01:55

Hours after the terror attack, tens of thousands of New Yorkers gathered in Manhattan for a Halloween parade, and even those dressed as chickens said they were not afraid.

Police guard as revellers march during the Greenwich Village Halloween parade. Photograph: Andres Kudacki/AP

“The police took care of the attack,” said Marc Cruz, a 28-year-old in a chicken costume. He said he felt “pretty safe”.

Brandon McCall, 29, was wearing a luxuriant feather jacket paired with a handmade chicken mask and bright yellow tights. Asked if he had considered not coming to the parade because of the attack that afternoon he said: “Oh no, not at all!”

“So many people were telling me not to come. I said: ‘You have to live your life’,” said Alexandra Colon, 37, who came to the parade as Kate Winslet in Titanic, with a cardboard Leonardo DiCaprio hovering over her shoulder.

Sixteen years ago, Colon had watched the World Trade Center fall from her home across the river in Jersey City. She had not even considered skipping this year’s Village Halloween parade, which she has been attending since she was 17.

“I’m not going to let terrorists stop my life … they’re not going to win,” said Alex Tutino, 20, who was wearing a tangle of neon balloons with paper fish taped to them. He was dressed, he said, as “Finding Nemo.”