Going back to the bridge
I went back to the Manhattan Bridge.
For those of you who don’t know the full story, I wrote a five part series about what happened back in June.
I’d been wanting to do it for a few weeks. It wasn’t about facing anything. It was more that I needed to close the chapter, and this was the way to do it.
The trip up
Same routine as always. Amtrak from Philly; I arrived at Penn Station a little after 8:30 AM. I headed into the city to have lunch with my uncle, like I usually do.
The plan was to walk down through Washington Square, through Chinatown, and over to the bridge, then to Kisa on Allen Street for lunch. As I got closer to the bridge, I noticed I was feeling something. A little nervous, a little excited, both at once. Not in a bad way. Just a mix I hadn’t expected.
Back at the bridge
I got to the bridge entrance around 10 AM. I gave myself enough time to walk the site and still make it to Kisa on Allen Street afterward. I wasn’t planning to cross all the way into Brooklyn to reach the spot and see it again.
The Manhattan Bridge Aug 21, 2026
This time, it was a sunny morning. Last time it was overcast and gloomy. There were a lot more people around than I remembered. Runners, a few families, and a handful of photographers shooting the bridge itself, or lining up the Brooklyn Bridge in the distance, or getting that shot through the chain link fence looking toward Chinatown, the one you see all over Instagram.
I got to the first archway, close to where it happened. The first thing I did was look for bloodstains. I knew it had rained plenty over the last two months, so I knew there wouldn’t be anything left. But I looked anyway. Something about it felt like standing at a crime scene. I spent a couple of minutes just looking, didn’t find anything, and started walking toward the Manhattan side.
The first archway. Aug 21, 2026
The spot where it happened. Photographed on this visit, not the day of. Aug 21, 2026
I stopped around where I sat down that morning and got help. I couldn’t place the exact spot, but it was close, right above the FDR. Walking up to it, I found myself hoping I’d run into the two people who helped me that day. I hoped I’d see them and thank them in person. I didn’t.
I kept walking toward Manhattan and stopped where the FDNY EMTs treated me. Then I stopped at the fence where the attacker was detained and looked through it for a while. I tried to find a way around, actually to stand where he’d been, but couldn’t find a way in. On my way out, I saw an NYPD van from the 5th Precinct. Those are the officers who caught him that morning.
Why I went
I’d wanted to do this for a few weeks, and I finally did. I think I wanted some closure, something I needed to do to put the chapter down.
Would I go back again, and actually cross the bridge into Brooklyn with a camera? Absolutely.
Lunch with my uncle
Kisa was excellent, better than I expected. It’s a Korean diner on the corner of Allen and Houston, styled after the old diner for taxi drivers in Korea, simple, old school dishes. I had Korean grilled beef and really enjoyed it.
The corner near Kisa, where I had lunch with my uncle after.
Spent the rest of the afternoon with my uncle. Talked, laughed, caught up on what’s next for both of us. I always love visiting New York City. It never gets old. There’s always something new to find.
