This new upscale eatery is a dream come true of the surviving staff of the renowned Windows on the World, the restaurant that once commanded a view of all New York before it was destroyed on 9/11. And Ms. Lindor, a single mother who works as a cleaner here just as she did at Windows, is filled with emotions as tender and complex as the flavors on the plates she helps clear away and wash. That's in part because she and the other 50 or so staff also own this elegant place.
From the grief and fear that rose with the smoke from the rubble of the World Trade Center, the surviving Windows workers decided to build a better future. Seventy-three of their co-workers were killed. And the 350 that survived all lost their secure, good-paying union jobs. With the economy also in disarray, more than half were still unemployed more than a year after the attacks. Many found solace, and one another, at the Restaurant Opportunity Center (ROC-NY), which was set up by a local union and foundations to help unemployed restaurant workers in the aftermath of the attacks.
From 9/11 ruins, a restaurant's new spirits
The Christian Science Monitor
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