Former home of 9/11 terrorists comes down

HOLLYWOOD, FL - A Hollywood apartment building that was the home to two terrorist pilots was reduced to splintered wood, shattered glass and collapsed walls Friday morning severing one local connection to the Sept.11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

A 40,000 pound track hoe with a massive bucket tore into the two-story building at 1818 Jackson St. to make way for a parking lot and pool for a new apartment complex next door.

The building was the home briefly to Mohamed Atta and Marwan al-Shehhiin the summer of 2001.

A handful of neighbors stood in the street out front taking photos and lauding the destruction of the building they said was a neighborhood nuisance.

They also were aware of the historical significance of the structure and were glad to see it destroyed.

"It's a way of getting back," said Noreen Buchbinder, owner of a nearby pizzeria.

Landlord Bryan Grosman looked on as the building started coming down about 10 a.m.

"It was just a bonus," he said as the excavators bucket dug into the building's walls. "I'm happy to be the person that's getting rid of this blemish."

Darren Fradin, vice president of the BG Group, the Boca Raton demolition company doing the job, said it could be four to five days before all the rubble is removed from the lot with most of the debris likely to be recycled.

Reported by: Robert Nolin, Sun Sentinel

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