By Suzanne Ma
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
CHINATOWN — About 50 people gathered Monday night to voice concerns over the security that will blanket their neighborhood when the 9/11 terrorists are brought to trial.
Local residents and business owners said they were worried that blocked off streets, snipers installed on rooftops, and satellite vans lining the streets, would reek havoc on their daily lives and transform the neighborhood into a "police state."
"The rights of the terrorists are going to take away people's rights to live in safety and peace," said Jeanie Chin, a resident of Chatham Towers, one of several co-ops on Park Row near police headquarters that has been closed to traffic since 9/11.
"The security for police and the rest of the city is not safety and security for us."
In an emotional meeting, attendees stood up one-by-one to voice their anger. Many expresssed disappointment that no one from the police department was present at the meeting.
Federal agencies and the NYPD have already started discussions about security measures that will be implemented leading up to and throughout the trial of self-confessed 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four co-conspirators, federal law enforcement officials said.
The NYPD, a representative of which is expected to attend the next meeting, did not return a request for comment.
Chinatown residents say they have put up with streets closures, security checks and increased surveillance by police ever since the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.
The group plans to send a long list of grievances to the NYPD and to rally elected officials and neighborhood residents to demand that the trials be moved to another location.
On Saturday, several hundred people rallied near the federal courthouse to protest the plan to hold the trials in New York City. Protestors said the trials would make the city a terrorism target and that the five suspects should instead face a military tribunal.
Joe Valiquette contributed reporting to this article.
