Ashley Ebersole '01, a first-year analyst in the investment banking division at Salomon Smith Barney was evacuated from his office in Tribeca, about 10 blocks north of the World Trade Center immediately after the second plane crashed.
After the attacks, Ebersole's office, which did not suffer any structural damage, was used as a command center by the fire and police departments.
When Ebersole returned to the office on Sept. 19, he faced many increased security measures. "We had to show ID to get south of Canal Street," he said. "It was surreal walking to work alongside construction workers and emergency personnel walking to their work at the World Trade Center site."
Some senior staff from the Salomon Smith Barney office located in 7 World Trade Center, which collapsed, were moved into Citigroup offices. Because the attacks brought such uncertainty to the markets, Ebersole said, the company needed to attend to their clients in the aftermath of the attacks and a depressed economy.
Ebersole credited Salomon Smith Barney for reacting to the attacks with professionalism and compassion. After his office was evacuated, a senior staffer contacted employees to make sure they were safe, said Ebersole. Within a few hours, Salomon had created a disaster center in New Jersey, where employees were able to access files for important, time-sensitive projects that had to be completed on a deadline.
In the days following the attacks, Salomon also had daily conference calls updating its employees on how people in the firm were doing and how people could help the victims, said Ebersole.
Ebersole added that he experienced significant change in his work environment following the terrorist attacks. "Having been out of training and actually working in my group for only a month when the attacks occurred," he said, "it was a jolt to suddenly have the more senior people shift from teaching us and making sure we were moving up the learning curve to focusing solely on business."
Ebersole also said that Salomon did a good job of trying to keep junior employees active during a time of crisis. "I was able to support some of the senior people with analytical work, but let's face it, after clients have seen their businesses and employees shaken by such a tragedy, and are looking for advice, someone with my limited experience would not have much to offer," he said.
Eric Edelson '01, who works in World Financial Center 3 as an analyst in the investment banking division of Lehman Brothers, was just west of the north tower when it was impacted. Following the attack, his building was used as a morgue.
Edelson has not returned to his building since the attacks, and at this point is unsure when, if ever, his office at World Financial Center 3 will reopen for business.
Over the past two weeks, Lehman Brothers has rented out the entire Sheraton Manhattan, removed all the beds, and set up faxes, computers and desks for the employees, said Edelson. Lehman has also been using their offices in Jersey City, N.J., and is currently looking for a more permanent office space, added Edelson.
Following the attacks, Edelson has found himself in a similar position to Ebersole-confused and working beyond his training. "As first-year analysts, we had just gotten accustomed to everything … learned where everything was and who to talk to," he said. "We were just kind of getting our feet wet in participating in active deals, and now that has changed a bit."
Merrill Lynch, which has offices employs in the north and south towers of the World Financial Center, also employs several Amherst graduates.
One Amherst alumnus, who asked to remain anonymous, works in the corporate strategy division of Merrill Lynch and did not return to work until Monday, Sept. 24th. His division will now work out of a space owned by a client at 222 Broadway, a location that was affected by the attacks but has since been cleaned up. All Merrill capital markets groups have been relocated to an office in Jersey City, the alumnus said.
Amherst alumni and the many other people who work in and around the World Trade Center will be waiting an indefinite amount of time before they will be able access their offices again.
The south tower of the World Financial Center, which has suffered some structural damage such as blown out windows, dust and soot, won't be back in operation until 2002. The north tower, of which Merrill Lynch is the sole occupant, did not suffer any structural damage. Despite this, employees will be unable to return there until approximately the end of this year because of the building's close proximity to all the wreckage. An increased security presence in the neighborhood of the buildings has also made accessing them difficult.