Four in 10 Americans feel the country is less safe from terrorism now than it was before the September 11, 2001 attacks, a new poll shows. While concerns are bipartisan, Republicans are much warier of Islamic fundamentalism than Democrats.Fifteen years after the Sept. 11 attacks, Lower Manhattan has been reborn.
The revitalization of the city’s downtown, powered by $30 billion in government and private investment, includes not just the reconstruction of the World Trade Center site, but also two new malls filled with upscale retailers, thousands of new hotel rooms and dozens of eateries ranging from a new Eataly to a French food hall, Le District.
The statistics alone are stunning. There are 29 hotels in the neighborhood, compared to six before 9/11. More than 60,000 people live downtown, nearly triple the number in 2000. And last year, the area hosted a record 14 million visitors, according to the Alliance for Downtown New York.
However, while Republicans believe Islamic fundamentalism presents the most critical threat (75 percent, up from 66 percent last year), only half the Democrats (49 percent today, 48 percent last year) agree. It is notable that more Republicans perceive Islamic fundamentalism as a critical threat today than ever since the first survey in 1988. This includes 2002, the first survey after the 9/11 attacks, when only 70 percent of Republicans pointed to Islamic fundamentalism as the critical threat to the US.
But people celebrate life and move forward.
