Brooklyn Resident Recalls Unforgettable 9/11 Experience
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Brooklyn Resident Recalls Unforgettable 9/11 Experience
- Maureen Callahan, then working at Spin Magazine, was in her Williamsburg, Brooklyn apartment on September 11, 2001, when she received a phone call informing her of a plane crash at the World Trade Center.
- She witnessed the explosion in the second tower from her window and later described the harrowing smell of burning bodies after taking the subway into Manhattan.
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On the morning of September 11, 2001, Maureen Callahan was in her Williamsburg, Brooklyn apartment, preparing for her job at Spin Magazine, when she received a phone call that forever altered her day. Her brother called to tell her a plane had crashed into one of the World Trade Center towers and advised her not to take the subway to work, suggesting it might be a terrorist attack.
From her fifth-floor window, Callahan observed plumes of black smoke emanating from one of the towers. Shortly after, while watching from her window, she witnessed the explosion in the second tower, describing it as “fireballs, fireballs, fireballs at about the exact same height.”
Despite her initial fear, Callahan eventually decided to take the subway into Manhattan. She recalled the pervasive presence of police officers and her hesitation to board the train. Upon arriving at 14th Street, she was immediately confronted with “the smell of it was death, it was burning burning bodies.” In the days and weeks that followed, Callahan noted a pervasive gentleness among New Yorkers.
Callahan, an award-winning investigative journalist and columnist, has shared her 9/11 experience, including in a YouTube discussion in September 2026. Her account is one of many personal narratives from that day, with various individuals across New York City, including other Brooklyn residents, recalling the events and their profound impact.