As New York City and the world reacted to the recent death of 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden, several Bronx elected officials expressed their responses to the historic news — largely seeing the Al Qaeda leader’s death as a milestone for the city, and a means of closure for those who lost a loved one in the tragedy nearly a decade ago.

“On September 11, 2001, thousands of New Yorkers, including many Bronxites, fell at the hands of a terrorist attack masterminded by Bin Laden,” Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr., said in a statement sent out Monday.

“For nearly ten years the families, friends and loved ones of those victims have had to live with the knowledge that the man who was responsible for so much loss in their lives walked the earth freely,” he said, going on to call bin Laden’s killing a “significant victory.”

Of the thousands of victims killed in the World Trade Center attacks, 142 were from the Bronx.

On Sunday night, President Barack Obama announced that bin Laden had been shot and killed by U.S. forces at a compound in Pakistan. His identity was confirmed using facial recognition software and DNA sampling. Following the announcement, hundreds rallied nea Ground Zero and in Times Square to celebrate.

“As a New Yorker, I witnessed first-hand the smoldering remains of the World Trade Center containing thousands of lost souls,” Bronx Congressman Eliot Engel said in a press release. “Many people living in my district did not return to their families that night.”

“The world is a better place today now that Osama bin Laden is no longer part of it,” he continued, praising President Barack Obama and the country’s armed forces for their role in his death.

In a statement, South Bronx Congressman Jose E. Serrano said the news will help heal the nation’s wounds from 2001.
“The news that bin Laden is gone helps us to finally move beyond that painful memory,” he said.