"On That Day, I Just Ran"

Gary, a psychotherapist on Broadway:

"It's impossible to put into a sound byte. It's very painful to continue to work with people who are still suffering and trying to come to terms with what happened that day.

Sometimes people have moved on; sometimes people definitely have not. At anniversaries these experiences can come back with strong intensity.

Everybody who walks past the World Trade Center site has a profound sense of the change. There's customarily been a sense that people who live below 14th Street have a more nuanced sense of how Sept.11 was and are more sensitive to glib commentary about it. If you were down here in the morass of smoke and debris, there's a vivid imprint of it on your mind.

I don't walk around with fear that I'm not safe, but I think there are probably more heightened sensitivities. People are more alert to things that don't seem ordinary. But the goal is for things to feel ordinary. That comes and goes with the day, with the character of alerts, with the sound of loud noises.

There are a lot of police training programs in lower Manhattan so when you see the police massing you don't know if it's a training program or not. You have a lack of clarity."

David, owner of a shoe repair shop on Broadway:

"There was a big line of people in my store to use my phone because cell phones weren't working at that time. It was a terrible experience. I saw fire, I saw body parts. On that day, I just ran. I didn't even close my business. Everything was covered in dust when the building collapsed. There wasn't time to close the door.

After 9/11, customers came to me from all around -- from New Jersey and other parts -- even if they didn't need repairs. They just came to support me and keep me busy. I was only able to pay my rent, nothing else. This area used to have more businesses but it's become more residential. Businesses left for other locations after 9/11. Now business is picking up a little bit.

I'm afraid sometimes, especially in the subway. You never know what might happen. When you come near Manhattan by subway, it gets you thinking. But life goes on."

Carl, a jeweler on Trinity Place:

"It was a shocking day. It was something that you never expect. I still think about it up to this day and it bothers me.

I was especially proud to see the response from not just the general public but from the civil servants, the firemen and the police. They were willing to do so much. There was still order even in spite of the chaos. They were trying to normalize the situation as best as possible by performing their task of direction, help and concern.

I've been down here 30 years and I know the area very well. We've lost a lot of people due to the incident. A lot of companies have moved away and it's been a constant uphill fight to bring my business back to where it was before. Things have improved. Even though it's slow I do expect it to continue improving -- I have a positive feeling about that."

Magali, a medical secretary on Fulton Street:

"People are more careful now. Everybody's a little paranoid. I think it's easier now after so long. At the beginning it was very hectic -- every noise, every siren -- you were always paying attention. Yes, I feel safe now. I really try not to think about it."

Nancy, a bookstore owner on Chambers Street:

"It was surreal at the least. There was extreme pandemonium throughout the streets. People were just utterly confused. They really didn't know what was going on at the beginning. As the first building fell, people were still on the streets and they didn't know what to do. They were just running north.

We were in the store at the time. We're a college bookstore and it was our back-to-school season. Eventually, we had to lock the store and head north ourselves because it was just overwhelming -- the dust and the amount of smoke and everything.

We re-opened in the first week of October, but there are some businesses near us that never recovered because they lost out on so much business and could never regain that revenue again. We haven't seen much of a rise in business; it's been a slight decline. But we're a different kind of market than a restaurant or a person who sells clothing.

I think that the people are not as open now as they used to be -- but people in New York were never that open to begin with. They're a little bit more wary of each other. I don't see people smile as much. It's a different mood, a different tone. It could happen anywhere. You just need to be aware."