Queens Tribune
 
....June 10, 5:10 AM
 
 
 
The Next Target? As City Focuses On Buried Pipes, Exposed Gas Pipe Remains At Risk

The exposed natural gas pipe over the Grand Central Parkway.
By MICHAEL CUSENZA

The collective efforts of several law enforcement agencies last week foiled a planned terrorist attack on JFK International Airport’s major jet-fuel supply and pipeline, and the conspiracy once again highlighted concerns about exposed utility arteries and easily accessed potential targets in Queens.



A Flawed Plan?

Former JFK employee Russell Defreitas, a U.S. citizen and native of Guyana, was arrested in Brooklyn; Abdul Kadir, a citizen of Guyana who has served as a member of the Guyanese Parliament, and Kareem Ibrahim, a citizen of Trinidad, were arrested in Trinidad. A fourth defendant, Abdel Nur, a citizen of Guyana, surrendered to police earlier this week in Trinidad. The latter three are awaiting extradition to the United States. All are charged with conspiring to destroy buildings, fuel tanks, and fuel pipelines with explosives at one of the world’s busiest airports.

The arrests were the culmination of an investigation that began early last year and included the NYPD, Port Authority Police, FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force, and the Department of Homeland Security.

Described as Muslim extremists, the defendants planned an attack that they felt would have eclipsed the tragedy of Sept. 11, 2001.

“This plot was only in its planning stages, and at no point was anyone in imminent danger,” said Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Queens elected officials praised the efforts of all law enforcement agencies involved, and emphasized New York’s standing as a prime target for terrorists.

“[This incident] is why our federal government must continue to provide substantial homeland security funding for New York City and other high-risk areas,” said City Councilman Leroy Comrie (D-St. Albans).

U.S. Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-Jackson Heights) said that the foiled plot is just another reminder that the entire city, including Queens, is still vulnerable.

“That is why as a member of Congress, I will continue leading the fight so New York receives adequate anti-terror resources through a risk-based funding formula on the federal level,” he said.

South Queens hosts a large Guyanese and Trinidadian population, and community leaders hoped the arrests would not result in any backlash or ill will toward their people.

“This is certainly something alien to our community,” said Guyanese community activist and political candidate Albert Baldeo. “It’s not something connected in any way to us. We vehemently condemn any and all acts of terrorism – home grown or otherwise – and call for the highest punishment under the law; but we must also ensure that the legal system run its course.”

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A warning marker for the Buckeye pipeline in Maspeth.

The Main Target

The main fuel supply for JFK operations is linked to the Buckeye Pipeline, owned and operated by Buckeye Partners, L.P. The pipeline distributes fuel and other petroleum products to various sites in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Staten Island, Brooklyn and Queens, among others.

According to Buckeye spokesman Roy Haase, as per government regulation, the pipeline runs 3 to 4 feet underground through parts of Western and South Queens, including Maspeth and Howard Beach.

In Maspeth, slim orange- and yellow-tipped warning markers indicating the presence of a petroleum line dot the largely industrial area along Rust Street. At the congested intersection of Maspeth Avenue and Rust Street, which includes a railroad crossing of the tracks operated by New York & Atlantic Railway that run parallel to Rust Street, a marker is located next to battery and electrical boxes. There are two more markers further north on Rust Street – across from a gas station between 58th Avenue and 58th Street; and between 58th Road and Grand Avenue near the Long Island Rail Road overpass.

While the area is mainly industrial, some residents and workers expressed tepid concern about being in close proximity to the targeted line.

“Since 9/11, I don’t feel safe,” said Stacey Mackie of 58th Avenue. “I don’t even ride the train anymore.”

Michelle Lintner, a postal worker who has been serving the area for about seven years, said it is par for the course in post-Sept. 11 New York City.

“New York is a target – you always have that in the back of your mind,” she said. “But I have no fear. I’m going to go about my business and I have confidence in the government.”



Another Target?

The terror plot surrounding the Buckeye Pipeline called further attention to other potential targets in Queens – most notably the exposed natural gas transmission line that runs atop a railway and pedestrian bridge that crosses the Grand Central Parkway in Jamaica.

As reported exclusively by the Tribune last month, the 12-inch, roughly 300-foot long steel pipe owned by Keyspan Energy is easily accessible to anyone. Concerned MTA rail yard workers brought attention to the pipe that has since become a safety and security issue for Queens.

“I want to commend the Tribune for bringing this to our attention well before the [JFK] terror threat was exposed,” said Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. (D-Astoria), chairman of the City Council Public Safety Committee. “I said that these exposed lines are a potential target. I hate to be proven right, but that’s exactly what happened.”

Vallone said he has an official meeting with Keyspan planned for this coming Tuesday to discuss the pipe, which runs alongside the only bridge linking the Jamaica rail yard and the MTA’s service network.

A spokesman for an energy company in another large U.S. city, who did not wish to be identified, said that it is not uncommon for a transmission line to be attached to an overpass, especially since many of the lines are decades old.

“A lot of these lines were built before terrorist attacks were on people’s minds,” he reasoned.

The spokesman was then shocked to hear that the Jamaica rail yard pipe is new and actually replacing the old pipe which was originally underneath the Grand Central Parkway.

“It’s ludicrous that we are providing targets for terrorists at a time when we should be concentrating on making the city safer,” Vallone said. “This natural gas line is highly combustible and has been placed on a bridge that is very accessible to the public, as evidenced by the graffiti that was placed along the line.”



Safe To Report?

Law enforcement officials acknowledged that the JFK pipeline terror plot could not have been thwarted without the cooperation of a confidential informant. The criminal complaint against the four defendants stated that the informant began monitoring the plot at its early stages and made numerous recorded conversations with the defendants, including at the Gertz Plaza Mall in Jamaica.

In a related development, Assemblyman Rory Lancman (D-Flushing) recently introduced a bill to enact the “Freedom to Report Terrorism Act.” The bill protects good faith disclosures of suspicious, potentially terrorist activity, and requires those who file lawsuits alleging bad faith disclosures to detail the alleged bad faith with particularity at the outset of the lawsuit, thereby establishing a very high procedural hurdle to commencing a lawsuit.

“New Yorkers are encouraged to, ‘if you see something, say something,’ but before they do so, they have a right to know that they will not be sued for their efforts,” said Lancman.

Recently, a Muslim organization has sought to bring suit against the person who reported what he deemed suspicious behavior by two Muslim clerics who were boarding a plane in Minnesota. The clerics were taken off the flight, which left without them, and detained until it was determined that they did not pose a threat.

“Such lawsuits dissuade honest citizens from reporting suspicious, potentially terrorist activity,” Lancman said. “Even if such cases are ultimately dismissed the expense and inconvenience of defending against them is a strong discouragement to those who might otherwise be willing to report suspicious activity.”