Locals Rejoice, Hesitantly, Over News of bin Laden's Death

Osama bin Laden is dead.

Hours after President Barack Obama announced that the Al Qaeda leader responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center was killed in Pakistan, locals rejoiced in the news, while still expressing concerns about the news' impact.

“I think it’s a symbolic moment,” said Paula Grant-Berry, a former Park Slope resident whose husband, David S. Berry, 43, 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.”

She called bin Laden’s death “the end of the greatest manhunt in history."

A CIA operation resulted in bin Laden's death during a Sunday raid in northwest Pakistan, Obama said during a press conference Sunday night.

"His demise should be welcome by all who believe in peace and human dignity," Obama said. "On nights like this one, we can say to those families who've lost loved ones to Al Qaeda's terror – justice has been done."

The attack 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 – Berry, 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.

And as the result of the attack, countless more local lives have been lost overseas, fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“I know it’s going to have repercussions, there’s no doubt in my mind,” said Edith Cohen, a Slope resident. “But I think it’s a big accomplishment. I think it will put a lot of people at rest with their losses.”

“They have a long way to go,” she added.

Obama said that the U.S. was in possession of bin Laden's body. But as both local residents and politicians emphasized, the war is far from won.

 “Brooklynites have no tolerance for the kind of hate and terror that Osama Bin Laden thrived on,” said Borough President Marty Markowitz in reaction to the news. “Today, as we celebrate Bin Laden’s physical death let us not forget that we are waging a global war against intolerance. Ten years ago we were united in that fight by our grief and resolve. Today we must remain steadfast in our efforts to stamp out bigotry or fanaticism of any kind.”