Restoring Normalcy to Ground Zero

Damon Gersh, CEO of Maxons Restorations, was on his way into Manhattan for a meeting last Sept. 11 when the city’s bridges and tunnels were suddenly shut. Shocked and horrified, he watched as the World Trade Center towers fell and thought primarily of finding a way to see his family. There was little time to absorb the enormity of what had happened that morning. Maxons, a New York-based disaster cleanup and recovery company, would shortly be called into service in the aftermath of what was, among other things, the largest property disaster in the city’s history. That aftermath retains a “you had to be there” quality for all involved in trying to restore Lower Manhattan to some semblance of normalcy. Property managers interviewed for this article recalled quasi-combat conditions