An Israeli woman whose husband was killed in the Mumbai terrorist attacks is having trouble visiting her eight kids in Brooklyn due to immigration woes. On Feb. 5, US Customs and Border Protection agents at Kennedy Airport stopped 37-year-old Frumet Teitelbaum and said she had overused her visitor's visa by regularly traveling from her home in Israel to see her kids, who are staying with her late husband's family in Borough Park.
After Terrorist Attack, Immigration Trouble For Israeli Mom
JFK Metal Detectors Fail To Spot Woman's Titanium Hip
Here's another not-so-reassuring story about the state of airport security. A woman with a 14-inch titanium rod in her hip sets off metal detectors at every airport she visits — except for JFK. The Post reports that in the decade since doctors implanted the metal piece to help 62-year-old Berna Keiler overcome a degenerative hip disease, she always triggered alarms at security checkpoints, including those in JFK's Terminal 7, until Oct. 21, 2009.
Smaller Airports Mean Fewer Headaches, But Also Fewer Flights
As flying out of Newark Liberty, Kennedy, and La Guardia airports continues to get more and more tedious, some passengers are turning towards smaller airfields where even at busy travel times like the day before Thanksgiving there are "no lines at the check-in counters, no lines to clear security and no lineup of idling planes on the runway," according to the Times.
JetBlue May Hightail It From Queens
Will JetBlue take off for another city or state? Last month, it was reported that airline carrier JetBlue might move its headquarters from Queens because its lease is up in 2012. Now, the Daily News learns, "City officials are racing to come up with incentives to persuade JetBlue not to fly the coop." Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-Queens) says, "They are serious about leaving," and that the one way the city could sweeten the deal is by helping to "finance the construction of a new JetBlue building near Kennedy Airport," where JetBlue operates out of the renovated Terminal 5. The airline, which has 800 employees in its Forest Hills offices, says, "We're continuing to look at several options both here in the New York-metro area and outside of New York City." Apparently the city's deadline for an offer is Tuesday.
NYC Airports on Alert After Glasgow Attack
With Britain at its top terror alert level after a flaming SUV crashed into Scotland's Glasgow Airport yesterday, New York City has stepped up security at area airports. Port Authority spokesman Steve Coleman (the PA oversees JFK, LaGuardia and Newark airpots) said, there were "increased security measures" in place.
Jonathan Dienst, Investigative Reporter, WNBC
WNBC’s investigative reporter Jonathan Dienst is a native of the tri-state area, originally from Teaneck, New Jersey and is a graduate of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. He has worked behind the scenes at Newsday, and got his start in television at WSAV-TV in Savannah, Georgia where he worked for about half a year. He then had the opportunity to return to the city as NY1 was starting up and eventually moved to WPIX. Dienst has been the first reporter to break some major stories such as the "Mafia Cops", Bernie Kerik’s mafia ties and most recently the Fort Dix Terror Plot and the Kennedy Airport Pipeline Plot.
JFK Terror Plot Fears: Overblown or Justified?
The Daily News and Post both use the alleged JFK Airport terror plot - that would have involved blowing up the airport's fuel oil pipeline - to move papers: The cover of the Daily News teases an interview with a waitress who served an "alleged mastermind" (cover headline: "Evil Ate at Table Eight") while the Post wonders about the whereabouts of one of the alleged plotters (headline: "Invisible Man"). The story doesn't crack the NY Times' front page, though the Times' big story is how the plot was "less than mature" based on the criminal complaint. In fact, apparently two of the plotters were ambivalent, and the retired JFK worker allegedly involved, Russell Defreitas "appeared to possess little money, uncertain training and no known background in planning a terror attack," although he did dream of "of inflicting massive harm."
JFK Jet Fuel Pipeline Terror Plot Foiled
WNBC 4's Jonathan Dient reports that the feds have arrested four men plotting to blow up a jet fuel pipeline at JFK Airport today. From WNBC 4:
Four people have been charged. One is in custody in New York. Three suspects are thought to be overseas.more ›
Bloomberg's Guide For Political Donations
For the second year, Mayor Bloomberg has unveiled the New York City Card, which serves as a list of the qualities he is looking for in any politicians, be they Republicans or Democrats. And therefore, those with the money to put behind politicians can use the card to see if the politician's interests line up with what the city needs.
Nor'Easter Socks It To City
Yesterday's storm brought flooding, closed roadways, delayed mass transit, difficult drives, soaked clothing, upended umbrellas and 7.46 inches of rain to Central Park. There were winds of 48 MPH at Kennedy Airport, as hundreds of flights in the area airports were canceled. And some environmentalists noted the irony of Saturday's Sea of People demonstration while the mayor was issuing emergency flood warnings for downtown Manhattan.
Queens Shooting: Videos from Air Train Station
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 ›
Fulton Transit Snub
As we all know now, the soaring glass atrium dome and underlying transit hub designed by Nicholas Grimshaw will be much more modest than originally planned (above). The problem, of course, is b-u-d-g-e-t.
Port Authority: We're Not Renaming Anything...Yet
The City Council said that any renaming discussion would have to be open to public debate. Gothamist would love to see that: The George Washington Bridge Brought to you by Washington Mutual Bank.
False Alarm at JFK
The NYPD says that bomb sniffing dogs were brought to the scene. Bomb sniffing dogs are some of Gothamist's favorite kind of dogs; it's a shame that the police officers won't let us pet them, for fear we're contaminate their sensitive olfactory nerves.
Snowfall Amounts
By popular demand, snowfall amounts over Friday and Saturday, from the New York Times:
Air Train Almost Up and Running
Crazy Joe - America's Favorite Hero Dog
New York City drug-sniffing dog, Crazy Joe, was named Pedigree's American Dog Hero. Crazy Joe has sniffed $13 million of illegal drugs at Kennedy Airport, and the Daily News notes that his biggest bust was 60 pounds of cocaine and most recently he found 12.5 pounds of heroin. Damn, doggie. The News also says that the name "Crazy Joe" came from the shelter he was found at in Atlanta, but NY cops still call him that because he is obsessed with a towel. That's Gothamist's kind of crazy!
Those French Pilots and Their Inappropriate Shoe Bomb Jokes
In this case, the French really don't have any sense of humor: Air France pilot Philippe Riviere's shoes set off a Kennedy Airport metal detector, and he was asked to remove them. Then Riviere made a joke about a bomb in his shoes. Of course the security workers called the cops. Riviere was arrested, his shoes turned out to be clean, his flight of 350 people to France was searched then cancelled. Bon idee, Philippe, joking about bombs in an airport. Air France apologized for Riviere's "inappropriate remark."

