Thursday, December 5, 2013 Page B1
SECTION
LIVING
B
WHAT’S ON? Q DINING GUIDE Q WHAT’S COOKING? Q REAL ESTATE Q CLASSIFIED Q SERVICE GUIDE Q BUSINESS CARD DIRECTORY
Citizen journalists helped paint picture of train derailment notes about what they heard and saw of the crash. One, who was reluctant to give his he ringing phone name, said he had just lifted awoke me at 8 on Sun- his morning coffee to his lips when he heard what sounded day morning. like a landslide. This cannot be good news, College student Eli Mernit, was my ďŹ rst thought. who uploaded the ďŹ rst photos of I was surprised to hear the the crash to our website, slept voice on the other end of the through the crash itself only to line, my old friend and former be awakened by the sound of photo editor, Alan Zale. “Sorry ďŹ reďŹ ghters using the jaws of life to wake you,â€? he said, “but to pry open the doors of train they’re saying there was a cars lying on their sides. derailment at Spuyten Duyvil Some reached out to help and it’s a big mess.â€? train riders who, though not That is how I learned about injured, appeared stunned and the 7:20 a.m. crash of Metroconfused. North train 8808 that killed Peter Stillman, a whitefour people, injured dozens haired Manhattanite, offered more and indeďŹ ntitely susa grisly description pended service on the of his train car with commuter railroad’s “blood everywhere.â€? Hudson Line. to give him I am 66-yearsPublisher’s Ia offered ride to the subway old and I have been notebook when I was ďŹ nished with The Press for at the site — it was most of my adult life, something I had done the last but readers have rarely seen time a derailment disrupted my byline. I am not usually a service on Metro-North’s frontline writer unless someHudson Line just last summer. thing happens when the ofďŹ ce But an anonymous man from is closed. Then I am the ďŹ rst to Palisade Avenue already had get the call. Mr. Stillman covered. My name is closely associatAs I made my way closer ed with the paper and my home to the horriďŹ c tangle that was phone number is in the book. once a commuter train, I was As a result, if you sift through impressed with the calm, somour “morgueâ€? you would not ber demeanor and the overďŹ nd it afďŹ xed to sunny feature whelming numbers of the city’s stories, instead you would see ďŹ rst responders. FireďŹ ghters late night ďŹ res, bodies in dufe pulling survivors from the bags dumped under parkway wreckage, paramedics setting bridges and derailed trains. up an improvised triage unit I admit, I took some pride along Edsall Avenue, police in being the ďŹ rst responder for establishing a command post The Press, although reporter to coordinate the activity. They Andy Gross and photo editor all earned tremendous respect Marisol DĂaz soon took over to and gratitude. esh out the story. I am grateful, too, for the By the time I had thrown many in the community who on my clothes, grabbed my came to the aid of The Press in wife’s camera and something covering the story, from Alan to jot notes with and raced Zale’s initial call to former to the scene, Palisade Aveditor Kate Pastor’s update on enue, Independence Avenue, the hasty creating a reception Johnson Avenue and Edsall center on the John F. KenAvenue were all clogged with nedy high school campus for emergency vehicles of every families of lost or injured pasdescription; police cruisers sengers. from unfamiliar precincts, EMS, hospital and private athan Muir, a Spuyten ambulances, ďŹ re department Duyvil resident I met pumpers, hook-and-ladders at the scene, was kind and rescue trucks. Police helicopters were hov- enough to share his excellent photos with our readers, and ering overhead in a cloudless friends and neighbors called sky and several of the force’s throughout the day, including police boats were fanning City Limits editor Jordan Moss out along the Harlem River and my brother and one-time shoreline beneath the Henry co-publisher, Buddy Stein. His Hudson Bridge. TV news vans sharp-eyed editing improved were beginning to arrive and my web posting and then he jockey for position. It was, without question, the disseminated my story on his Facebook page. biggest, fastest and best-orgaEven as her husband, Counnized disaster response this community has ever seen — all cilman G. Oliver Koppell, was participating in a late morning within a tightly conďŹ ned space press conference, Lorraine Coyle on a steep hill. was thoughtful enough to e-mail Many residents of aparther own photos to The Press. ments overlooking the scene What could be more emcame out onto the street to blematic of a community’s inseek comfort in the company volvement with its newspaper? of one another and compare
By Richard L. Stein
rstein@riverdalepress.com
T With an award-winning photo editor, it is rare for The Press to reach out to other photographers for coverage, but when a Metro-North train derailed at Spuyten Duyvil station early on Sunday morning, Marisol DĂaz was miles away. She rushed to the scene, but helpful neighbors, including Press publisher Richard Stein, took up the slack before she arrived. The top photo of an improvised triage center was shot by Mr. Stein. The photo at right — of a ďŹ reďŹ ghter contemplating the wreckage — was shot by college student Eli Mernit, who had returned to his Palisade Avenue home for the long Thanksgiving weekend. Below are two photos by Spuyten Duyvil resident Nathan Muir, who captured ďŹ reďŹ ghters arriving at the scene (right) and searching for injured passengers (left).
N
From Riverdale and beyond, Twitter writers track tragedy Authorities responded to Sunday’s train crash at Spuyten Duyvil station within minutes of the accident and news was quick to spread. Commuters, bystanders, area residents and those following the derailment from afar continuously tweeted their thoughts, from initial shock that such an accident could happen to solidarity with the victims. The following is a selection of tweets made in the Bronx and beyond. Q Some people are trapped in that Metro North derailment in the Bronx. Hope everyone is ok. #MetroNorth — @sohali2012, Sunday morning Q MetroNorth train derails in the
Bronx, sending cars into the Hudson. What a nightmare, hopefully no serious injuries. — @heyyoeddie1, Sunday morning Q Thoughts and prayers going out to all the passengers of metro north this morning! #MetroNorth — @eturnerladyfox, Sunday Q I’m really concerned with these metro north employees they hire to operate these trains. #metronorth #mta — mrlyricist3121, Sunday Q This is my #MetroNorth train line! Were this 2 occur tomorrow morning, I would’ve been passenger. #Gasp #Derailment
— LizandraVega, Monday morning Q This is my train. 4 dead. Unacceptable, @MetroNorth shoddy rail work/ delays do not match the price paid to ride: http://bit.ly/1bbxcXb — @KellyLiyakasa1, Sunday morning Q There are still helicopters circling the neighborhood post-derailment so of course I dreamt about the Metro North. So sad and scary. — lynnrickert, Monday around 8:00 Q And btw, I am a bit nervous riding Metro-North to work this morning. — @barbarajchin, Monday around 8:30 a.m.
5 2 0 " ' m ' '
Q Must say my commute feels a little tense today... #MetroNorth — @LizRappport, Monday around 9 a.m. Q Metro North accident just shows how tenuous life can be May they rest in peace — @JosephMDunn, Monday around 9:30 a.m. Q Well done First responders to the Metro North derailment. Frequent emergency response drills meant everyone knew what to do — @SKastenbaum, Monday around 9:30 a.m. Q Hey, @MTA - how about cross-hon-
oring monthly Metro North Hudson line passes on Bronx express buses? It would be the right thing to do. — TJGpages, Monday around 9:30 a.m Q Working from Tarrytown today, and still praying for all those lives lost or changed in yesterday’s Metro North derailment. — seanmcconnell, Monday around 10:30 a.m Q So scary thinking about how we pu our lives in the hands of people we don’t know or never met. The Metro North derailment is scary. — @EriDL911, Monday around 11 p.m