Bombed NYC Neighborhood Returning to Normal, but Anxiety Lingers

Binod Bhattarai, 51, assitant manager at Landmark Wine and Spirits on 23rd St. in Chelsea, Manhattan, New York, on Sept. 20, 2016. Petr Svab/Epoch Times

NEW YORK—Life is almost back to normal in Chelsea after the first terrorist bombing in New York City since the failed 2010 Times Square attack.

Several broken windows and a small area cordoned off by police remain the only physical mementos of the Saturday, Sept. 17, attack that left about 31 injured on 23rd Street in Manhattan.

Businesses opened again after police reopened the last section of the street between Sixth and Seventh avenues on Sept. 20.

Yet, here and there, signs of deeper unease are apparent.

Orangetheory Fitness, right across the street from where the improvised bomb exploded, had some patrons calling and saying they won’t be coming in, at least for now. They just don’t want to deal with the situation, an employee said.

“People are nervous,” said chef Rosalio Manuel from nearby Monster Sushi. Business was still a bit slower than usual, he said on Sept. 20.

A storefront window that was shattered by the Sept. 17 bombing on 23rd Street, in Chelsea, New York, on Sept. 20, 2016. The store's windows were shattered by shrapnel from the bomb that exploded across the street Saturday evening. AP Photo/Mark Lennihan