So much of Lower Manhattan has transformed since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks: 1 World Trade Center has risen again to help fill a glaring gap in New York City’s skyline. Closer to earth, thousands each day pass through the Oculus, the photogenic transit hub and shopping mall that is adjacent to a site of the attacks.
But soon, commuters and tourists who buy a MetroCard may be dealt a vivid and human reminder of a moment immediately after Sept. 11, when such a metamorphosis seemed almost unimaginable.
A series of limited-edition MetroCards will feature photographs from ground zero in the weeks after the World Trade Center towers collapsed, showing firefighters, police officers and aid workers from around the country who trudged through rubble and ash to search for victims.
The MetroCards, which will be available starting on Wednesday, are meant to recognize the people still living through the trauma of the attacks, including the responders who wrestle with the physical and psychological wreckage that stemmed from their experiences.