In the three months following September 11th, Chinatown was a “frozen zone”.
Due to their proximity to many of the key federal, state and city offices, various streets in Chinatown were completely or partially shut down repeatedly by authorities, particularly when the federal government issued terror warnings.
Chinatown was in a state of siege; were erected, and the New York City Police Department, New York State Troopers, and the National Guard manned barricades and guided pedestrian and street traffic south of Canal Street. Park Row, historically a major four-lane artery linking the financial district to Chinatown was closed, and remains so to this day. Chinatown store owners have pointed to this and other closings as a factor in the decline of area businesses.
Many of the photos donated to MOCA’s collections depict the eerily quiet streets of post-9/11 Chinatown (many people described it as a ghost town); the spontaneous displays of American flags outside homes and businesses; and the many memorials and missing person bulletins that sprouted in Chinatown’s public spaces.
九一一事件后三个月内,华埠成为“封锁区”。
由于临近许多重点国家和州市办公室,华埠的许多街道,尤其在联邦政府颁布恐怖警告时期,被政府单位勒令全部或部分封闭。
华埠处于围城状态内,处处可见警察路障,纽约市警力、州警官、美国国民警卫队驻守于各大路口路障,坚尼街以南疏导行人和行车,原为连接金融区和华埠的四线大道的公园道遭到封闭,至今天尚未重新开放。许多华埠商家指出,关闭公园道和其他路段是华埠生意低迷的原因之一。
许多民众捐出的照片里,描绘着九一一事件后华埠诡谲的死寂的街道(有人因而戏谑华埠为鬼埠)、住户和店家门外高挂的美国国旗、以及四处可见的临时纪念台和寻人启事看板。