DAY NINETY-SEVEN:Dec. 16:
A Moroccan friend called today. He's lived in Manhattan for about twenty years, but his Arabic name and accent will always brand him in the eyes of Attorney General Ashcroft and his ilk. My friend rang up to wish me a Merry Christmas, and to rant. He needed to vent.
"We have to find Osama bin Laden and all of his followers and put an end to this once and for all," he said adamantly. "This has got to end now. These people don't speak for Islam. He is a psychopath. We have to stop all of this in the Middle East. I love this country. This ignorance and stupidity has got to end now. Right now."
We talked for about an hour, and it was obvious from the strain in his voice that my friend was hurting. He said his sister, who still lives in Rabat, thinks America deserves the horrors that have befallen us. And with a resigned sadness my friend said, "There are many like her. I cannot change their minds. They hate the West, even though they have never been here. The West is evil - that is it in their minds."
Ramadan has passed without catastrophe here in the U.S., and that is perhaps reason to let out a nice, deep collective sigh of relief. But Brooklyn's Hassids are taking no chances. Today, on the last day of Chanukah, the giant menorah that stands by Brooklyn's Borough Hall was under 24-hour watch by members of the Lubbovitcher Hassidic sect, and the city place klieg lights around the 19th C. Borough Hall building. As I approached it this afternoon I thought perhaps a movie was being filmed at the site, but realized plainclothes police were scattered all over the area. No doubt a specific threat of some kind was received.
It is interesting that this year Ramadan and Chanukah ended on the same day.
It was a quiet Sunday. At the gourmet market a Ukrainian clerk told me hardly a soul had set foot in the place for an hour, though there had been crowds buying groceries earlier in the day. As I strolled around Brooklyn on this seasonably chilly day (40 degrees F) most streets were eerily silent and empty. I'm not sure why that was the case: was the population huddled in their homes? Or were they all in Manhattan, grabbing last minute bargains at Bloomingdales and Macys? Whatever the case, it was decidedly strange.
Down at Ground Zero citizens groups have erected special Christmas decorations, including several trees. One tree has a light and an origami bird on it for every person who died in the Towers on September 11th. Holiday lights hang from the scaffolds and cranes. It's hardly festive, rather it is yet another form of memorialization. Out in Queens, where people take their outdoor Christmas lighting very, very seriously, many families have erected the outlines of the Twin Towers, delineated with white lights.
Tonight, for the first time this year, New York has a winter weather advisory with the possibility that there will be ice on the roads in the morning. There is even hope that snow will fall on New York at the end of the week. Hurrah! The folks from Vermont who run Christmas tree farms and live off the trees they haul down here once a year were downcast last week. With temperatures in the high sixties and even low seventies nobody was buying trees, and many pines sat along the sidewalks of New York, shedding, looking forlorn and going unsold. Today's cold snap brought brisk sales, however, and smiles to the faces of the Vermonters.
Merchandise sales remain sluggish, however. Stores are offering sales so astonishing that it seems impossible profits can be realized. And, indeed, the luxury sector reports huge losses citywide. Gucci, for example, says sales in 2001 are 42% below last year's level, and all the top end lines, from Luis Vuitton to Georgio Armani, are losing money by the buckets. Even moderately priced goods, such as discount computer accessories and low-end department store nondesigner clothing, are gathering dust on department store shelves. There are loads of people in the stores, but they apparently aren't spending money. It's possible everybody is waiting for further discounts, or after-Christmas mega-sales. Regardless, it's more bad news for the city economy.
In today's Newsday my colleague, Paul Moses, has an excellent analysis of Mayor Rudy Giuliani's fiscal policies, demonstrating that even in the absence of September 11th's catastrophic impact the Mayor had spent the city into a perilous state: http://www.newsday.com/news/local/newyork/ny-nyrudy162511804dec16.story?coll=ny%2Dnynews%2Dspan%2Dheadlines
Giuliani will soon exit public office, walking out of Gracie Mansion a hero, especially in the yes of non-New Yorkers. But it bears reminding the public that just four months ago nearly everybody in this town was fed up with his bullying, his nasty divorce dispute and unseemly political shenanigans. In many ways September 11 saved Rudy Giuliani. Our Mayor's office reporter, Jessica Kovals, predicts Giuliani will not go quietly into his final two weeks of office, but has several tricks still up his sleeves.
Whether he likes it or not, in a matter of days Giuliani will smile, shake Michael Bloomberg's hand, and walk off the political stage, probably forever. And then the future of our fair city will be in the hands of a billionaire Democrat wearing Republican clothing.
Be well. Stay safe. Stand defiant.
Laurie Garrett
