AGC Working To Help NYC Printers
NEW YORK—The affects felt by Manhattan-area printers, as well as all metro area companies, following the September 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center towers were, to say the least, devastating.
According to Vicki Keenan, vice president of public affairs for the Association of Graphic Communications (AGC), the PIA affiliate representing New York City and northern New Jersey, upwards of 30 area printers have been greatly affected in the aftermath of the attacks. Those most impacted are located on Canal Street, as well as the Hudson/Varick areas, and those based near the foot of the Holland Tunnel. She noted that the AGC hasn't been able to contact a few printers on West Street.
Communication is the biggest problem. Many companies within a close proximity of the World Trade Center area, which has been dubbed ground zero, were not able to return to their buildings until Monday, September 17. Telephone service has, not surprisingly, been spotty, especially with the volume of phone traffic being experienced by those circuits that were functioning.
Improvising
"We've talked to a lot of members over the past few days, but many of them weren't able to even get back into their buildings until Monday," Keenan remarks. "It's been tough for them to get anything done, because they can't get trucks to their building. One printer even used a shopping cart to take work off the press, and walked it six to eight blocks to a delivery truck that he was able to rent."
Unfortunately, and sadly, many clients for area printers are in the financial markets and had offices in buildings that were either destroyed or rendered uninhabitable following the attacks. Some of the businesses there have been able to set up office accommodations elsewhere on a temporary basis, but establishing contact with them has been an uphill challenge for the printers.
Tough Stretch
Prior to September 11, area printers, prepress shops and trade binderies were already experiencing tough times, as layoffs in the advertising and publishing sector touched many of their clients.
According to Keenan, a number of North Jersey printers stepped forward to offer their facilities—presses, trucks and other amenities—for affected printers to use during open shifts. PIA affiliate members in New York state, New England and Philadelphia have also inquired as to how they can help.
For those companies that were impacted by the terrorist attacks, contact the AGC at (212) 279-2100 for questions pertaining to tax, economic, insurance and other various forms of assistance.