Some pleasant news to send you off into the weekend in comfort: a high-ranking Port Authority Police Officer testified at a state Senate hearing today, and pointed out all the many vulnerabilities of the AirTrain at JFK Airport. "It's unmanned and unpoliced...it's just a bad situation," said Robert Morris, executive vice president of the Port Authority PBA. more ›

In addition to $500,000 it sunk into an over-priced lot, Queens Assemblywoman Vivian Cook’s nonprofit has spent $255,625 in Port Authority toll money on “streetcleaning” aka “a guy with a broom.” Since 2003 the The Rockaway Boulevard Local Development Corp. has received $2.5 million from the PA to help build community support for the building of an AirTrain line in the area. The Post reports that of that sum $76,625 was delegated to the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce last year for street sweeping. more ›

A Queens nonprofit connected to Assemblywoman Vivian Cook spent $560,500 in cash to buy a vacant lot containing nothing but "a decrepit shed, a beat-up picnic table and a dirty paint can"—even though the property's value was only estimated at $287,000, according to the Post. Using money from the Port Authority intended to win community support for the construction of the AirTrain line, the nonprofit purchased the over-priced lot and spent $255,625 on "street cleaning" and "street maintenance," even though the city already provides street sweeping. more ›

Here's why you shouldn't lean on train doors. Two doors on a JFK Airport AirTrain fell off the shuttle — which had just undergone maintenance work — as it picked up its first load of passengers yesterday, according to the Post. more ›

An express train that'll take you from Midtown to JFK Airport, with specially installed luggage racks and a conductor punching tickets, all for just $3.50? That would probably come in handy for many people today, but it no longer exists. CityRoom takes a nostalgic look back at the JFK Express, which operated from 1978 to 1990, running down Avenue of the Americas in eight stops, then non-stop to the airport. more ›

The Sean Bell trial progresses, with recent attention falling on a bruise below the right knee of Detective Gescard F. Isnora. It was allegedly sustained when Isnora was struck by the car driven by Sean Bell. more ›

On November 25, 2006, groom-to-be Sean Bell and his friends were leaving the Kalua nightclub in Queens when undercover police confronted them. In the confusion that ensued (the police thinking the men were armed or were going to the car to retrieve a gun, uncertainty over whether the police identified themselves leading Bell and his friends to think they were being carjacked) five undercover cops fired 50 times at Bell's car. His friends Joseph... more ›

The NY Post reveals what many people were wondering in the Sean Bell shooting: Who fired the shots that actually killed Bell and hit his friends Joseph Guzman and Trent Benefield. It turns out Detective Michael Oliver fired the shots. Oliver fired the most shots, 31, of the detectives and was charged with first-degree and second-degree manslaughter last week. more ›

Yesterday, Democracy Now.org showed footage taken from the Air Train station near the club in Jamaica, Queens where Sean Bell and his two friends were shot by police. And the video (link to download MP3) is bananas. One video shows a bullet coming into the station and barely missing a man. Another video shows two Port Authority police officers ducking from the bullets and running. The Daily News' Juan Gonzalez, who co-hosts Democracy Now, explained the tape:

JUAN GONZALEZ: Well, I think one of the things it shows, number one, is that there were a lot more people in danger that night by this shooting, the 50-shot barrage of the police officers at the scene, five cops at the scene, plainclothes and undercover. There had been a report that there had been at least one errant bullet, and I think Graham Weatherspoon -- he was on this show also -- talked about one that went into a home and hit a lamp. But it turns out that this particular bullet that went to the Air Train, which was -- more ›

An organizations representing taxi drivers is asking the Taxi and Limousine Commission to create a Manhattan-JFK $45 flat rate. Much like the JFK-to-Manhattan flat rate, cabbies are looking to make sure they get airport business, with the main concern being that livery drivers tend to rip off tourists at big hotels. Plus, the group argues that many people heading to JFK are confused, as they think there is an existing $45 rate already. more ›

Would you take a downtown ferry to the airport? If you've been taking the Air Train to JFK, how has that been working out for you? Gothamist likes the idea of going to the airport via ferry (we're pretty into any kind of public transport to the airport), because there's something romantic about it. We think it will be an idea downtown business people might take a cotton to, especially if the ferries offer Wi-Fi and they can get work done on the way. more ›

The train, run by the LIRR, would be an extension of the Air Train. On paper, with the little we know, Gothamist thinks this is a great idea - a convenient and cost-effective way for people to get to JFK. Right now, the Air Train still requires passengers to transfer from a bus or subway. Of course, who knows how long it will take for a tunnel to be created under the East River. We might have those Star Trek transporters by then. more ›

And >the week in full. more ›

The Post interviews people about the pros and cons of taking a taxi, bus and subway to the airport. more ›

The Port Authority calls it "your connection to the World" and there is a spiffy map showing you the loop of terminals it makes. more ›