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Crime & Safety

Bloomfield Photographer Exhibits 9/11 Photos

Veronica Yankowski, one of many photojournalists who went to the World Trade Center, will have a photo exhibit at the Rutherford Public Library

Bloomfield photojournalist Veronica Yankowski considers the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks the most life-changing assignment of her career.

Yankowski, then a staff photographer for Greater Media Newspapers in Freehold, was driving down to New Brunswick that morning to cover a firefighter assignment. She had a radio on and heard frantic phone calls from the World Trade Center.

Her first instinct as a journalist was to go to the story and record it. Yankowski said recently she drove through gridlocked highways and roads and ended up in an outdoor commuter parking lot by the Goethals Bridge in Elizabeth. The first tower had already fallen and she took pictures of the smoke and the second tower as it collapsed as well.

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“What was going through my mind was a bunch of expletives,” Yankowski said.. “The only thought I had was I got the last second of all these peoples’ lives… These families lost their loved-ones and that was pretty heart-wrenching.”

Nine days later she traveled to Ground Zero, where Yankowski said she was fortunate two New Jersey-based Port Authority officers let her travel with them through the rubble.

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10-anniversary exhibit
The stark images Yankowski captured with her camera will be on display this month at the Rutherford Public Library, 150 Park Ave., as part of a tenth-anniversary memorial exhibit. The opening reception will take place noon to 4 p.m. Sept. 10 and the exhibit will run until the end of the month.

The photographs will be accompanied by a memory book for visitors to write down their remembrances and how they were affected by the attacks, said Rhoda Portugal, the reference librarian. There will also be a display of Sept. 11-related magazines and newspapers loaned by resident Terry Malone.

Judah Hamer, the Rutherford public library director, said the exhibit is intended to be a community forum for residents to come together, express their thoughts on the event and share the meaning it has for them.

Portugal said she thought Yankowski’s photographs provide an incredible first-hand look at what happened at the World Trade Center.

“You never stop being amazed and awed. Fortunately she went in and took those pictures in the aftermath, and, boy, they just get you,” Portugal said. “You picture that day and remember what happened, and she has the evidence right there.”

Yankowski, 37, grew up in Bloomfield and has worked as a professional photographer for 16 years.

She first became interested in photography while as a student at Mount Saint Dominic Academy in Caldwell, then later at Rider University. Her first journalism project was covering the Million Man March in Washington D.C., where she photographed civil rights activist Rosa Parks, among other people.

Yankowski said she considered Sept. 11 was her most important work.

“You’re recording something that will go down for generations and generations. I knew the significance when I went down there…. I know I’m going to document this and my future children will see it. It changed me - it’s not just a regular job. It’s something important.”

 Yankowski said she went down to visit the World Trade Center on Sept. 20, 2001, her day off.

It was raining, and Yankowski said she waited for hours for a press pass just outside the perimeter, near the borough of Manhattan Community College.

Yankowski said she was lucky one Port Authority officer allowed her to follow two other officers – who she only knew as Eddie and Diane – as they visited the site.

“The devastation in my brain was much more than what the TV cameras can show,” she said. “It was overwhelming.”

Donning a hard-hat, Yankowski said she spent about an hour with the two officers walking around the rubble. She saw remains of the buildings, burnt-out storefronts and dozens of recovery workers, many of whom were exhausted.

She was struck by how young some of the medics and firefighters were, and they constantly asked her why she was there.

“All I could say is thank you, thank you for your efforts,” Yankowski said.

Her pictures ran in several weeklies owned by Greater Media Newspapers; one of which won a third-place feature photography award from the New Jersey Press Association.

Hopes photos give understanding what happened
Over the subsequent years, her photographs have been shown in several exhibits at The Strand Theater in Lakewood, the Monmouth Beach Cultural Center, McEwan’s Coffeehouse in Keyport, Brookdale Community College, the North Brunswick Public Library and Via 45 restaurant in Red Bank.

The Rutherford public library show will be the first time her pictures will be on display locally.

Yankowski’s life has changed in the past 10 years. She’s had a daughter and started her own business.

But Yankowski said Sept. 11 will always be a somber day for her and she doesn’t want the events to be forgotten.

She hopes the exhibit will help the public – especially younger children, like her daughter - get a better understanding of what happened at the World Trade Center.

“A lot of people’s lives are different because of it,” Yankowski said. “And if I can help keep their memories alive, then I’m proud of that.”

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