From 1999 to 2001 Chivers covered crime and law enforcement in New York City for '' The New York Times '' , working out of a three-person bureau co-located inside New York Police Department Headquarters in Lower Manhattan . He was there on the morning of the September 11 attacks , and discreetly reported from Ground Zero for the '' Times '' for the next twelve days , parlaying his Marine identity and volunteering in order to remain after most of the press was cleared to facilitate rescue , recovery , and clean-up efforts . Chivers ' first publication in '' Esquire '' magazine was a September , 2002 retelling of the early days at Ground Zero
September 11 attacks
September 11 attacks
C. J. Chivers