A New York story shaped by years of change

NEW YORK: Asad Dandia was eight when he watched the Sept 11 attacks from his Pakistani immigrant family’s home. The years that followed brought Islamophobia, suspicion and surveillance. At 19, he discovered a police informant had posed as a friend to infiltrate his family, part of a discredited effort targeting suspected extremism. Now 33, the historian sees a transformed New York, with a Muslim mayor, public prayers in Times Square and mosques expanding across the city.