Results tagged “kennedyairport”

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.

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.

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.

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."

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.

Continue reading "JFK Jet Fuel Pipeline Terror Plot Foiled"

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.

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.

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 --

Continue reading "Queens Shooting: Videos from Air Train Station"

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.

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.

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.

By popular demand, snowfall amounts over Friday and Saturday, from the New York Times: