Lower
Manhattan residents
will feel they're
"living in a war
zone" - again - if
the 9/11 terror
trials are held
there, protesters
said Friday.
As debate continues
over where to try
alleged terror
mastermind Khalid
Shaikh Mohammed,
neighbors of the
federal courthouse
urged the Obama
administration to
take the trial - and
the potential risk
and heavy security
it would entail -
somewhere else.
The Justice
Department is
looking at other
options because New
York officials
complained
strenuously about
the disruption and
security costs.
Some residents said
having the trial
here would punish
those who chose not
to flee New York
after the 2001
attacks.
Jeanie Chin of the
Civic Center
Residents Coalition
said the area is
already coping with
added security and
surveillance since
the attacks.
"[We] suffered the
street shutdowns,
lockdowns, rerouting
of traffic,
bomb-sniffing dogs
on our corner," Chin
said. "The true cost
of the terror trials
is going to be
[placed] on the
backs of the people
who live and work in
lower Manhattan."
After 9/11, "I never
felt so scared in my
life," said Toby
Turkel, a 30-year
resident who lives
in the Chatham
Towers highrise near
the courthouse. "We
lived through it. We
breathed it. We
tasted it. ... To do
this just
exacerbates the
situation."
Marc Ameruso of
Community Board 1, a
Naval Reservist who
volunteered at the
twin towers site,
questioned what's
taking so long to
place the trial.
"It's just amateur
hour at the White
House," he said.
"Just make a
decision. Tell us
it's not going to be
in New York [and]
we'll all be happy."
ckatz@nydailynews.com
