By DEEPTI HAJELA
Associated Press Writer
NEW YORK - As National Guard troops took their posts at bridges, tunnels, and train hubs across the city, officials said New Yorkers _ and all Americans _ should get used to living in an atmosphere of heightened security.
At the same time, people should continue their routines, said Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik.
"You can't hide in a cage, you have got to get back to business and a normal way of living," he said Monday. "People should feel safer now, probably more than at anytime in the past because of the people we have out there."
The National Guard joined police in patrolling Penn Station on Tuesday. Gov. George Pataki said the move, similar to one already taken at area airports, was not prompted by any specific incidents.
On Monday, guardsmen patrolled the Brooklyn Bridge, including its pedestrian walkways. Armed officers were posted outside city, state and federal buildings.
Also Tuesday, Stuyvesant High School, located near the site of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, was expected to reopen. The day of the attacks, the school was turned into a triage center to take the flow of victims that never turned up.
New York City has been on its highest level of security alertness since the attacks. Condition "Omega" calls for enhanced security around sensitive areas, such as government buildings, houses of worship, landmarks, tunnels, bridges and subways.
Security options include "Alpha" for normal conditions, "Bravo" for a heightened level of awareness, "Gamma" if there is a direct threat and "Omega" if there is an attack and more violence possible.
A poll released Tuesday by the Marist Institute for Public Opinion found that 73 percent of New Yorkers are either "very worried" or "worried" about another major terrorist attack, up 3 percent from a poll taken in mid-September. The poll of 1,275 New Yorkers, conducted Oct. 2- 4, had a margin of error of 3 percent.
But even with bombs falling on Afghanistan again and the city on high alert, a flag-waving, red-white-and-blue Columbus Day parade marched along Fifth Avenue on Monday.
American flags were everywhere and marching bands played "God Bless America." The parade itself, which traditionally honors Italian-Americans, was renamed "Columbus Day Parade Honors America."
"It's a beautiful day to be a New Yorker. I've never felt so patriotic," said Dana Kennedy, who watched with her 2-year-old son.
Mayor Rudolph Giuliani said the parade "demonstrates that we're going ahead with our lives. We're not going to let terrorism hinder us."
City police did not provide a crowd estimate for the parade.
Meanwhile, huge cranes continued to dip into a mountain of smoldering rubble at the trade center disaster site, lifting several-ton sections of what were once support beams. The movement of debris released 100-foot-wide plumes of smoke from fires within the ruins. At least one body was seen being pulled from the ruins, draped in an American flag.
The number of people reported missing dropped Monday to 4,815. There have been 417 confirmed deaths, including 366 victims who have been identified.
The mayor, remembering the 343 Fire Department members and 23 police officers lost in the attacks, said: "I know if they were here, they'd say, `Be brave. ... We died to protect freedom.'"
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