We’re remaining very skeptical about everything we’re hearing and reading about this afternoon’s upper east side incident. Reportedly an aircraft struck the Belaire luxury condo building at 524 East 72nd Street. Flames can be seen coming from several apartments, and a tower of smoke is rising. But everything else seems confused. Conflicting reports claim it was either a helicopter or a plane. And it is obviously way too early to know if this was a terrible accident or a terrorist attack.
So we’re sticking to what we know. Just around the corner from DealBreaker HQ in lower Manhattan, about sixty police cars have taken up position at the base of sixth avenue with their lights flashing. A patrolman who asked that we not identify him told us that they were awaiting orders, possibly including whether or not to start shutting down various tunnels leading into Manhattan. The Holland Tunnel is located just a few blocks away from where the police have gathered. So if you live outside of Manhattan, getting home tonight might be a little bit tricky. (And no, we don’t think that whether or not you get home to your family tonight is trivial even in light of likely injuries or deaths uptown.)
We’ve also received reports from a midtown office building where at least some people are said to be afraid.
“People are having 9/11 flashbacks. One lady is sitting on the floor,” said a source who is working at a major publishing company located near Times Square.
We’ve also heard from at least two people at Goldman Sachs, located at the other end of Manhattan, that people there are leaving their offices immediately. But we want more. What’s happening where you work? Send information to tips (at) dealbreaker (dot) com or drop a note in the comments section below.
Update: A reader gives an account of the action at one bank located a bit closer to the incident than Goldman Sachs (but unhappily requests that we not name the bank): “As soon as I heard what happened I ran over to the TV at our old fund sales desk, a once-teeming hotbed of gossip and shiny young interns, now staffed by three swiss-german consultants. ‘Where exactly did the plane crash!?’ I gasped. They looked up from their computer screens and replied in dull, heavy accents – ‘uh, New York’ and went right back to ‘work.’ I hate this place.”
Update: We just ventured out into the rain again to check on the Holland Tunnel. Moving along at more or less normal pace for a rainy Wednesday rush-hour. Looks like you will be able to get back to the Jerz after all. Oh, and it seems it was a Yankee and not a terrorist after all.