Locals: Anxious, Relieved Over Bin Laden's Death

For some local parents of kids growing up in a post-9/11 era, the news of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden’s death brought to the surface memories of the attacks on the World Trade Center.

“I lived and worked in Manhattan then—I can remember holding my breath when going down the steps to Grand Central in the weeks after the attacks, thinking something else was going to happen,” said an emotional Susie Vallon of Bedford. “Hearing the news this morning makes me a little worried about retaliation.”

Her friend, Lynn Bayuk, also a Bedford resident, told her girls about the news before school Monday morning. “My daughter was born in 2001 so this has been part of her life—I wanted her to hear it from me,” she said over coffee at Panera Bread in Bedford Hills. They were joined by Traci Jacobsen, of Pound Ridge—the three were all mothers of middle schoolers who would undoubtedly discuss the news at school Monday.

Greg LaSorsa, president of the Lewisboro Baseball Association, said his 13-year-old had tears in his eyes when he heard the news.

“Like many kids his age, he’s grown up with this fear of ‘is America going to be OK?’ These kids have had a lot hanging over their heads. I think he felt some relief, and a reinforcement that America is a great country that can hopefully do away with a level of terror that’s been around his whole life.”

By and large many locals who spoke with Patch felt that justice was served.

“Families of the victims must be relieved,” said Elaina Baboian, a Bedford resident and employee of Bedford Pharmacy in the Hunting Ridge Mall. “I think this offers some closure that you just don’t get until there’s a body. It’s final.”

Some were concerned about the consequences of killing off the world’s number one terrorist.

“I’m glad to hear he’s dead,” said Justin Osborne, a real estate broker from Katonah whose cousin narrowly escaped the trade center's fall on 9/11. “But I wonder about the repercussions." Osborne hadn’t shared the news with his children, ages 5 and 7, because he felt they were too young to process it.

For Pound Ridge residents Liz and Stephen Alderman—who lost their son Peter on 9/11 and —the news was a non-event.

"Lizzie told me late last night, and I said 'thank you dear,' and went back to sleep,' said Stephen. "I think it was important for the country—a projection of American power around the world—but personally, it offered no closure," he said.

The Peter C. Alderman Foundation has as its mission the training of health care workers treating vicitms of post-traumatic-stress-disorder.

"Nothing can take away the pain of losing a child," said Liz, who said she understood, but was concerned about the celebratory nature of American reactions to bin Laden's death. "I remember how I felt when I saw people dancing in the streets in the middle east after the attacks [on 9/11]. But now we are focused on our work, which is to deal with people in total despair and try to give them hope. We need to create a safer world for all people."

Town officials and local politicians sounded off about the news today.

Assemblyman Robert J. Castelli (R, C - Goldens Bridge) was cautious in his reaction.

"While this is a relief to all freedom-loving people around the world, we must realize that while Bin Laden was the spiritual head of Al Qaeda, its strategic and tactical commander, Ayman Al-Zawahiri, is still alive and at large,"  said Castelli, father to a U.S. soldier who spent 5 combat tours in Afghanistan hunting for bin Laden. 

Bedford police Chief William Hayes said he could not comment on specific operations in response to bin Laden’s death, but urged residents to be watchful.

“I can tell you that we have instructed all of our personnel to exercise increased vigilance in the event of retaliation,” he said. “I would also urge the public to report any suspicious activity to their local police department.”

Pete Lazaro, assistant chief of the Bedford fire department, which in the village to honor the memories of four local residents—Thomas Burke, Richard Lynch, William Minardi and George Morrell—who perished on 9/11, said the country would have been better off if it could have prevented the attacks in 2001. “That said, let's celebrate the killing of a foe and at the same time remember the steep price we have paid for this small victory with the lives of our soldiers,” said Lazaro.

Cathie Lent, owner of Bedford Nursery School, and Ann Cloonan, director of the Bedford Village Library, also echoed concerns about “the other shoe dropping off.”

“I’m relieved—but I hope there’s heightened security after this,” said Cloonan.

Lent said that the news likely brought many satisfaction, but she “didn’t want to celebrate death—even one of a bad guy.”

Vallon said she heard a quote that summed up her feelings.

“I heard on the radio this morning that Mark Twain said that he ‘never wished a man dead,' but has 'read some obituaries with great pleasure.’ This may be one of those times.”

Editor's note: this story originally referred to a plaza in Bedford as the Honey Ridge mall; it's been corrected to read Hunting Ridge.