Just to preface: This is a reflection of my experiences. I’m not trying to promote any agenda – I simply want an outlet to share my experiences regarding the event that happened on January 31, 2025, in Northeast Philadelphia.
I have lived in the Northeast my entire life – all 21 years of it. My cousins and grandparents all decided to settle down here after immigrating from China and so I would say that a good chunk of my family’s history is based here. I don’t remember it, but my older cousins recount how there used to be a movie theater where the Target is now and I remember how Sears and Pathmark were neighbors.
My cousins have moved further from this little area surrounding Cottman and Bustleton, and only my family and grandma remain.
I think something that not a lot of people who look at the news know is that the Roosevelt Mall didn’t always look like that. They have been remodeling, adding new businesses, and overall making the area more commercial – which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
I remember going to the Sprouts’ opening day and receiving a goodie bag at 7 AM.
When my friend came home from Penn State’s main campus, we caught up at the new Tous Les Jours.
Another friend and I wanted to try the Raisin Cane’s that had just opened only to find out they delayed their opening. We instead went to the 2nd Avenue to shop.
My boyfriend and I are waiting for the Panda Express to open up!
That place holds significance for a majority of people in the area and to just have a plane crash next to it and affect the surrounding neighborhood, too, is so devastating. I know it’s cliche to say this, but compared to Philadelphia, this area of the Northeast is such an unassuming region full of immigrants. Nothing happens here and to be faced with a horrific accident that took lives and harmed many others physically and psychologically is painful.
My brother and I were finishing eating dinner that day – we cooked up some Costco meatballs and some sriracha gyoza. I had my boyfriend’s stream open where he was playing some video games. Then suddenly a dull boom and a mini earthquake.
I look at my brother and he looks back with his eyebrows furrowed. I asked him, “Did you hear that?” and he replied, “Yeah. What was that?”
Immediately I got a little agitated because I had thought that my neighbors drove their car through the fence between our houses and potentially hit our car. I got up and checked out our windows – my brother did the same. We saw no cars nearby and got confused. If it wasn’t that, then what was it?
As my brother goes upstairs to check on the windows, I go outside to check on my mom.
I asked her, “Did you feel that? The little earthquake? I think a bird hit our window. ”
Now mind you, Philadelphia doesn’t get earthquakes. The last one was last year and I was at work. But I remember what it felt like and I know that it felt extremely similar.
My mom looked at me crazy and asked me, “You felt that too? I saw the sky light up red. I don’t know what that was.” She was very nonchalant about it. I suggested, “a firework?” She immediately dismissed my guess, “No, it was not a firework.”
My brother then checked his Citizen’s app and said a plane crashed into our local Macy’s parking lot! WHAT! We were literally at the Kpot not even 2 days prior and my Grandma lives even closer than us to that place.
After I processed it, I got anxious. Another plane crash?! How could a plane just crash like that? And so nearby? I also dryly thought about how that area near Macy’s had been so unfortunate – just a little less than a year ago, the apartment complex behind Macy’s was devastated by a fire that displaced many families.
All I could think about was how lucky I was. I left work unusually early but had I left a little later, I would have been on the 58 (around Cottman and Bustleton) around the time of the crash. But I was also scared. It happened less than a mile away from me – maybe a 3-minute drive. The airport is maybe a 10-minute drive away. The fact that the airplane flew for less than a minute is unthinkable. It could’ve happened right on top of our house or in the actual shopping center. But, at this point in time, all I can say is that my heart goes out to all of those injured or have lost their home in this event. I hope our community can heal from this and I thank all of these first responders.