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The old adage, "safety in numbers" is common to our communal psyche, especially since the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001. As people came together to mourn, crime statistics nation wide dropped. Even traditionally labeled rough areas of New York City felt a renewed sense of solidarity.

In East Harlem, which is a low to middle income community, "Crime dropped significantly for a couple months after 9/11," said 23rd Precinct Community Affairs Officer Sal Alvarado. "And it's still down to an extent. There are more shootings now than back then, but the funny thing is the murder rate has stayed down."

"People are bad shots, that's all. Gangbangers hold guns in fancy ways now" Jose Rivera said winking. Rivera, in his 40s, has lived in East Harlem most of his life. He has a wife and three children and is the webmaster for www.east-harlem.com. "Seriously though, 9/11 hasn't impacted us to much, we don't think the terrorist will come up here."

"That day was a tragedy, one of my best friends Edna died down there," said Julio Nieves, 55, who grew up on 118th and 117th streets and works as an apartment building doorman on the Upper East Side. "But everyday is a tragedy here. It hasn't been much different; we're still ducking bullets."

"I don't feel nothing different." said Loretta Bruton, 38, a New York City Housing Authority secretary who has worked in East Harlem for the past three years. "I didn't even know that crime dropped."

"[The drop in crime] was a good fad," Walter Torres, a 42-year-old apartment building superintendent and local drug rehabilitation volunteer noted. "But it's over now. The judgment of God rained down on us that day because we believed in idols made of iron, marble and glass. He checked our sense of pride. Don't know if it worked though, I remember that during the first week after September 11th three storefronts owned by Arabs were vandalized."

Tony, who didn't want his last name released but is of Middle-Eastern decent and works at a local delicatessen commented, "The real reason why crime went down is because there were no cops around to catch anyone."

"There wasn't much violence that specifically targeted Muslims," said Altariq Abdul Shaid Muhammad, an African American man who has a white, Jewish father. "For a while after 9/11, police protected the masques specifically, they were parked outside 24/7." Shaid is a 36-year-old maintenance supervisor who learned about Islam while "doing some time." He said, "Everybody is anti U.S. to an extent. The government that is. You know, we all have to look out for each other."

"The precinct is very active in the community," said Mohamed Younes, who works in the public relations department for the Islamic Cultural Center, which includes a masque located on the corner of 96th St. and Second Avenue. "The trend [of crime dropping] doesn't really have to do with the events of September. It has been happening for many years now. There is a higher awareness in the community. People are helping each other."

"It's like one big family up here," Nieves said. "Everyone looks out for each other because in this neighborhood it's always a struggle to survive."

"People came together for a minute and then went their separate ways," Shaid said. "But I do still think that things that used to aggravate us are now overlooked, we realize that life is too short, there's no time for arguing."

"I saw it in people's faces, they were nicer, more compassionate." Noted Yvet Rodriguez, 35, who has two sons and is looking for employment in the food industry. She grew up in East Harlem and comes back often to visit family and friends. "For me that feeling has stuck. It's good for the children to realize it's better to be nice to one another. We didn't have such a big reminder. Now the kids know that it's important to have a more peaceful life, to be more compassionate to one another, not to lose their heads too quickly."

In the tight-knit neighborhoods of New York City people have different backgrounds, experiences, and process information in various ways; it all depends on their perspectives from within the pack. September 11th had a great impact on many American communities and, at the other end of Manhattan, in East Harlem, the effects still linger along side the reality of everyday living.

What is for sure, Rodriguez says, "A peace of mind is the best thing you can have."

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