This is how I remember New York City during the first summer after the September 11 attacks. Workers were removing the last debris from the collapsed Twin Towers. I was nineteen and had just moved to Manhattan from my family's small farm on Long Island. The city felt vast and fragile at the same time.
 
 
 
I photographed that summer because I wanted to show New York City healing, in celebration and unity, and with some scars. I travelled through all five boroughs with my camera. When someone met my eyes, I asked whether I could make their portrait. At first, I expected people to react cautiously. I was a stranger. The city was recovering from an event that had shaken its sense of safety. Yet most people said yes and looked directly into my lens. I am grateful that they trusted me. — Lucas Foglia