Inside the Jackie Gleason Bus Depot (Gothamist)

The NYPD is investigating reports that "Middle Eastern’’ looking people have been videotaping the MTA's Jackie Gleason Bus Depot in Sunset Park, and the Post reports that the depot is gripped with "terror fear." That's because there are highly-flammable natural gas tanks at the depot, and because sensational stories are the tabloid's bread and butter. And so we have a quote from Transport Workers Union rep Tommy McNally, who says, "If those were hit, the whole neighborhood would blow up." He also suggests that the MTA's cuts to the depot’s guard force have made it an easy target for Al Qaeda.

"It’s disgrace," McNally adds. "They are endangering the lives of transit workers and those who live in the neighborhood." (They meaning the MTA officials, not the terrorists.) Yesterday, union officials reportedly found the gate to a separate entrance to the bus depot wide open, with no guard in sight. And the Post reports that on Monday, another man was spotted filming buses along their routes in the neighborhood. An investigation is ongoing, and we expect to be dragged downtown for questioning soon enough—here's our detailed Gothamist Flickr set on the Jackie Gleason depot. This place is so huge that if it exploded it'd probably send buses straight to the moon!