Elizabeth Grove

Shocked by the attacks on their city, Americans, and New Yorkers in particular, underwent a sudden and dramatic transformation. People became nicer and more polite to each other. They nodded at strangers and became tolerant on motorways infamous for aggravating commutes. Elizabeth Grove, who lives in Brooklyn Heights, a New York City neighborhood, explains what it was like living in New York after September 11 and how total strangers were cheered when they saw their neighbors were safe after the attacks.

For years I've been answering the question "You live in New York City? Like, right in New York City?" I live in Brooklyn Heights, but this is a distinction meaningful only to those with 100- zip code prefixes, so I would say yes and try to explain. It wasn't what they thought, I would say, it's not a swirling mass of...