Times Square Investigation Begins

NYPD Works to Protect Tunnels From Terror

By TOM HAYS
Associated Press Writer

NEW YORK -- The tidy, three-story brownstone looks like any other on the cobblestone block in Brooklyn, but it isn't. It's a fake, leading directly to the belly of the nation's largest subway system.

The unmarked emergency exit behind the facade is one of many posts protected by beat cops defending the city against bombings or other terror attacks in the city's intricate underground mass transit network.

Since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, officials at the nation's largest police department insist the city remains the nation's No. 1 terror target, devoting extra resources to protecting Wall Street, the Empire State Building, Brooklyn Bridge and other high-profile potential targets.
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How New York Became Safe: The Full Story

A citywide effort, involving many agencies and institutions, helped restore order.

....By the early 1990s, these highly visible successes, especially in the subway, had begun to express themselves politically. Better than any other politician, Rudy Giuliani understood the pent-up demand for public order and built his successful 1993 run for mayor on quality-of-life themes. Once in office, he appointed Bratton, who had orchestrated the subway success and understood the importance of order maintenance, as New York?s police commissioner.

Under Bratton, the NYPD brought enormous capacities to bear on the city?s crime problem?particularly Compstat, its tactical planning and accountability system, which identified where crimes were occurring and held local commanders responsible for their areas. Giuliani and Bratton also gave the force?s members a clear vision of the ?business? of the NYPD and how their activities contributed to it. In short, a theory previously advocated largely by elites filtered down to?and inspired?line police officers, who had constituted a largely ignored and underused capacity.
http://www.city-journal.org/2009/nytom_ny-crime-decline.html

Murder: New York City

http://projects.nytimes.com/crime/homicides/map
Each day, the New York Police Department announces major crimes, including most homicides, in the five boroughs. This data is compiled from those reports, in addition to news accounts, court records and additional reporting. The map will be updated as new information becomes available.

Fox News covers the Explosion on 3rd & 92nd at 3:30am NYC

NEW YORK - Windows were shattered at a Starbucks on Manhattan's Upper East Side early Monday morning.

Police Commissioner Ray Kelly says an explosive-like device, possibly containing fireworks, went off outside the store at 3:30 a.m.

There are no injuries. Kelly says there are no witnesses to the blast.

The NYPD bomb squad is on the scene at 1642 Third Avenue at 92nd Street.

Speaking at the scene of the explosion Monday morning, Kelly told reporters there was no call to police before the explosion. Seven calls to 911 came in immediately following the explosion.

There is a history of low-order explosions outside Starbucks stores across the country, said Kelly.

The city has experienced other early morning explosions in recent years. Small explosions occurred at the British and Mexican consulates and at a military recruiting station in Times Square.

Police Commissioner Kelly says the only similarity between Monday morning's explosion and other small blasts in New York City is the time. All have occurred between 3:30 a.m. and 4:30 a.m.

Police investigators say no one was inside the shop at the time of the explosion. There is no damage inside the store.

The explosion left a gaping hole in the bench.

An apartment building above Starbucks was evacuated. Seven people were forced from their homes and returned hours later.

No one was injured in the blast.

Several lanes of Third Avenue near 92nd Street are closed due to a massive police investigation. Expect bus diversions in the area of the explosion. The M 98, M 101, M 102 and M 103 bues are re-reouted.

BIRTH-CERTIFICATE TERROR ALARM

By LARRY CELONA and ANDY GELLER

April 25, 2009 --

A stack of blank birth certificates has been stolen from the city Health Department's offices, leading investigators to worry that they may have fallen into the hands of terrorists, The Post has learned.

On March 12, an employee discovered that 104 certificates with the agency's stamp on them were missing from the department's offices at 125 Worth St., near City Hall, sources said.

It was the first time in 10 years that blank birth certificates were stolen from the department.

The NYPD and the city's Department of Investigation are investigating.

"It's like hitting the Lotto for a terrorist," one investigator said.

"Forged documents are one of the primary concerns of Homeland Security. After you get that birth certificate, you can get any document you want. This is extremely serious."

The missing documents were in a box of blank certificates that was stacked on other similar boxes.

The employee noticed they were missing because there was a break in the numbers on the certificates.

Investigators believe the theft was carried out by someone who has access to the offices, probably an employee.

larry.celona@nypost.com

http://www.nypost.com/php/pfriendly/print.php?url=http://www.nypost.com/seven/04252009/news/regionalnews/birth_certificate_terror_alarm_166135.htm

NYPD to Upgrade 911 System: Top News Stories at Officer.com

NYPD to Upgrade 911 System: Top News Stories at Officer.com: "The city plans to upgrade its 911 system after a six-year, multimillion-dollar delay.
The NYPD recently signed a $73 million contract with Alabama-based Intergraph Corp. for a state-of-the-art emergency dispatch system that can instantly compile location and caller histories, create maps, and locate the appropriate units to respond.
'It integrates everything available and sends it straight to the dispatchers in a much more user-friendly way,' said NYPD Deputy Chief Charles Dowd, commander of the communications division. 'It's automatic. It's faster.'"

TERROR THREAT IS IN THE CARDS - New York Post

TERROR THREAT IS IN THE CARDS - New York Post: "NYPD detectives are investigating a chilling new terror threat - a series of cards from a 'New York Jihad' that look like birthday-party invitations but warn of bombs in lower Manhattan this summer, The Post has learned.
The cards were mailed last week to the homes of seven city residents, including former Fox News television producer Kelley Vick and a person in the 26th Police Precinct, which covers West Harlem, according to Vick and police sources."

City Is Doubling Police Program to Reduce Crime - New York Times

City Is Doubling Police Program to Reduce Crime - New York Times: "Every new police officer in New York City will be sent onto the streets of some of the city’s toughest neighborhoods as part of a broad anticrime operation that the authorities say has helped produce historic drops in crime, the city announced on Wednesday."

THERE'S NO HIDING FROM THE TRUTH - YOU'RE ON CAMERA!

THERE'S NO HIDING FROM THE TRUTH - YOU'RE ON CAMERA!: " Mayor Bloomberg has said New Yorkers must face the fact that they're being watched by security cameras all the time. He isn't kidding. It's not just the Police Department and MTA watching them. Countless private security cameras eye the city at all times - and some are broadcast to the masses. "