Ah, to wake up on the first spring Monday morning of 2004 and not only hear about Israel killing the founder of Hamas which then in turn has the Hamas saying the U.S. will pay, but to also read that the NYPD is conducting subway sweeps to try to prevent terror attacks and the FDNY is creating a terror school at Randall's Island. The Martians hiding on the darkest spots of Mars are shaking their heads at us, Gothamist just knows it.
The NYPD has an operation called "NYPD Total Order Maintenance Sweep" which the Post describes as being a short inspection of train cars by 10-12 cops, right before it goes into a tunnel or over a bridge. Deputy Commissioner Paul Brown tells the Post, "The entire train is searched. In most cases, the public doesn't even know it's happening." Apparently the MTA and Amtrak have been stepping up procedures on commuter trains as well. The Daily News reports that the FDNY will be "devising doomsday scenarios" to get into the mind terrorists, such as this:
The group studying a chemical attack in the subway has come up with the following scenario: A terror group releases a certain chemical in a crowded rush-hour subway train. Scores of commuters are overcome and firefighters need to move fast to avoid mass casualties.
Gothamist is, of course, happy that the NYPD and FDNY are trying to deal with city safety issues, but it's still hard to grasp, even almost three years later.
