Sekou Siby was supposed to be working the morning shift on September 11, 2001.
asserted
Siby → suppose → September
Instead, he swapped with a young co-worker from Ecuador, taking the afternoon slot.
asserted
he → swap → slot
The decision left him one of the survivors of Windows on the World, the World Trade Center’s legendary top-floor restaurant.
asserted
decision → leave → World
Now, as the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks approaches, the story of the venue and its staff is being retold through the eyes of the workers who made it run.
asserted
it → approach → workers
Directed by Oscar nominees Betsy West and Julie Cohen, the new documentary short “Top of the World”, airing Monday night on CNN, offers an intimate look at the fine-dining institution that operated for 25 years, 1,300 feet above Manhattan.
asserted
that → direct → Manhattan
Getting a job at Windows on the World, the country’s highest-grossing restaurant packed with celebrities, tourists and New York power brokers, was seen as a coup among those recently arrived in the United States.
asserted
Getting → get → States
When American Airlines Flight 11 struck the North Tower between floors 93 and 99, all escape routes below the restaurant were instantly severed.
asserted
routes → strike → restaurant
Of the nearly 3,000 lives lost across the country that day, all 170 people at the restaurant died - 79 employees and 91 guests.
asserted
people → lose → restaurant
For the surviving staff, the legacy of Windows on the World rests not on how it ended but on the workplace culture they created for 25 years before that tragic day.
asserted
they → survive → day
Conceived by renowned restaurateur Joe Baum to help revitalize a financially struggling New York in 1976, Windows on the World quickly became a cultural landmark.
asserted
Windows → conceive → World
Occupying the 106th and 107th floors of the North Tower, the restaurant functioned as a quarter-mile-high theater, brought to life through design work by architect Warren Platner and Milton Glaser, the revered graphic designer behind the “I Love New York” logo.
asserted
I → occupy → logo
Anchored by a 107th-floor bar, a glass-enclosed “Cellar in the Sky” and a menu refined by head chef Michael Lomonaco, the venue generated more revenue than any standalone restaurant in the nation.
asserted
venue → anchor → nation
“Everybody knew what Windows on the World was, right there at the top of the World Trade Center,” Lomonaco says, during the CNN Films and TIME Studios short film.
asserted
Lomonaco → know → film
“We were the highest-grossing restaurant in America.
asserted
We → gross → America
The workers came from more than 60 countries — Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, Ghana and Bangladesh, to name a few.
asserted
workers → come → few
The restaurant’s 450 employees built a tight-knit community.
asserted
employees → build → community
They picked up phrases in new languages, joined for soccer matches on days off and explained cultural traditions to one another — like why Muslim staff fasted during Ramadan.
asserted
staff → pick → Ramadan
“We're all children of immigrants, whether it’s this century or two centuries ago,” Lomonaco says.
asserted
Lomonaco → ’ → immigrants
“The immigrants who worked at Windows, I mean, they came from all over the world-and they found a job in the most glamorous, glorious place in New York City.”
asserted
they → work → City
Siby came to the United States from the Ivory Coast in 1996 when he was 31 years old.
asserted
he → come → 1996
“I thought, America is really the country of freedom,” Siby recalls in the film.
asserted
Siby → think → film
He got his start through his roommate, Abdoul Karim Troare, a fellow West African immigrant who was a banquet cook at Windows on the World.
asserted
who → get → World
Troare helped him land a job as a prep cook, where Siby spent his early days peeling carrots, potatoes and, at times, 200 pounds of onions, until his eyes burned.
asserted
eyes → help → onions
On the floor, hostess Nathalie Tolentino saw life at the restaurant from a different angle.
asserted
Tolentino → see → angle
After studying hotel management in Peru and moving to New York with her family to escape political violence, she landed a job as a hostess at Windows on the World.
asserted
she → study → World
Her exceptional work ethic soon led to an offer from ownership for a management role.
asserted
ethic → lead → role
The film opens on archival home video of Tolentino giving her grandmother a tour, in Spanish, through the dining space, showing off the floor-to-ceiling views the restaurant offered.
asserted
restaurant → open → views
“For me, coming from Peru, it was just learning from the best,” Tolentino says in the film.
asserted
Tolentino → come → film
“Living in Lima was chaos, especially during the worst era of terrorism in Peru.”
asserted
Living → live → Peru
On the morning of September 11, 2001, New York City shone beneath bright, clear skies.
asserted
City → shine → skies
At Windows on the World, 79 staff members and 91 guests were on the 106th and 107th floors, preparing for breakfast service and a financial technology conference hosted by the London-based Risk Waters Group.
asserted
members → prepare → Group
Moises Rivas, a 29-year-old cook and immigrant from Ecuador, had asked Siby to cover his Sunday shift so he could perform with his band on Saturday night without having to wake up for a 5 a.m. call.
uncertain
he → ask → call
In return, Rivas offered to work Siby’s Tuesday morning slot.
asserted
Rivas → offer → slot
Siby agreed.
asserted
Siby → agree → ?
Rivas, a husband and father of two young children, reported to work in his place that morning.
asserted
Rivas → report → place
Lomonaco also survived due to a chance delay on the lower level before heading up to the restaurant.
asserted
Lomonaco → survive → restaurant
“I parked my car in the garage,” Lomonaco says.
asserted
Lomonaco → park → garage
I could have easily gone up to my office, but instead I
uncertain
I → go → office
went in to the eyeglass shop to get my glasses adjusted.
asserted
glasses → go → shop
I was sitting in the office.
asserted
I → sit → office
…and 18 more, not listed.
The Aporia
