On September 11, a handful of men on a small budget carried out the ultimate act of globalization, exporting urban mayhem and the mass murder of civilians to New York City.  

In a televised instant, 16 acres of downtown Manhattan, the economic epicenter of the world’s mightiest state, were reduced to a line of firemen passing white plastic buckets, clawing with bare hands at the rubble of toppled skyscrapers and the thousands beneath.  

As the horror engulfed us, working class New Yorkers and their neighbors poured out to respond, to volunteer, to comfort, and to bear witness.  Public servants died serving their public.  

Rescue and recovery is demonstrably a physical effort.  Ground zero was no place for the computer and the microchip of the new economy.  A river of trucks, machinery and emergency workers rushed toward the smoking ruins that had touched the clouds just moments earlier.  With carnage, it is the muscle and machinery of the real economy that matters. 

In tragedy, we were magnificent.  Everywhere, there was greatness in the acts of individuals.  Meaning was to be found in real events.  Everyone counted.

How do we honor the ordinary people who were victims and heroes amidst this extraordinary violence?  How do we proceed to repair the damage?  Somehow, in our grief, we must show the world, terrorist and terrified, how an injured metropolis – no less the City of immigrants  -- can emerge from the devastation more vibrant and more livable.

To rebuild in this way, the muscle and machinery of the real economy again must be harnessed in the interest of ordinary New Yorkers.  It too, will take an enormous effort.  Before the attack, the Nation and the City were staring a recession in the face.  As the buildings crumbled, so went any hope of a soft landing for Wall Street and a reprieve for New York.  Cleanup costs and tax losses will be staggering.

The key to resuscitating New York’s economy lies in the $20 billion that Congress has appropriated for our recovery.  It is critical to insure that all of this money be used for constructive programs in NYC. The New York Congressional delegation should guard these funds with fierce and public vigilance.  

As a first measure, we must immediately create 100,000 public-sector jobs, at public-sector wages, for any person who lost work or a business as a result of the attack.  This will help to cushion individuals and families, boost public morale, and improve City services and amenities.
 
Second, Giuliani’s successor must enter office with a complete and detailed reconstruction plan, ready for discussion by the City Council and the public.  It should specify how the $20 billion would be spent and leveraged to rebuild structures, services, and the local economy.  If there is delay, the $20 billion surely will disappear.
 
During the tenure of our next mayor, it is essential that the special interests of the rich, powerful and politically connected take second place to the direct needs of the many ordinary people.  In this regard, the $20 billion and the credit it could generate should be used exclusively for public purposes within the public sector.

A bold program of civic reconstruction would address pressing citywide problems and create badly needed, good paying jobs.  In response to the Great Depression, Mayor LaGuardia transformed New York with public works projects of all kinds.

Today, we should build 50,000 units of affordable residential housing a year, for 15 years, to eliminate the housing shortage; construct enough schools to reduce class size to 20 students; build the rail freight tunnel under the harbor, double the capacity of mass transit; and enhance the parks.
 
Our monument to the widespread horror and destruction must be nothing less than rebuilding the City itself.  This is the humane response of a civilized people to the hateful and mad acts, the huge losses, the deep anxiety, and the great sadness. 

 Let us hope that the collapse of the Twin Towers becomes the point of departure for a thoughtful and forthright campaign to make the City more just, egalitarian, and inclusive. We owe this much to the victims, to ourselves, and to the fragile democracy we need to cherish and protect.

Locker is a tenants’ attorney and a member of the Five Borough Institute

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