At Ground Zero, Brooklynites Show Solidarity

There is not a New York neighborhood that survived unscathed from the events surrounding Sept. 11, 2001.

This week has been a tumultuous one for Americans, and especially New Yorkers – the death of Osama bin Laden brought unexpected closure for many, and for others brought bad memories back to the surface.

“It is an important event in time to mark, I think,” said Erin Seiler, 39, a Brooklyn Heights resident who travelled to Ground Zero on Thursday afternoon to show solidarity for her city, and hopefully catch a glimpse of President Barack Obama, on his way to lay a wreath on the World Trade Center site as a gesture of shared mourning.

“I’m happy for people that feel like this can give them some closure from the events of 9/11,” she said.

“I guess I feel that if we had left Afghanistan without bin Laden, that would have felt not quite completed,” said Bill Brennan, a Park Slope resident whose son, Julian Brennan, died fighting in Afghanistan. “It’s not an A equals B kind of equations. But I’m happy that Osama was caught. It did feel personal to me.”

The attacks on the World Trade Center killed 2,977 people in New York, including 343 New York City firefighters, 23 police officers and 37 Port Authority officers.

Many neighbors were lost in the attacks – David S. Berry, 43, Edward Lichtschein, 35, David W. Nelson, 50, and Dave Fontana, 38, a firefighter with Squad 1 on Union Street, were among the countless, still unforgotten locals who perished in the World Trade Center attacks.

“I think it’s a symbolic moment,” said Paula Grant-Berry, a former Park Slope resident, the morning after the news of bin Laden’s death was announced.  Her husband, David S. Berry, died when the second tower collapsed. Grant-Berry has been instrumental in planning the WTC memorial and served on the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation Families Advisory Council.

“To me, it’s not really closure, but it’s punctuating a historic event. Closure is a weighted word. The Al Qaeda still exists. And we could be fanning the flames.”

At Ground Zero, the wreathe-laying was a solemn affair. Obama did not make any formal remarks, but shook hands and traded words with members of the honor guard, family members of victims, and local politicians.

“I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart on behalf of the American people for the sacrifices that you make every single day, and I just want to let you know that you’re always going to have a president and an administration that’s always going to have your back the way you’ve gotten the backs of the people of New York over these last many years,” Obama said earlier in the day during his brief visit.

"Obviously, we can’t bring back our friends that were lost. I know each and every one of you have grieved for them, but also tried to deal with their families and children, trying to give them comfort and support.”

New York City residents lined the streets, packed up against barricades at the intersection of Barclay and Church streets north of the World Trade Center site. Many Brooklynites were out, both to honor the dead and sneak a peak at the president.

Carroll Gardens resident Lindsey Oates got a close-up view of him through an open window while driving by on Barclay Street on his way to Ground Zero.

"He had his head out the window and waved," she said. "It was really exciting stuff. I just wished I could have grabbed a picture but it happened so fast."

The death of Osama bin Laden though, has not exactly brought closure to some of those who were affected most profoundly by Sept. 11.

Matthew Hampton and Paul Leonard contributed to this report.