He recalled visiting Israel from the United States in the summer of 2001, at the height of the Second Intifada, and being cooped up with his children in his parents’ home because they felt like they couldn’t go out to restaurants or cafes. He returned with his family to New York on September 10, 2001, just a day before the World Trade Center attack. After 9/11, New Yorkers also launched campaigns to help out downtown restaurants and bars, which were struggling to attract customers in the aftermath of the terror attacks and amid concerns about air quality in downtown Manhattan.