Identification Card, Recovered
- Description
- Recovered World Trade Center identification card issued to Nancy Seliga at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The two red stripes on the card indicate that in an emergency, the card holder had unlimited access to the buildings. "OS" stands for specific access qualities: "O" for "off-hours" and "S" for "subgrade," meaning access to anything below the lobby. The card appears undamaged but is enclosed in a sealed evidence bag.
- Historical Notes
- Nancy Seliga, a Port Authority of New York and New Jersey employee, was Building Manager for the North Tower. She was responsible for a range of tenant services, from renovations to emergencies. After 9/11 she served as a liaison to the PAPD in its evidence recovery work at Ground Zero and the Fresh Kills Landfill.
Curator's Comment
Nancy Seliga’s career at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey spanned the life cycle of the World Trade Center. She was hired as a junior stenographer shortly after completing high school and began working in the towers while the World Trade Center was still under construction.
On September 11, 2001, Seliga was building manager for the North Tower. By then she had become highly knowledgeable about the operations and daily life in the Twin Towers, from the subterranean basement levels to the transmission tower atop the North Tower. Preparing for a staff meeting that morning, Seliga recognized the need to act as soon as she felt the jolt of hijacked Flight 11 strike the building and saw broken glass outside the windows. She put on a vest identifying herself as a person of authority, picked up her keys and walkie-talkie, and reported to the fire command desk, ready to assist with the evacuation. Eventually ordered to exit the building, she set up a command center in 3 World Trade Center, planning to collect and disseminate information, guided by her experience in supporting building occupants following the February 26, 1993, bombing.
Certain that many friends and colleagues had been killed, Seliga nonetheless continued working throughout the day from a Port Authority facility in Jersey City. A file copy of her World Trade Center identification card was found among the rubble and returned to her by the Port Authority Police Department, along with other items that she later donated to the museum.
On September 11, 2001, Seliga was building manager for the North Tower. By then she had become highly knowledgeable about the operations and daily life in the Twin Towers, from the subterranean basement levels to the transmission tower atop the North Tower. Preparing for a staff meeting that morning, Seliga recognized the need to act as soon as she felt the jolt of hijacked Flight 11 strike the building and saw broken glass outside the windows. She put on a vest identifying herself as a person of authority, picked up her keys and walkie-talkie, and reported to the fire command desk, ready to assist with the evacuation. Eventually ordered to exit the building, she set up a command center in 3 World Trade Center, planning to collect and disseminate information, guided by her experience in supporting building occupants following the February 26, 1993, bombing.
Certain that many friends and colleagues had been killed, Seliga nonetheless continued working throughout the day from a Port Authority facility in Jersey City. A file copy of her World Trade Center identification card was found among the rubble and returned to her by the Port Authority Police Department, along with other items that she later donated to the museum.
- Accession Number: C.2009.181.1
- Dimensions: 2.125 in X 3.375 in
- Dimensions (Metric): 5.3975 cm X 8.5725 cm
- Source: Nancy Seliga
- Credit Line: Gift of Nancy D. Seliga, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
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