Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Video: "Freedom Tower" Construction Workers Having Fun High Above Manhattan
By
John Del Signore
Published Sep 11, 2012
Modified Sep 11, 2012
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
John Del Signore
Published Sep 11, 2012
Modified Sep 11, 2012
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
One World Trade Center is still called the "Freedom Tower" in some circles, and that includes the hard hats responsible for raising it up into the NYC skyline. And judging by a couple of videos that recently surfaced on YouTube, these guys know how to have a good time while doing it. In this first video, entitled simply, "NYC Freedom Tower Fun at Work," a hard hat named Woody "breaks it down" for coworker's cell phone camera. Be sure to watch all the way to the end for a vertiginous peek down the side of the skyscraper:
In this second video, the ironworker behind the cell phone introduces his coworkers and delivers a boisterous narration as workers put a panel in place. Hey, somebody has to do the grunt work of documenting this job for future generations! Breakdancing Woody has a cameo, and we also meet the "Stud Fallon (sp?) straight from Jamaica, THE RUDE BOY, the Womb Stretcher!" It's like the guy just got his first cell phone camera and can't bear to put it down. And we're all the richer for it:
"That's IT, that's how that gets done," he explains once the window panel is in place. "See how easy it is when you got one hand on a camera?" Your move, Sinatra-singing sandhog.
Tagged
1 world trade center
1 WTC
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Man killed in police-involved shooting in Moonachie, NJ
A New Jersey state trooper was involved in the incident Wednesday, according to the New Jersey attorney general's office.
By
Kaya Laterman
Published Oct 28, 2026 at 9:06 p.m. ET
Queens man took girlfriend’s body to beach in a wagon, where it remained for 5 days
Seraphina Pereira was found in a shallow grave at Rockaway Community Park. Rogelio Lozano-Garita pleaded not guilty to murder on Wednesday.
By
Charles Lane
News
Queens man took girlfriend’s body to beach in a wagon, where it remained for 5 days
Seraphina Pereira was found in a shallow grave at Rockaway Community Park. Rogelio Lozano-Garita pleaded not guilty to murder on Wednesday.
By
Charles Lane
Mamdani extends NYC racial equity leader's term after Council pushes back on replacement
By
Elizabeth Kim
Woman charged with federal hate crimes after allegedly stabbing 2 Jewish men in NYC
By
Giulia Heyward
Ex-NYPD sergeant sentenced to 4-12 years in deadly drunken Taconic crash
By
Charles Lane
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .