop. We are at that time period now where we are expecting to see the cancers. Unfortunately, we are."
The other side:
A spokesperson for former Mayor Rudy Giuliani rejected the claims, telling news outlets that Mayor Mamdani’s release is an attempt to "score cheap partisan political points."
Yet for those of us who lived in the shadow of Ground Zero, the debate isn't political—it's personal.
Health risks related to 9/11
Dr. Moline’s advice to former neighborhood residents like me is clear: get screened immediately. "It’s important to get checked out and register for the program," she urged. "You are at risk just like a first responder."
I plan to get screened soon. Health advocates strongly advise anyone who lived, studied, or worked in Lower Manhattan in late 2001 to inform their physicians and review program eligibility at cdc.gov.