Results tagged “homelandsecurity”

You may know John Elway from such a hits as Super Bowl XXXII and Home Improvement episode "The Eve of Construction." But the retired Denver Broncos' quarterback has now found a new drive in fighting terrorism, as you'll see in this gonzo instructional video "Recognizing the 8 Signs of Terrorism," which was produced in partnership with the Colorado governor's Office of Homeland Security, and the FBI, thanks to a federal Homeland Security grant.

Just when it looked like The Man was standing up for photographer's rights, or at least understanding the law, things have gone sour again. Carlos Miller reports that 43-year-old professional photographer Randall Thomas "was jailed for six hours—and had his camera and memory card confiscated by a judge—after filming an FBI building from across the street in New York City Monday."

Just yesterday city officials were bitching about how the Justice Department wasn't giving NYC a dime from the $1 billion economic-stimulus money intended to help cities avoid laying off cops. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder explained that, "These officers will go to where they are needed most, based on crime rates, financial need and community policing activities." In other words, crime is relatively low here, and other places (like the mean streets of Caribou, Maine) need help more. Mayor Bloomberg fumed to reporters, "To punish our Police Department because they have driven down crime with fewer resources shows the backwards incentive system that is sometimes at work in Washington."

Hey, the muppets are here to help you prepare for the next big terrorist attack, and other terrors—like nature's wrath! Of course, not even Super Grover can help clean up George Bush's war, but he can lend a brightly colored smiling face to fearmongering. Wired reports that Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff and his wife Meryl have worked with the Sesame Workshop and the Ad Council to come up with a campaign focusing on preparedness. They've declared that "it's a fact of life that not every day is a sunny day," and "recent events have exposed families to a range of disasters; the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001 and Hurricane Katrina in 2005 have particularly emphasized the need to ensure children's physical and psychological protection." Grover and others will be the face of the campaign, which includes DVDs, magazines and more! But what they really ought to do is update The Monster at the End of the Book by writing Dick Cheney into the denouement.

The Montauk Monster is still in the news (and on the Colbert Report), with the East Hampton Star now reporting that the mystery carcass is missing! More disturbing than that and the fact that the nation has been staring at a dead, bloated dog for a week, is the fact that the two locals holding the remains were planning to profit from the dead body. The duo were planning on reducing it to bones, creating some sort of artistic piece out of it, and watching the money roll in.

"Someone came and took the carcass. Now I have to hunt for my damn creature," said Eric Olsen, a Montauk real estate agent and surfer who retrieved the rotting animal from the beach.

Continue reading "Montauk Monster's Remains Stolen, Press Tour Continues"

The Department of Homeland Security will allocate $144 million in counterterrorism funds for NYC (plus the suburbs), which is a $10 million increase over last year. While Peter King (a Republican) hailed the increases, Senator Charles Schumer (Democrat) said while the extra money is "better than a cut, but it's not what New York deserves. Hopefully with a new administration we will get a better formula and a bigger slice of the pie." NY State will also get $76 million (up $10 million from last year) from a separate security grant program.

Yesterday, Senator John McCain was welcomed and endorsed by President Bush. Bush referenced McCain's doubters and past history, "John showed incredible courage and strength of character and perseverance in order to get to this moment. And that's exactly what we need in a President: somebody that can handle the tough decisions; somebody who won't flinch in the face of danger."

You may recall that the original Freedom Tower design had to be scrapped (because the NYPD thought it was too susceptible to attack) and redesigned with a concrete base. Now the Daily News' I-Team takes up concerns law enforcement officials have with "security weaknesses" in the new towers at World Trade Center.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff announced New York City will receive $153 million - up from last year's $61 million - in transit security grants. Wow - all we can do is remember Chertoff's 2005 remark, when trying discussing how security funding would be allocated, "The truth of the matter is, a fully loaded airplane with jet fuel, a commercial airliner, has the capacity to kill 3,000 people. A bomb in a subway car may kill 30 people. When you start to think about your priorities, you're going to think about making sure you don't have a catastrophic thing first."

For starters, before anyone freaks out, the U.S. Homeland Security threat level is actually just "Elevated" (yellow), though it's "High" for airplane flights. The threat level in NYC is "High" because we're just vigilant like that.

Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani is busy trying to rally support in Florida, one of many big states with primaries in the coming weeks. He didn't really focus on the Iowa caucus (where he placed fifth - after Ron Paul) or New Hampshire (so he claims; he managed to place 4th, ahead of Ron Paul) and flew out of the Granite State before the polls were closed.

The Dept. of Homeland Security is funding the installation of a number of anti-missile defense systems on commercial jets flying in and out of JFK Airport. The tests are the third stage of testing of a system that is already used by military aircraft. The defense system consists of equipment affixed to the bottom of the aircraft that electronically jams the heat-seeking component of shoulder filed missiles. The latter are referred to as man portable air defense systems, or MANPADs. The current test of the anti-MANPAD systems on jets is to see how the equipment holds up on the real world operating conditions of a commercial jet.

Employees at FreshDirect’s Plant Operations warehouse voted overwhelmingly against unionization over the weekend. Given options of joining either the United Food & Commercial Workers, the Teamsters, or no union at all, 80 percent of the employees voted “no union.” The vote comes in the midst of an ongoing labor crisis at the warehouse; over one hundred undocumented workers were forced out earlier this month as FreshDirect announced an imminent inspection by Immigration and Customs Enforcement [I.C.E.].

Tim Russert has invited all the presidential candidates to appear on Meet the Press, and yesterday former Mayor Rudy Giuliani appeared. We imagine many New Yorkers watching the program gnashed their teeth and/or swore at the TV (we happened to do both), as Giuliani tried to answer questions ranging from the straightforward (Giuliani's Iowa poll numbers, Russert asked, "Fifth place, is that a problem?") to the interesting (Russert on Giuliani's consulting business: "A Las...

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a homicide on Merrick and Baisley Blvds. in Queens, an overturned auto on the F.D.R. Drive at East 23rd St. in Manhattan, and shots fired at the police at 58th St. and 18th Ave. in Brooklyn.
• Two employees were found dead in an empty 20,000 gallon vat they were cleaning at an industrial laundry service in NJ. The men appear to have been overcome by chemical fumes and suffocated.
• New York politicians pile on the Bush administration over proposed cuts to Homeland Security funding. Sen. Schumer wondered aloud, "You scratch your head and wonder, is the White House on the same planet as the rest of us?"
• People rallied outside the Venezuelan consulate in Manhattan today in support of President Hugo Chavez, who is in an electoral bid to become the permanent leader of his country. Chavez supporters suggested that the U.S. follow Venezuela's lead, and we're fairly sure they were referring to expanding social programs and not installing President Bush as leader for life.
• Queens Crap spots some paved-over property to provide parking. These super-steep driveways should be fun to negotiate in winter weather.
• Tagging a museum is okay if you fork over enough money for the privilege.
• After a 25-year-old man was fatally stabbed inside the Flatiron district's Club Duvet, owners closed the nightspot "by court order."
• Photos of the Banksy show opening at the Vanina Holasek Gallery.
• A red tailed hawk fell 20 stories off the top of a building in the Bronx and was then hit by a passing car. Police suspect the bird was attacked by a person.

Senator Barack Obama might be back in Iowa on the campaign trail, but New Yorkers are still buzzing over his coffee - and bacon and eggs and toast - klatsch with Mayor Bloomberg on Friday morning. The meeting was supposedly caught Senator Hillary Clinton off guard - and not just because it was two blocks away from her midtown offices. Bloomberg's press secretary Stu Loeser said Bloomberg wanted to talk national policy with Obama,...

President Bush submitted a budget proposal to Congress this week that involved dramatic cuts to the city's anti-terrorism funding. "The plan would eliminate programs for port security, transit security and local emergency management operations in the next budget year." Well, why would a low-priority target like NYC need all that money anyway? Oh wait, we remember! It was hard not to see this coming, though.

Hoboken disbanded its SWAT team this week after another scandal rocked the police department of the tiny New Jersey town across the river. A number of minority officers recently filed a lawsuit accusing a high-ranking co-worker of behaving like a white supremacist, regularly deriding minorities. Now the SWAT team has been disbanded days after photos became public showing the unit's commander and other cops cavorting with waitresses at a Hooters restaurant in Alabama. The Mile...

After heated debate and almost universal dislike from both parties and many NY residents for his controversial driver's license plan, Governor Spitzer has decided to shelve the idea. He is expected to announce the news today during a meeting with the Democratic congressional delegation, whose recently elected members have criticized the Governor for putting their positions in jeopardy with voters. The Governor spoke to the NY Times, "You have perhaps seen me struggle with it...

Former New York City Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik was indicted in federal court yesterday and the U.S. Attorney prosecuting him pulled no punches describing his legal prey. "In meticulous detail, Manhattan U.S. Attorney Michael Garcia assembled count after count painting Kerik as a money-grubbing liar who tried to cover his tracks." Kerik allegedly had a mob-controlled contracting firm renovate his apartment for free, while telling city investigators that that same firm had no criminal ties....

The U.S. Attorney's office will be asking a grand jury to indict former police commissioner Bernard Kerik on tax evasion, corruption, and conspiracy charges. Kerik has reportedly made arrangements to surrender tomorrow, instead of being arrested by U.S. marshals. Kerik's dealings have also been questioned, even back when his friend Rudy Giuliani was mayor, but his past became a big story when President Bush nominated him for Secretary of Homeland Security in 2004, only for...

Governor Spitzer's revised plan to offer driver's licenses to all New York State residents - including illegal immigrants - is still not a hit with constituents. NY1 conducted a poll which found 55% of voters are opposed to the "three-tier plan" Spitzer revealed last week. Spitzer's original plan, which would have given illegal immigrants broad access to a regular driver's license, was hailed by immigrants' rights advocates and damned by county clerks and figures such...

Even though he has amended his plan to give illegal immigrants the opportunity to get driver's licenses, Governor Spitzer can't make everyone happy.

The shift comes as the governor has faced a firestorm of criticism both from Republicans and from within his own party. More than a dozen county clerks, who operate Department of Motor Vehicles offices upstate, have refused to carry out the policy, even though they are considered agents of the governor’s administration.

Continue reading "Spitzer Bends on License Plan"

Yesterday, people critical of developer Bruce Ratner's massive, billion dollar Atlantic Yards project held the Third Annual Walk Don't Destroy Walkathon. And leading opponent Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn held a press conference asking a new question that goes beyond eminent domain and the size and scale of the plan. Now the question is whether the Atlantic Yards will be safe from a terror risk.

Former police commissioner Bernard Kerik's misdeeds continue to plague Rudy Giuliani's Presidential ambitions, with news that the former Mayor knew that his one-time right hand man vouched for a mobbed-up construction company before appointing him police commissioner. Before Kerik was appointed commissioner, one of Giuliani's top aides was made aware of the fact that Kerik––while commissioner of the Corrections Dept.––met with mayoral aides in a Tribeca bar and defended Interstate Industrial Corp. of criminal wrongdoing, as the firm was undergoing a criminal investigation and also undertaking a $165,000 renovation of Kerik's apartment. While at Walker's [the bar], Kerik allegedly said "If I thought Interstate was mobbed up, do you think I'd let my brother work there?" A city investigation of Kerik's conduct eventually cleared him of wrongdoing, but Giuliani has previously claimed that he didn't know about the matter.

Gov. Spitzer announced yesterday that illegal immigrants will be able to get valid New York State drivers licenses if they provide a valid and verifiable foreign passport. Spitzer hopes that the change, which reverses a four-year-old Pataki-era decision, will legitimize the 500,000-1 million undocumented immigrants who are driving in New York. In a repudiation of the federal government's stance, the governor said "We will not become part of what is propagated on the federal level that if we don't admit they are here then we can somehow not provide services. That is bad policy."

Anger and frustration about the Deutsche Bank fire that claimed two firefighters' lives simply continues to mount as the Uniformed Firefighters Association says helicopters could have prevented the tragedy. Union president Stephen Cassidy said, "I think it’s very possible that the outcome would have been entirely different."

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a possible abduction at the Mobil gas station off the Belt Parkway in Brooklyn, a suspicious death on Cornelia St. in Queens, and a pedestrian struck at Buffalo St. and Hylan Blvd. on Staten Island.
• The Dept. of Buildings declined to revoke permits for Donald Trump's planned 46-story Trump SoHo "hotel" on Spring St. near the Holland Tunnel.
• A State Bridge Task Force completed its inspection of New York's 49 steel deck-truss bridges and found them all to be structurally sound. Still, a bill before the Senate to boost federal spending on bridge maintenance would direct 10% of a $1 billion increase, or $100 million, to New York State.
• A Coast Guard vessel conducting a routine homeland security patrol came upon a 27-year-old man treading water without a life jacket about 400 yards southeast of Staten Island's South Beach.
• Gridskipper has a guide to establishments that brew, distill, and ferment all kinds of potent potables right here in NYC.
• The Gowanus Lounge reports that an F train express line could arrive as early as next year. Or maybe around 2012 or early 2013.
• The New York Times describes the run of the vintage six-car 'A' train yesterday on the line's 75th anniversary.
• IvyGate reports that bars surrounding Columbia University will all be getting ID scanners to keep out underage patrons, and Columbia itself will be picking up the tab for the devices.

We've all heard how 3,000 surveillance cameras, not to mention at least a hundred license plate readers, will be installed in downtown Manhattan, as part of the city's ring-of-steel like security initiative to prevent terrorist attacks. But the NYPD also announced that radiation detectors will be put into place as far as 50 miles from the city to help identify dirty bombs.