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Prison Break

When Rikers Inmates Get Out

Residents in Astoria Heights have good reason for their heightened fear of flying objects. The community sits at the foot of the only bridge connecting greater New York City with Rikers Island.

Area residents fear that a plane crash will strike the 415-acre prison complex - sending an estimated 15,000 inmates over the bridge from Rikers Island and into their back yards. Community leaders have been assured by Port Authority officials and by the City Department of Corrections (DOC) that there are emergency plans in-place for the evacuation of Rikers Island. It’s just that no one has ever seen the plans, and agency officials refuse to discuss them.

DOC sources said the agency is prepared to mobilize “each and every” Corrections vehicle “in a moment’s notice,” to transport Rikers inmates to other, secured facilities. The mobilization would call in all City Corrections officers and supervisors, who would secure the bridge exit and assist in transporting inmates to alternate facilities, the sources said.

While the roundup of fleeing felons goes on, it is best to stay indoors, lock your house and don’t answer the door for anybody you don’t know.

Prison Break | Airplane Crash | School Plans | Animals Escape | Serial Killer

Plane Crash
Everything That Goes Up Must Come Down - Somewhere

By LIZ GOFF

The friendly skies aren’t always very friendly over Queens. Residents who live between two major U.S. airports always keep an eye on the sky, hoping to avoid being smacked in the noggin by chunks of airplane debris that often fall to the ground - after breaking apart mid-air.

What Can I Expect?

If you think a plane has never crashed onto the streets of Queens, think again. In June 1976 the crash of an Eastern Airlines Boeing 727 left Rockaway Boulevard a wasteland of twisted wreckage, charred earth, and makeshift morgues. A total of 109 people died on the flight, bound for nearby JFK Airport.

In February 1992 a small plane skidded along an exit ramp of the Clearview Expressway, its’ battered remains coming to rest on Union Turnpike.

It’s not all old news. Along with the occasional part that falls from the sky, residents in neighborhoods near LaGuardia and JFK Airports live with the constant fear that a commercial airliner will come crashing into their homes - a fear that materialized in November 2001, when American Airlines Flight 587 plummeted into a residential neighborhood in Belle Harbor, killing 265 people.

The Official Response

City fire and rescue crews arrive on the scene in minutes, and they are supported by the extra crews stationed at the airports to contain and extinguish the fire as soon as possible.

In the days and weeks following a crash, representatives of the Federal Aviation Administration will gather up all the pieces of the destroyed airliner and attempt to reassemble the plane to get a better understanding of what caused it to drop from the sky.

What Can I Do?

If you are at home, and your home is located within eight blocks of the crash - get out and call 911. Do not wait for someone to tell you to leave - just do it. The explosion that could come, igniting thousands of gallons of jet fuel, could potentially be more dangerous than the crash itself.

If you are within three blocks of the crash, do not stop to gather paperwork, mementos, or anything else. Just get out, FDNY officials said, and make sure no one remains behind in the house. Make everyone leave.

Prison Break | Airplane Crash | School Plans | Animals Escape | Serial Killer

Schools
Taking responsibility for our kids when we can’t be there

School safety officers will be the first to help in case of an emergency during the school day. Tribune Photo by Ira Cohen

By Ellen Thompson

When an emergency warning flashes across your television screen or interrupts the radio Top 20, the first thing that typically comes to mind is loved ones. And if you’re a parent, it’s specifically your children; especially if it’s a weekday between 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. when they are not by your side.

You know either a storm is about to hit the borough at any second or that some other disaster is occurring at the moment. But what you don’t know is, what your children are doing at that exact instant.

What Can I Expect

In recent years and increased awareness of terror attacks in foreign schools, domestic problems at Columbine and other schools, an increase in bomb threats at public institutions and more have led to a heightened level of concern about safety in schools.

Though most schools are patrolled by uniformed guards, security cameras keep a constant eye on the interior and exterior of schools, metal detectors are at many entrances and other preventative measures are taken, it is still possible that a weapon can be snuck into school and used to harm students.

The Official Response

The New York City Board of Education says in times of emergency, parents can rest assured that their children are safe. According to the DOE, there are safety plans that every school in New York City must maintain.

The present regulation, issued by the BOE chancellor on Sept. 5, 2000, states, “Maintaining a safe and secure school environment is the shared responsibility of the entire school community, including school safety, pedagogical, non-pedagogical and custodial personnel, parents and students.”

Translated, that means that every person in the school – from the janitor up to the principal – is there to make sure your kids are safe.

As part of a continuing effort to provide the safest possible environment, each school has a Safety Committee that develops a safety plan on an annual basis that is consistent with centrally established requirements, the DOE said.

To make sure nothing is left out, the committee, which meets on a monthly basis, is comprised of 10 individuals involved with all aspects of the school ranging from academia to custodial to students. The school’s principal, the principal of any other program operating within the school, the local United Federation of Teachers chapter leader and custodial engineer all sit on the committee along with an in-house school safety agent, New York Police Department precinct commanding officer, parent association president, dietician of food services for the site, a representative of the student body and any others deemed essential by the committee.

The committee develops plans that define the normal operations of the school and what procedures are in place in the event of an emergency. The committee typically identifies hazards that are likely to affect the area in and around your school and the severity of their impact. Local emergency management personnel can assist with this assessment. At the beginning of each school year, the principal submits the plans for approval to the regional superintendent.

Superintendents throughout the city have nearly a month to review each plan and submit them to the NYPD School Safety Division commanding officer by Oct. 15. If the plans do not meet changing security needs and conditions, the superintendents will return unsatisfactory plans to the principals for appropriate revisions.

After the plans are approved by the commanding officer they are put into effect. Students and staff must be trained on how to use the plan and what their responsibilities will be in a given response. Drills and exercises are conducted to test the plan throughout the school year.

What Can I Do?

Most of us may remember the fire drills as a time to get a break from class, but given the incident at Columbine High School and others, a new level of intensity has been added to the routine.

In most cases of emergency, schools have a procedure for helping parents locate their children. Parents are generally directed to a specific location where they will be required to show proper identification before they can be reunited with their kids.

While reading the rest of the emergency warning flashing across your television screen or listening to the radio brief is the best step a parent can take to find out information after a problem has happened, it always helps to contact your child’s school for advance information before an emergency occurs.

Prison Break | Airplane Crash | School Plans | Animals Escape | Serial Killer

Animals

What If The Wild Ones Broke Free?

By Jeff Feinman

It’s a beautiful day in Flushing Meadows Corona Park; the sun is shining and the air is nice and cool. Walking along green paths, the world around you is quiet, with only a handful of leisurely visitors sprawled out along the park’s vast lawns; but you embrace the solitude. You are happy to be free of the hustle and bustle that defines Queens, welcoming the opportunity to enjoy the serenity of the spacious park.

You walk along and come across the Unisphere, where your heart suddenly leaps up in your chest. In shock, you see a tiger walking about in the structure’s fountain, licking his jowls and seeking a fresh piece of prey for an afternoon snack. From the nearby trees, a Spectacle Bear then stomps into view, shaking its thick coat wildly and belching out low roaring sounds. Simultaneously, the tiger and the bear both perk up and their eyes come across you. No one is around to help. What do you do?

One option is to scream the word “Jumanji” and hope all stalking animals return to the center pod of a board game, but that maneuver has mixed results. So here are some ways to keep safe in the midst of a major zoo escape by some of Mother Nature’s biggest predators.

Tigers: Driving along Jackie Robinson Parkway in the summer of 2004, residents might have seen a white tiger roaming along. Luckily 450-lb.-Apollo, who had escaped from the Cole Bros. Circus, was recaptured without anyone being harmed. If a tiger were loose in the neighborhood, most sources say that the best thing to do is stay calm. According to the Busch Gardens Web Site, tigers are essentially nocturnal animals and not very active during the day. They would rather avoid confrontation and would not likely attack a human unless provoked.

Bears: Bears can be tough customers because they are less predictable than other animals. “Every situation is different with respect to the bear, the terrain, the people and their activity,” says the Yampa Valley, Colorado Web Site. If encountering a bear, Yampa Valley officials say to avoid direct eye contact because the bear may perceive it as a threat. Do not run, and speak softly. They also say that fighting back can be useful with black bears, as black bears have been driven away in some cases with an aggressive response. This is not, however, recommended on all species of bears.

The U.S. Scouting Service Web Site says to look for aggressive behaviors in the bear such as snapping jaws, a “whoofing” sound, or keeping its head down with ears laid back.

“Do not run,” the U.S. Scout site says. “Most bears can run as fast as a racehorse. A scream or sudden movement can trigger an attack.” People are encouraged to climb trees as high as possible because most adult bears will not climb trees.

The Queens Zoo is home to the spectacle bear, a bear that is herbivorous, relatively small in size, and not considered harmful. There are, however, coyotes and puma on site.

Prison Break | Airplane Crash | School Plans | Animals Escape | Serial Killer

Serial Killer
What To Do When The Creeps Stalk Queens

By LIZ GOFF

You’ve heard the stories – police officials hitting the pavement in a desperate search for a serial rapist, or a serial killer who has struck in your neighborhood – and may still be on the prowl, just around the next corner.

It happened in the 1970s with the Son of Sam, and it could happen again in Queens.

Serial killers are individuals who have a history of multiple slayings of victims who were generally unknown to them beforehand. Their crimes are committed as a result of a compulsion that, in many but not all cases, has roots in the killer’s (often dysfunctional) youth, as opposed to those who are motivated by financial gain (e.g. contract killers) or ideological/political motivations (e.g. terrorists). Many times, this compulsion is linked to the individual’s sexual drive.

Yikes.

Borough police officials offer Tribune readers the following tips to help maintain personal safety when a freak like that is one the loose.

Whenever possible, travel on well-lighted, populated streets and thoroughfares. When driving, keep windows rolled up, except for a small ventilation space – and keep doors locked. You should also be especially alert at red lights or stop signs. Be prepared to drive away, sounding the horn, if you are attacked or threatened.

Keep your car in good working order to make sure you won’t have to stop on the side of the road. Check the gas gauge before each trip, know where you are going and how to get there – and carry a map if you are not sure.

If you are walking or driving and you suspect that someone is following you, make a few turns down active streets – most ne’er-do-wells shy from the public eye.

If someone continues to follow you while you are driving, do not park or get out of the car. Head for the nearest police station or firehouse. If you are walking, head for the nearest store, office, or other “busy” location where you can ask someone to call 911. Do not attempt to stop at a pay phone on the street to call 911 yourself.

When driving, if someone attempts to force you off the road don’t panic…blow your horn constantly (or trip the car alarm), to attract attention. If you are forced over, as soon as you stop, put your car in reverse and back away. Keep blowing your horn – and keep moving.

Always check for loiterers, or for people lurking in the shadows before entering your apartment building or home. If you are driving, go around the block once or twice to see if anyone is hiding in doorways, etc., on your block.

When driving alone, check your car to make sure no one is hiding in the back seat or on the floor. Make sure you always lock your car before you walk away.

Getting around in a safer way may not protect you from every weirdo hiding around the corner, but being more aware of your surroundings will definitely give you a leg up on the next Son of Sam.

Remembering “Summer Of Sam”

Who doesn’t know the Son of Sam? He liked pretty, young women with long hair. And he thought the women of Queens were the “prettiest” of all. To kill, that is.

The 24-year-old Yonkers resident claimed a 6,000-year-old demon named Sam spoke to him through a neighbor’s dog. Sam told him to kill young women.

He started to kill in the Bronx on July 29, 1976. His weapon of choice? A 44-caliber bulldog revolver. Six weeks later, he struck again – in Queens this time – wounding two young women. But it was on Jan. 29, 1977 that Berkowitz achieved star status by killing four women in two separate attacks in Forest Hills.

“I am the ‘Monster’ – ‘Beelzebub’ – the chubby behemoth,” he wrote in a letter to police.

“I love to hunt. Prowling the street looking for fair game – tasty meat. The women of Queens are prettyist (sic) of all. I live for the hunt – my life. Blood for papa.”

He was nailed by a parking ticket, placed on his car by a cop on the night of July 31, 1977. Detectives traced the ticket, staked-out Berkowitz’s home and waited.

Berkowitz smiled and giggled as police led him into custody. “I’m Son of Sam,” he said. He pleaded guilty to six counts of murder, seven of attempted murder and a host of other charges.

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