Latest news with #St.Patrick'sCathedral
Yahoo
13-04-2025
- Yahoo
From the archives: Columnist Berry Tramel shares worldview shifts on day after OKC bombing
Editor's note: The Oklahoman's longtime sports columnist Berry Tramel wrote this piece first published April 20, 1995, the day after the Oklahoma City bombing. While the heartache has eased over the years, we felt his words are just as poignant now as we mark the 30th anniversary of the tragedy. We stood at the base of the awesome structure with our skulls tilted all the way back, straining to see the top of the World Trade Center. Five Okies meandering through Manhattan, waiting for the big OSU-Wake Forest game that now seems so small. We were country come to town, five Gomers who gawked at Greenwich Village and tried to get into Letterman's theater and offered our subway seats to women. All the things only visitors do in New York. We climbed to the top of the Empire State Building, toured St. Patrick's Cathedral, saw Central Park and walked past Madison Square Garden, Rockefeller Center and the NBC Studios where the Today show is filmed from a storefront window. And we went to the World Trade Center, a giant among giants, and saw the garage where 26 months ago a terrorist's car bomb killed six people, injured more than 1,000 and crippled the 110-story towers. We had come to see the world, because we lived in a haven called Oklahoma, and the world wouldn't come to us. We long have gone to the world. Sixty years ago, our people migrated en masse to California. Fifty years ago, our story hit Broadway with "Oklahoma! " Forty years ago, our football team showed America what a winning streak really was. But the world left us alone. Oklahoma always was a wonderful place to come back to. A great place to live even if for some reason you wouldn't want to visit there. We didn't have the Yankees or the Metropolitan Museum of Art or a 24-hour night life, but we had a place to fall in love and raise children and grow old. A place where the people were gentle and kind, and the living was easy and slow. We knew nothing of Bosnia and Beirut and Belfast, faraway places with tales of horror that no longer even cause us to read past the headlines. Places no more real to us than Oz or Eden. Places where we figured folks grew accustomed to terrorism. Wednesday, we found out we were wrong. The world indeed had discovered Oklahoma. Maybe you heard it on TV. Maybe someone called. Maybe you were within 15 miles of downtown and heard the boom. Maybe the glass in your office was blown to pieces. Maybe you were in the Alfred Murrah Federal Building at 9 a.m. when a car bomb forever ended the innocence of Oklahoma. We have been in the spotlight before. Patrick Sherrill killed 14 co-workers at the Edmond Post Office in 1986. But that was the work of a crazy man. This was the work of a crazy world. This made you wonder if throwing a ball or bouncing a baby, chasing a pup or grilling a burger would ever be the same. That's why they call it terrorism. Some day, hopefully sooner than later, we will be able to take in a ball game again. Get excited about the Cowboys or Sooners, care who wins a baseball game, argue about what brand of basketball teen-age girls should play. It will help the healing. But it won't make the hurt go away. Terrorism doesn't just break bones and slice skin and crush skulls. It breaks your heart and brands your soul. It makes you realize that Oklahoma City - Oklahoma City! - now sits there on the shelf. Beirut, Manhattan, Oklahoma City. On a sleepy April morning with overcast skies, we learned we don't have to go anywhere to see the world. This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OKC bombing from the archives: Columnist voices shifts on day after
New York Times
13-04-2025
- New York Times
The Last Flight of Helicopter N216MH
Lionel Carles and his wife and young son arrived from Nice, France, on Wednesday with a list of things to see and do in New York City: St. Patrick's Cathedral, Rockefeller Center, Top of the Rock, Fifth Avenue. And, an exciting highlight — a helicopter tour of the skyline. Rafn Herlufsen, visiting from Iceland with his teenage son, made similar plans: a Knicks game at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday, a helicopter tour later in the week. And Agustín Escobar, a Spanish executive with the technology giant Siemens, bought one of the longer flights offered by the tour company, New York Helicopter. Five tickets, for himself, his wife and their three children for a trip that would last 20 minutes and include a George Washington Bridge flyover. Each family arrived at their assigned time on Thursday at a helipad near the South Street Seaport for their flight with New York Helicopter. They listened to safety briefings and posed for photographs in front of the chopper they flew that day, tail number N216MH. By day's end, that helicopter would come apart in the sky and crash into the Hudson River, and one of those families would be killed, along with their pilot. The other two families would — stoically, awkwardly — tour the city, putting on happy faces while coming to grips with their own very, very close calls. An aerial tour along New York's famous skyline may be a visitor's once-in-a-lifetime thrill. But for a helicopter pilot, it is just another lap around a familiar track. Pilots had traced this path in this aircraft more than 1,600 times. The helicopter flown by those visiting families on Thursday was a Bell 206 LongRanger that had spent two years making short- and medium-haul flights all over Texas: Dallas to Lancaster, Austin to Denton, Denton to Wichita Falls. In November 2019, the helicopter arrived in New York City. Since then, it had logged over 2,600 hours in the air, most of it in segments of 10 or 15 minutes, hustling tourists up and down the Hudson River. The flights began or ended at the Downtown Manhattan Heliport in Lower Manhattan near the seaport. A standard trip took passengers around the heel of the island, over to the Statue of Liberty, up the Hudson for a few miles, then back. The helicopter made the circuit over and over, as often as 18 times a day, with as little as three minutes between flights — barely time for the next smiling group to pose for a photo. Around the bottom, over the statue, up the river and back; around, over, up, back. The members of the French family — Mr. Carles, 54; his wife, Alexandra, 46; and their son, César, 7 — were ready for takeoff. The helicopter rose, and they all laughed, exhilarated. They soared over New York and the minutes raced by. 'It's a wonderful experience,' said Mr. Carles, a lawyer. 'It's one of the attractions, for us, that stands out when you're in New York.' For the father and son from Iceland, the trip was a celebratory one. The 14-year-old had recently completed a confirmation ritual that is a milestone in their home country. They are both big basketball fans, and they had seats at a close game Tuesday night, the Celtics beating the Knicks 119 to 117 in overtime. They had 'a huge itinerary of New York things,' Mr. Herlufsen said. Thursday was the helicopter flight, Mr. Herlufsen's second with the touring company, and the boy's first. Beneath sunny skies, they soared over the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island and One World Trade Center. 'I love the city,' Mr. Herlufsen said. It was almost 3 p.m. The Escobar family arrived at the helipad. They smiled broadly for the photos the company took — Mr. Escobar, Mercè Camprubí Montal and their three children — Agustín, 10, Mercè, 8, and Víctor, 4. They met their pilot, Seankese Johnson, 36, who had flown helicopters since August 2023. He had been working for New York Helicopter for only a few weeks. They took off toward Lady Liberty, then up the West Side of Manhattan. After flying over the majestic span of the George Washington Bridge, the pilot banked and headed downriver along the New Jersey side of the Hudson. It was 3:09 p.m. The helicopter held its altitude of 1,100 feet and was heading south at 90 miles per hour, according to a data log on the flight-tracking site FlightAware. Yankee Stadium came into view on the left, then Grant's Tomb. It was 3:11. The helicopter — hugging the shore above Edgewater, N.J., across the river from the top of Central Park — began its usual descent back to the heliport. Normally, the descent is gradual. This one was not. In 51 seconds, the craft lost more than 500 feet. It was 3:12. Off on the left, the residential Manhattan skyscrapers of West 57th Street, Billionaires' Row, were now higher than the helicopter. The chopper appears to have climbed at one point as Mr. Johnson struggled to regain control. It is unclear, until more details emerge, what was happening inside the craft at this point — what the pilot was relaying to the ground, whether the family was panicked, confused, terrified. Beneath the helicopter, the river loomed closer. Passers-by in Jersey City said they heard a loud bang, and turned to see black smoke pouring from an aircraft overhead. At 3:15, just off a pier in Jersey City's waterfront Newport neighborhood, the helicopter dropped like a stone from the sky, parts flying off, flipping over as it fell. It plunged into the river. The radios that pilots use to communicate with air control squawked out updates. 'Be advised, you do have an aircraft down, Holland Tunnel,' an air controller said with brisk urgency. 'Please keep your eyes open for anybody in the water.' It had been less than 30 minutes since the family smiled for the camera. No one survived. Their pilot, Mr. Johnson, a U.S. Navy veteran, was also killed. Somewhere else in Manhattan, Mr. Carles, the French lawyer, got a text from a co-worker. 'Did you know about this crash?' He pulled up a news story, setting off a cascade of recognition. This happened right after we left. This was the same company we used. And then, squinting at pictures of the Escobar family posing in front of the machine and comparing them with their own photos. This was the same helicopter. 'There's no doubt about it,' Mr. Carles said. The group forged ahead with the vacation — a basketball game, a visit to the 9/11 Memorial. They didn't speak about the helicopter, even as happy photos from the trip — a son smiling beside the pilot — were saved in their phones. 'We drop the subject,' Mr. Carles said. 'We talk about something PG. We continue our vacation. We are very happy to be safe and sound, and we move on.' Hours after Mr. Herlufsen left the helipad with his son, his phone blew up. He too realized they'd been in the same flying machine. His son had been especially shaken by the ordeal. 'This is such a brush with mortality, difficult to parse at 14,' Mr. Herlufsen said. But the boy's father hoped to end their trip on a positive note. 'We have one more day left of our New York stay,' he said on Thursday, 'and I'm really trying not to have this overwhelm our 'once-in-a-lifetime' adventure trip.' The extended members of Mr. Escobar's and Ms. Camprubí's families sought words of comfort after the massive loss. 'They have passed away together, leaving an indelible mark on all their relatives, friends and acquaintances,' the families said in a statement. For those relatives, the week ended with an unthinkable task, flying to New York, to return the five bodies to Spain.
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
2025 NYC St. Patrick's Day Parade map, time, street closures
The Brief New York City is celebrating its 264th annual Saint Patrick's Day Parade on Monday. The parade, marching along 5th Avenue, begins on 43rd Street and ends on 79th. It's one of the oldest and largest parades in the U.S., drawing in 2 million spectators. NEW YORK - Rain or shine, New York City's 5th Avenue is going green and orange! The 264th New York City Saint Patrick's Day Parade began this morning in Midtown, drawing in 150,000 marchers and 2 million spectators, according to organizers. It's one of the oldest and largest parades in the U.S., dating back to 1762, 14 years before the U.S. Declaration of Independence. Here's everything New Yorkers need to know about this year's parade, including times, a parade map, and street closures: What we know The parade began at 11 a.m. and ends around 4:30 p.m. The parade starts at 5th Avenue at 44th Street in Midtown, marches past St. Patrick's Cathedral and Central Park before ending at 5th Avenue and 79th Street on the Upper East Side. Formation will take place on 43rd through 48th Streets along parts of Vanderbilt, 6th and Park Avenues. Drivers should be aware: There is no crosstown traffic route from 43rd through 84th Streets. Click here to jump to street closures. What you can do If you plan to watch this year's parade in person, organizers say you'll get the best views along 5th Avenue. This year, plan to arrive early! In these rainy conditions, many spectators will bring umbrellas, leaving less room for crowds. Spectators can find more FAQs here. A bevy of local politicians, from the mayor to the governor, are expected to walk the route along with school marching bands and traditional Irish pipe and drum ensembles and delegations from the New York Police Department and other organizations. The grand marshal of this year's parade in New York City is Michael Benn, the longtime chairman of the Queens County St. Patrick's Parade held in Rockaway Beach. New York City is experiencing wet and windy conditions from the remnants of this weekend's cross-country storm. According to FOX 5 NY's Mike Woods, conditions will remain rainy throughout the morning, but conditions will start to ease up. NYC may see a few more scattered showers throughout the day, but they won't be as intense as the early morning. Despite the conditions, parade organizers say the celebrations are a-go! While the parade draws massive crowds, it will also cause widespread street closures throughout Manhattan, from Midtown to the Upper East Side. Full List of Street Closures: Vanderbilt Avenue between 43rd Street and 46th Street 44th Street between Vanderbilt Avenue and 6th Avenue 45th Street between Vanderbilt Avenue and 6th Avenue 46th Street between Vanderbilt Avenue and 6th Avenue 47th Street between Park Avenue and 6th Avenue 48th Street between Park Avenue and 6th Avenue 5th Avenue between 43rd Street and 79th Street 5th Avenue between 79th Street and 84th Street 79th Street between Park Avenue and 5th Avenue 80th Street between Lexington Avenue and 5th Avenue 81st Street between Lexington Avenue and 5th Avenue 82nd Street between Lexington Avenue and 5th Avenue 83rd Street between Lexington Avenue and 5th Avenue 84th Street between Park Avenue and 5th Avenue 43rd Street between Vanderbilt Avenue and 6th Avenue 49th Street between Madison Avenue and Rockefeller Plaza 50th Street between Madison Avenue and Rockefeller Plaza 51st Street between Madison Avenue and 6th Avenue 54th Street between Madison Avenue and 6th Avenue 57th Street between Madison Avenue and 6th Avenue 59th Street between Madison Avenue and 6th Avenue 62nd Street between Madison Avenue and 5th Avenue 63rd Street between Madison Avenue and 5th Avenue 64th Street between Park Avenue and 5th Avenue 65th Street between Madison Avenue and 5th Avenue 70th Street between Madison Avenue and 5th Avenue 71st Street between Madison Avenue and 5th Avenue 72nd Street between Madison Avenue and 5th Avenue 78th Street between Madison Avenue and 5th Avenue Madison Avenue between 42nd Street and 84th Street Transit Changes: To accommodate the crowds, the MTA will increase service on the LIRR, Metro-North, and NYC Subway: The Lexington Avenue Line (4, 5, 6) provides the best access to the parade. The 5 Av/53 St station (E, M) is a short walk from the parade route. Some stairs at the 77 St (6) station will be enter-only or exit-only. Extra trains will be available before and after the parade. The Grand Central Madison terminal provides easy access near the parade route. Alcohol bans: LIRR bans alcohol from midnight Saturday to 5 a.m. Monday; Metro-North bans alcohol all day Saturday. Expect reroutes on the following lines: M1, M2, M3, M4, M5, M31, M50, M55, M57, M66, M72, M79 SBS, Q32, and most express buses. Riders should check for real-time updates. The Source This article uses information from parade organizers, the NYPD, the Associated Press, NYC DOT and more.
