Worried about travelling to NYC next week.

November 19, 2015 7:50 AM

I postponed my last planned trip to NYC so I could visit during the Macy's Parade (something I always wanted to attend). Now that the US is in a state of high alert regarding the recent terror attacks overseas and ominous threats to NY and Washington DC I have to admit I am scared to travel. I do understand that terror is what they want to instill on us and the terrorists shouldn't win BUT I am pretty apprehensive. I am just wondering what others think about traveling right now?
posted by irish01 to Travel & Transportation (35 answers total)

Go. Go. Don't be afraid.

Not to put too fine an point on it, but every time you leave your house, you're taking a risk. Your odds are much higher of getting in an auto accident on the way to the airport than they are being personally affected by a terror attack.

Go. Have a wonderful time!!
posted by anastasiav at 7:55 AM on November 19, 2015

I would. Not even because "they shouldn't win" but because realistically their next attack could be anywhere in the world, they hate the entire west plus the entire middle east plus a good chunk of Asia, that's a lot of targets, no good reason to think the Macy's parade will be the next one.
posted by fingersandtoes at 7:55 AM on November 19, 2015

I think you should travel. I lived in NYC during 9/11 and in Boston during the Boston bombings and the truth is that as terrifying as those events were, especially the first, I don't know that it was all that scarier to be living in the cities where they occurred than to be watching everything unfold on television. One thing I've realized is that whenever you're in a place that's all over the news, the thing that gets erased in the coverage is the massive amount of normalcy everywhere. That's what gets filtered out by the media. If you keep the TV off for the duration of your trip, you'll probably think about terror less, and feel way less general anxiety, than you would if you stayed home and kept CNN on in the background.

And that's just the subjective experience: I'm sure other people will be able to prove much more definitively than I can how low your actual risk is (very, very, very low!) but I guess one obvious point is that if you come from a place where you regularly drive places in a car, and then you spend a week in NYC taking the subway and walking around, you'll be statistically safer than you have been in years.
posted by pretentious illiterate at 7:59 AM on November 19, 2015

Would it help to talk about how it's incredibly more likely that you'll be hurt in a car accident in the city than be injured in a terrorist attack?

I have, god, so many issues with the NYPD but even so I think you should trust their statement on this issue:

We are aware of the newly-released ISIS video that mentions Times Square. While some of the video footage is not new, the video reaffirms the message that New York City remains a top terrorist target. While there is no current or specific threat to the City at this time, we will remain at a heightened state of vigilance and will continue to work with the FBI, the Joint Terrorism Task Force and the entire intelligence community to keep the City of New York safe. In addition, we are continuing to deploy additional Critical Response Command (CRC) teams throughout the City, out of an abundance of caution.

In short, it's not any more dangerous to visit NYC today than it has been for the last 15 years.
posted by Wretch729 at 8:00 AM on November 19, 2015

Travel guru (and all-around great guy) Rick Steves has good takes on the situation.

Travel. Have fun.
posted by uncleozzy at 8:02 AM on November 19, 2015

If they're still having the parade, I think there's nothing to worry about that is any different from what there always is to worry about. The threat, on the whole, is no different today than it has been every single day for the last 30 years. (Hell, day-to-day walking around life in most of New York City is safer today under high alert than it was on the average Thursday 30-40 years ago.)

Something could always happen. It's more likely to be shitty weather or a natural disaster than a terrorist attack. It's more likely to be domestic terrorism than from Elsewhere - NYC is full of the type of people who shoot up schools and movie theaters, and so is every other city in the US. And it's a big city; the likelihood of you being in the actual place where something happens are microscopic.

New York City continues to go about its business. If they start cancelling stuff, you can reconsider.
posted by Lyn Never at 8:06 AM on November 19, 2015

Look anything can happen, you could ride the ferry for the skyline view, fall over and be hit by lightning while being chomped by a great white. In terms of probability not far from being directly involved in a terror attack. But worry? No, just pay attention to your surroundings and don't lean over too far.
posted by sammyo at 8:09 AM on November 19, 2015

Oh and if you're there the night before the inflation of the balloons on the upper west side is the best!
posted by sammyo at 8:09 AM on November 19, 2015

You should go.

If you want me to put my money where my mouth is: I'm traveling there next week too.
posted by General Malaise at 8:10 AM on November 19, 2015

I'm going to DC this weekend, and I'll be taking the subway and eating out and whatnot. And I guess there's a small chance that something will happen, but there's also a small chance that I'll be hit by a drunk driver on my way home from work tonight or there will be a fire in my apartment or I'll get hit by an asteroid. It's a small risk, and there's a 100% risk that worrying about small risks will make you crazy.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 8:11 AM on November 19, 2015

I live in New York, and I'm even sitting in New York right now, and I can attest that it is seriously business as usual around here. I work across the street from Grand Central and 3 blocks west of the UN, and the only kind of increased security anything I've seen lately is that maybe about an hour ago we saw a couple of police cars down by the UN, but then they were gone 5 minutes later and we chalked it up to "traffic jam on the highway" and went on with it.

Seriously, it is boringly normal up here.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:12 AM on November 19, 2015

Come visit us! No one in the city seems nervous at all -- no empty subways or anything like that. And believe me, it wasn't that way after 9/11, so I know what a nervous city looks like and this isn't it. I have noticed a slightly heightened police presence in the subway stations, but that's it; everything else is completely normal. I go through Grand Central every day, and really nothing is happening. I would even venture to say you're safer here than in some other cities, because we're really pretty well protected.

On preview, what EmpressCallipygos said.
posted by holborne at 8:16 AM on November 19, 2015

With regard to flying, you are in more danger during your pre flight shower at your home, by a huge factor.
posted by Oyéah at 8:18 AM on November 19, 2015

If you ask someone on the street here "hey are you scared about the ISIS threats against nyc" you will either get a blank look of total confusion followed by laughter OR a long involved diatribe about how it's all made up by the policeman's union as a salary bargaining tactic.

however if you let the threats scare you away from Times Square then no harm has actually been done. times square is awful, never go there.
posted by poffin boffin at 8:26 AM on November 19, 2015

I work across the street from the World Trade Center, and last weekend I visited DC. It has not even occurred to me to be worried. It's not because I am trying to make some big statement about his "I won't be afraid because that lets the terrorists win!" but because these events are essentially rare and random. It's like not taking an airplane during the heyday of hijackings in the 1980s: I guess it reduces your odds of being a victim of a hijacking from .01% to 0%, but ultimately that's not worth it.
posted by deanc at 8:27 AM on November 19, 2015

Go to NYC. Stop reading the news all the time.
posted by rtha at 8:32 AM on November 19, 2015

I live here.

I'm going to see Bruce Willis on Broadway tonight, near Times Square.

I took the subway to work.

I am calm. I cannot stay home in my apartment (1.5 miles from Times Square) and hide. That's not living.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 8:32 AM on November 19, 2015

High alert means more security at events-- the parade has had an almost insane amount of security since 9/11 and will be ramped up this year, so I wouldn't worry about that. Not in a defiant way, I just wouldn't worry.

The vibe here is normal, with a side of getting into the holiday spirit-- holiday markets and window displays going up. Welcome to NY at its loveliest time of year!
posted by kapers at 8:34 AM on November 19, 2015

You could get run over by a bus walking across the street in front of your house. There's always risk. But for something like that, there's increased reward as well. It's worth it.
posted by kevinbelt at 8:35 AM on November 19, 2015

I live here too. It's fine. I take the subway to and from work every day and walk under the World Trade Center to get to my office. Nothing is different right now.

Seconding avoid Times Square though - it's the worst place ever.
posted by elvissa at 8:36 AM on November 19, 2015

You know why they didn't issue a video before the Paris attacks saying "hey just FYI we are going to attack Paris"? Because that's a stupid way to carry out a terror attack.

You know what's easier, cheaper, and safer than planning and carrying out a terror attack? Throwing together a shitty video with stock footage of NYC and dubbing some scary words over it.

Don't let this weak-ass bullshit work on you.
posted by showbiz_liz at 8:55 AM on November 19, 2015

Ever since I read this book, I've benefited from a greatly rewired brain in terms of understanding actual risk versus perceived risk, and can't agree enough with the above poster that says that driving around presents a much higher risk of something happening to you than terrorism ever will. If you have some time before your trip and want to read something that might help you feel better about these sorts of descriptions, it's a pretty good book.
posted by Shepherd at 8:56 AM on November 19, 2015

Redundant data point: I flew across the country (domestically, across the US) two days after the Paris events, and there was nothing different about the experience. No extra TSA people, no more intrusive checks, no bomb-sniffing dogs, no delays, no atmosphere of fear, nothing.

So yeah, go! Enjoy!
posted by Dilligas at 9:28 AM on November 19, 2015

Honestly, I feel like the security around the parade this year will probably be tighter than ever for this exact reason. I might even argue that you are paradoxically safer this year, when everyone is (allegedly) really keeping an eye out than in previous years where people might have gotten a little slack because it had been a while since a major incident.

Go and have fun!
posted by Countess Sandwich at 10:26 AM on November 19, 2015

tl;dr I live in NYC. There aren't any "ominous threats." Enjoy your visit to the Macy's Parade.

No offense intended to anyone, but please consider whether you need to find a new news source for this kind of information.
posted by JimN2TAW at 10:42 AM on November 19, 2015

You've always wanted to go to the parade, you have a chance to go, and you're thinking of letting some jerks with a YouTube video get in between you and the thing you've always wanted to do? They want you to be scared. Don't give them the satisfaction. I live in DC and I'll admit that I was a little freaked out by the threat. But I've got shit to do. Anyone can make a threat. Dont live your life in fear. Haters gonna hate. Shake it off. Shake it off. Enjoy the parade!
posted by kat518 at 10:54 AM on November 19, 2015

What do i think about travel right now? I'm flying to Paris on Sunday.

We live in the safest time in history.
posted by cmoj at 11:07 AM on November 19, 2015

I might have my math wrong but a back of the napkin calculation says you are more likely to be struck by lightning twice than you are to be attacked by a terrorist.
posted by JaredSeth at 12:29 PM on November 19, 2015

Not to scare you, but this sort of attack could happen ANYWHERE. I think NYC is actually one of the more safe places to be right now. When this stuff happens, it's the large cities that go into alert mode. At this point, they could target malls, restaurants, theme parks...

Just keep your wits about you and enjoy your trip. We cannot live our life in fear.

I'm flying to Europe next week and I'm more scared about the long lines at the damn airport.
posted by floweredfish at 4:00 PM on November 19, 2015

We were vacationing in DC when the attacks happened. We flew home yesterday. I will admit to about half a day's worry at first, but we didn't stay inside and be afraid. My reasoning was that I am living my life and enjoying it. People die every day doing that very same thing, so there's really no reason to stop. I would MUCH rather die doing something that I love than in my bed at home.
posted by raisingsand at 4:16 PM on November 19, 2015

I live here in NYC. It never occurred to me to change my behavior, and you shouldn't change your plans either.
posted by gaspode at 4:30 PM on November 19, 2015

I live in NYC too. I see absolutely no reason not to travel here. There's going to be enormous police presence during the parade. Agree with everyone who lives here - it's business as usual.
posted by DMelanogaster at 6:13 PM on November 19, 2015

It didn't even occur to me to be worried about going from CT to NYC by train this weekend, and following that with a bus ride down to DC for Saturday night dinner plans.

All feels pretty calm on the eastern seaboard to me.
posted by slateyness at 6:53 PM on November 19, 2015

Just go. It's the experience of a lifetime and there's nothing to be worried about.
posted by Miko at 8:49 PM on November 19, 2015

Ask A Native New Yorker: How Scared Should I Be About Terrorism?
posted by 1970s Antihero at 11:00 AM on November 20, 2015