Community Corner

Patch Reader Dr. Ken Freedman Remembers Sept. 11

Dr. Ken Freedman was brought to action upon seeing the tragedy of Sept. 11.

Dr. Ken Freedman just had to do something.

 “I saw the second plane hit and watched the two buildings come down and I knew I had to help,” said the local chiropractor. “I put a table in the car and drove to the Javitz center, and they said ‘OK, Work here on the sidewalk.' ”

Dr. Freedman, like many in the area, remembers exactly where he was on Sept. 11, and he remembers exactly what he wanted to do next. After arriving at the Javitz Center and giving emergency workers adjustments throughout the day, he was moved to Ground Zero for a day, where he did the same for those who working on the pile.

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"I was working on the sidwalk and made a makeshift sign and that's where I worked. I was there two days, the first on the sidwalk helping. Then I met an NYPD officer, she came back to me and said 'I need help at Ground Zero. Can you help us?,' " Dr. Freedman said. "The next day I was in a caravan of cars and trucks on the way."

Working out of a commandeered bar, Dr. Freedman spent the day helping workers and whether he knew it at the time or now, making connections that would last a lifetime.

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"Years later, about a year ago in fact, I reconnected with an old friend. She introduced me to a frend of her's, and he's looking at me and looking at me and he finally says, 'I'm a cop and you took care of me at Ground Zero.' he remembered me all these years later."

To this day, Dr. Freedman marks his experience by hanging an American flag outside his office in remembrance of the day.

"It's surreal," he said. "I’m glad I responded the way I did. It would have haunted me if I didn’t, he said. “It felt good to be able to get there and help who needed it.”


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