This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/15/nyregion/day-after-paris-attacks-familiar-fear-grips-a-wary-new-york.html
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Day After Paris Attacks, Familiar Fear Grips a Wary New York | Day After Paris Attacks, Familiar Fear Grips a Wary New York |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| They paused outside concert halls and in the middle of Broadway shows, on subways and buses carrying people into some of the country’s most crowded areas, reckoning with how the spasm of terror that struck Paris on Friday, seemingly at random, might pierce American lives, too. | They paused outside concert halls and in the middle of Broadway shows, on subways and buses carrying people into some of the country’s most crowded areas, reckoning with how the spasm of terror that struck Paris on Friday, seemingly at random, might pierce American lives, too. |
| Teenagers’ cellphones blinked with warnings texted from parents to stay out of big crowds and heed feelings of foreboding. Families huddled in their kitchens over whether a Saturday outing still made sense. A young woman from South Carolina in a Manhattan hotel prayed over breakfast for scores of victims who, she said, were uncomfortably like her: concertgoers, diners at fashionable restaurants, soccer fans. | Teenagers’ cellphones blinked with warnings texted from parents to stay out of big crowds and heed feelings of foreboding. Families huddled in their kitchens over whether a Saturday outing still made sense. A young woman from South Carolina in a Manhattan hotel prayed over breakfast for scores of victims who, she said, were uncomfortably like her: concertgoers, diners at fashionable restaurants, soccer fans. |
| Almost all of them forged on, but many felt less than safe, shaken by a sense that extremists had opened a new front in their assault on the most banal pleasures of modern city life. It was no longer enough to steer clear of the symbols of global finance and free expression that had been struck down earlier this century, they said. Danger was now lurking in their routines, stalking all their favorite urban diversions. | Almost all of them forged on, but many felt less than safe, shaken by a sense that extremists had opened a new front in their assault on the most banal pleasures of modern city life. It was no longer enough to steer clear of the symbols of global finance and free expression that had been struck down earlier this century, they said. Danger was now lurking in their routines, stalking all their favorite urban diversions. |
| “I couldn’t take the subway home last night because I felt like, ‘What if?’ ” said Aba Obieshi, 19, a music student in New York. “It’s impossible to tell where something might be happening. There’s no planning for something like that.” | “I couldn’t take the subway home last night because I felt like, ‘What if?’ ” said Aba Obieshi, 19, a music student in New York. “It’s impossible to tell where something might be happening. There’s no planning for something like that.” |
| People took comfort in their unremarkable surroundings, until they realized they could not. Hyden Chaim, a musician and writer, had seen a band called Frog Eyes at a music venue called Baby’s All Right in Williamsburg on Friday night. | |
| “I thought, what’s the likelihood of getting bombed at such an obscure band’s show?” Mr. Chaim, 28, said. “But I’m sure the people in Paris were thinking the same way.” | “I thought, what’s the likelihood of getting bombed at such an obscure band’s show?” Mr. Chaim, 28, said. “But I’m sure the people in Paris were thinking the same way.” |
| Law enforcement agencies across the United States responded by going on heightened alert, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation planned to increase its surveillance of Americans under investigation for apparent ties to the Islamic State, which is also known as ISIS, according to senior American officials. The N.F.L. and N.B.A. said they would bolster security for a packed schedule of weekend games. | Law enforcement agencies across the United States responded by going on heightened alert, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation planned to increase its surveillance of Americans under investigation for apparent ties to the Islamic State, which is also known as ISIS, according to senior American officials. The N.F.L. and N.B.A. said they would bolster security for a packed schedule of weekend games. |
| But the show of helmeted, heavily armed officers patrolling major gathering points did not quiet a sense that cities — from their sporting venues to movie theaters and bars — had become scarier since the attacks of Friday night. Simply being out in the open had become a risk, they said, a realization that rattled some people at inopportune times. | But the show of helmeted, heavily armed officers patrolling major gathering points did not quiet a sense that cities — from their sporting venues to movie theaters and bars — had become scarier since the attacks of Friday night. Simply being out in the open had become a risk, they said, a realization that rattled some people at inopportune times. |
| People’s faces in the cast and crew of the Broadway show “Aladdin” went pale at the sound of a boom when someone offstage accidentally dropped a prop on Friday night, said Khori Petinaud, 28, an actress in the show. At another point, there was a similar reaction when the theater’s house lights went up unexpectedly, a possible sign of an emergency, though it turned out to be an accident. Performers had run through the New Amsterdam Theater’s emergency exit plans in their heads as they waited backstage before showtime. | People’s faces in the cast and crew of the Broadway show “Aladdin” went pale at the sound of a boom when someone offstage accidentally dropped a prop on Friday night, said Khori Petinaud, 28, an actress in the show. At another point, there was a similar reaction when the theater’s house lights went up unexpectedly, a possible sign of an emergency, though it turned out to be an accident. Performers had run through the New Amsterdam Theater’s emergency exit plans in their heads as they waited backstage before showtime. |
| “All of us were just a little more on edge,” Ms. Petinaud said. “It’s a vulnerable position, being onstage in front of 1,800 people, not knowing if there’s one person who wishes someone harm.” | “All of us were just a little more on edge,” Ms. Petinaud said. “It’s a vulnerable position, being onstage in front of 1,800 people, not knowing if there’s one person who wishes someone harm.” |
| Some attractions, like the Central Park Zoo, reported the usual number of visitors on Saturday; others seemed to have fewer guests. An advertiser for tour buses in Times Square who is from Sierra Leone and gave his name only as Bah said he had sold only one ticket on Saturday morning, compared with the usual 15. | Some attractions, like the Central Park Zoo, reported the usual number of visitors on Saturday; others seemed to have fewer guests. An advertiser for tour buses in Times Square who is from Sierra Leone and gave his name only as Bah said he had sold only one ticket on Saturday morning, compared with the usual 15. |
| Familiar figures in the city’s major arteries commented on a changed mood. A man dressed in a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles costume in Times Square said he could see it in people’s faces. “It’s a little more solemn today,” he said. “It seems a little quiet.” | Familiar figures in the city’s major arteries commented on a changed mood. A man dressed in a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles costume in Times Square said he could see it in people’s faces. “It’s a little more solemn today,” he said. “It seems a little quiet.” |
| But many said they would press on, speaking for the second time this year of not wanting to let terrorists in France think they could dislodge daily routines here. | But many said they would press on, speaking for the second time this year of not wanting to let terrorists in France think they could dislodge daily routines here. |
| July Bocabeille, a finance manager for a cosmetic company in New York who was born in Lyon, France, visited the National September 11 Memorial in Lower Manhattan on Saturday morning. She said she now felt about Paris like she felt aboutthe former site of the World Trade Center. | |
| She had finally reached her aunt on Friday night after some frantic phone calls, and her aunt pleaded with Ms. Bocabeille to do in New York what Parisians cannot — go out. | |
| “She said the streets are all closed down, everyone is locked in, everyone is afraid,” Ms. Bocabeille said. “She said we need to go out, because that’s what they want, for us to be afraid. So we are here today.” | “She said the streets are all closed down, everyone is locked in, everyone is afraid,” Ms. Bocabeille said. “She said we need to go out, because that’s what they want, for us to be afraid. So we are here today.” |
| Nearby at the memorial, Joe Lynn, 38, said he could see no practical way to protect himself from a possible attack, given the arbitrary nature of the carnage in Paris. He resolved to appreciate the small moments in his life more. | Nearby at the memorial, Joe Lynn, 38, said he could see no practical way to protect himself from a possible attack, given the arbitrary nature of the carnage in Paris. He resolved to appreciate the small moments in his life more. |
| “It feels like there are some people who just don’t like modern life and reject modernity,” he said. | “It feels like there are some people who just don’t like modern life and reject modernity,” he said. |
| The F.B.I. is often flooded with tips and reports of suspicious behavior in the aftermath of large-scale attacks like the ones in Paris. To ensure that those leads are checked, the F.B.I. will increase the number of analysts and agents working round the clock at its field offices across the country. “It will be a 24-7 operation so we are immediately responding to everything coming in,” one senior American official said. | The F.B.I. is often flooded with tips and reports of suspicious behavior in the aftermath of large-scale attacks like the ones in Paris. To ensure that those leads are checked, the F.B.I. will increase the number of analysts and agents working round the clock at its field offices across the country. “It will be a 24-7 operation so we are immediately responding to everything coming in,” one senior American official said. |
| American counterterrorism officials said there was no credible intelligence that ISIS or any other group was plotting an attack inside the United States. But they said they were concerned that ISIS sympathizers might try and launch copycat-style attacks in the coming days. | American counterterrorism officials said there was no credible intelligence that ISIS or any other group was plotting an attack inside the United States. But they said they were concerned that ISIS sympathizers might try and launch copycat-style attacks in the coming days. |
| In Washington, a few more Secret Service officers than usual patrolled outside the White House, pushing back crowds. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York directed several state agencies to be on heightened alert, and additional officers were dispatched to crowded areas as a precaution. | In Washington, a few more Secret Service officers than usual patrolled outside the White House, pushing back crowds. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York directed several state agencies to be on heightened alert, and additional officers were dispatched to crowded areas as a precaution. |
| The N.B.A.’s chief security officer, Jerome Pickett, sent out a memo to teams on Saturday, reminding them to increase their security and contact local law enforcement for additional manpower. “The Paris attacks were focused on highly populated public gatherings with little or no security presence,” Mr. Pickett said in the memo. He added: “It is believed that the soccer stadium was targeted due to the live media exposure that would result.” | The N.B.A.’s chief security officer, Jerome Pickett, sent out a memo to teams on Saturday, reminding them to increase their security and contact local law enforcement for additional manpower. “The Paris attacks were focused on highly populated public gatherings with little or no security presence,” Mr. Pickett said in the memo. He added: “It is believed that the soccer stadium was targeted due to the live media exposure that would result.” |
| Mr. Pickett said that the N.B.A. was in “constant contact” with the F.B.I., Department of Homeland Security and the head of security at the other major sports leagues about “developing intelligence,” though he did not say what type of intelligence. | Mr. Pickett said that the N.B.A. was in “constant contact” with the F.B.I., Department of Homeland Security and the head of security at the other major sports leagues about “developing intelligence,” though he did not say what type of intelligence. |
| The dawn of holiday-themed shows across New York City became fraught with fears. Sandy Brisson, 61, was heading to the Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall on a chartered bus from Vermont on Saturday when she turned to her friend while they were inside the Lincoln Tunnel. | The dawn of holiday-themed shows across New York City became fraught with fears. Sandy Brisson, 61, was heading to the Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall on a chartered bus from Vermont on Saturday when she turned to her friend while they were inside the Lincoln Tunnel. |
| “Oh, this would sure be a good place for terrorists to attack the city,” she recalled saying. But as they huddled inside the Toys ‘R’ Us in Times Square, avoiding a chilly, wind-whipped morning, her lifelong friend, Marion Sullivan, 61, added, “It entered our minds, but it didn’t stop us.” | “Oh, this would sure be a good place for terrorists to attack the city,” she recalled saying. But as they huddled inside the Toys ‘R’ Us in Times Square, avoiding a chilly, wind-whipped morning, her lifelong friend, Marion Sullivan, 61, added, “It entered our minds, but it didn’t stop us.” |
| Mayor Bill de Blasio urged New Yorkers to go about their lives, with the knowledge that police officers were watching as closely as ever. He brought a bouquet of white lilies to a vigil at Washington Square Park, one of several in cities around the country on Saturday. | Mayor Bill de Blasio urged New Yorkers to go about their lives, with the knowledge that police officers were watching as closely as ever. He brought a bouquet of white lilies to a vigil at Washington Square Park, one of several in cities around the country on Saturday. |
| Mylene, a French immigrant to New York who declined to provide her surname, had sustained her usual Saturday morning routine, including a visit to the Temple Emanu-El synagogue on the Upper East Side for the Sabbath. | Mylene, a French immigrant to New York who declined to provide her surname, had sustained her usual Saturday morning routine, including a visit to the Temple Emanu-El synagogue on the Upper East Side for the Sabbath. |
| But, she remarked, as she sat on a bench in Central Park, “I’m afraid to go to any big crowds. I’m afraid to even talk on the phone. I think I should be more conservative.” | But, she remarked, as she sat on a bench in Central Park, “I’m afraid to go to any big crowds. I’m afraid to even talk on the phone. I think I should be more conservative.” |
| Others, plunged yet again into breakfast conversations with their children about the threat of Islamic extremist terrorism, wondered how long it would last. | Others, plunged yet again into breakfast conversations with their children about the threat of Islamic extremist terrorism, wondered how long it would last. |
| Michael Weisberg, a judge who lives in Brooklyn, said he was on the subway halfway to the Holiday Train Show at Grand Central Terminal with his 3-year-old son when a thought prompted by the Paris attacks gripped him: Maybe he should have stayed home. | |
| Then he was struck by another notion. | Then he was struck by another notion. |
| “I thought, ‘When does this all end?’ ” he said. “I never thought about that before.” | “I thought, ‘When does this all end?’ ” he said. “I never thought about that before.” |