Racist postcard taped to W.T.C. fence door

By Cathy Jedruczek

On a recent steamy July morning visitors were peeking through the fence surrounding the World Trade Center. Some snapped pictures, others stood motionless- they prayed or meditated while others spoke quietly — in multiple languages — nodding their heads. Nobody however, dared to scrawl any fresh graffiti on the main gate to ground zero at Church St. or mount another postcard. But there was plenty already there.

“God Bless America,” “We’ll always remember,” and “Pray for peace,” are just some of the inscriptions. There are also religious cards taped to the door.

A racist postcard was spotted on that gate on Sunday and was still there on Monday. On Wednesday morning the offensive card was no longer there, although other postcards and graffiti were still there. There was an additional comment — “Racist postcard” — written with a black permanent marker, pointing towards an empty spot that remained. The card pictured a caricature of an African American male being hounded by alligators. The text on the card referred to the man as “Darky.”

“Port Authority rules for the World Trade Center prohibit anything to be attached to fence structures and other property,” explained Steve Coleman, Port Authority spokesperson. He indicated that Port Authority employees “periodically” walk around the ground zero and remove items that are fixed on the fence or door. Coleman said that Port Authority is not lenient towards people doing any type of graffiti and said, “if we see somebody doing it they’ll be treated accordingly by the police.”

Coleman did not know of the “Racist card” and he did not have information as to who removed that card.

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