Quantcast

Gennaro, Jews, cops meet to discuss terrorism threat

By Tien-Shun Lee

In response to federal officials’ statements indicating that significant terrorist threats had been made against Jewish institutions, Councilman James Gennaro (D-Fresh Meadows) called a meeting of Queens Jewish leaders and New York Police Department officials last week to talk about what measures can be taken to combat and prepare for terrorism.

“This community is justifiably concerned about the security of its Jewish institutions because of the focus on Jewish targets,” said Gennaro. “I’m concerned and I want to take this message to the NYPD counter-terrorism people. I want to make sure that the NYPD shows the same sensitivity to Jewish institutions that the Jewish leaders in my district show.”

Gennaro’s council district is served by Community Board 8 and the 107th precinct, which cover Fresh Meadows, Briarwood, Jamaica Estates, Kew Gardens Hills, Holliswood and parts of Flushing.

Detective Lynda Marmara and Police Officer Carl Calderone of the NYPD’s Community Affairs Department began the meeting, held at the Young Israel of Hillcrest in Fresh Meadows, by giving a Powerpoint presentation on terrorism.

After going over myths about terrorists, suspicious behavior to watch for, and what to do if terrorism is suspected, Marmara urged the Jewish leaders to try to get their community involved in civilian patrolling, and not rely only on police officers, who cannot be everywhere at once.

“You need to assume responsibility for day-to-day activity in and around the community and synagogues,” said Marmara. “Don’t assume that we know what’s going on. Take that extra step – call and let us know.”

According to NYC Police Deputy Inspector Gary Scirica, the counter-terrorism coordinator for Queens Borough South, the NYPD has a database of vulnerable locations, such as religious institutions and utility companies, and every precinct has one police car that is dedicated to patrolling these sensitive locations.

Institutions that are interested in setting up their own volunteer patrol system could arrange to have someone from the NYPD come to help train volunteers, said Scirica.

“Let’s not kid ourselves. We have less than 120 officers now and over 50 religious institutions in the 107th Precinct,” said Mark Lefkof, the chairman of the public safety committee for Community Board 8, and the president of the Hillcrest Jewish Center. “A house of worship car is not going to be at 50 locations at the same time – it’s up to you and your congregation to be the eyes and ears of the community.”

Terrorists tend to hide out in newer neighborhoods where people do not know each other and to use cash to pay for financial transactions and health care bills, said Calderone. They also tend to seek employers who will give them access to sensitive information.

When looking out for suspicious activity, people should keep in mind that not all terrorists are males, religious, not fluent in English and easily identifiable, Calderone added. On the contrary, terrorists are trained to blend into their environment.

If suspicious activity is detected, people should report as many details as possible about the situation to the toll-free terrorism hotline at 1-888-NYC-SAFE, or call 911 if the situation is life-threatening, said Calderone. People should not take direct action or confront the individual.

Details about the suspicious person that should be remembered and reported include sex, approximate race, age, height, weight, build, hair, clothing, weapon and direction of travel, said Calderone. When reporting information about a vehicle, people should try to include the license plate number and state, color, markings, number of passengers and direction of travel.

Every “lead” that is reported to the terrorism hotline is taken seriously and processed by the counter-terrorism bureau, said Scirica.

So far this year, more than 1,000 leads have been reported. Of those, over 50 percent were reported by police, and about 25 percent were reported by civilians.

When Jonathan Cohen, the executive director of Bnos Malka Academy, a Jewish girls’ elementary school, asked if his school should seal off a room and stock up on water in preparation for a terrorist attack,

Scirica said all institutions need to have an internal plan for disaster.

“There are shelters in large locations that have been identified in the event that a massive attack occurs,” said Scirica. “You need to have your plan in place.”

Several Jewish leaders expressed interest in coordinating with precincts to arrange for help in preparing emergency plans and setting up internal patrol systems.

“It’s unfortunate, but with the society we live in, we have to be much more aware,” said Councilman David Weprin (D-Hollis), one of the elected officials who attended the meeting along with state Assemblyman Brian McLaughlin (D-Flushing), state Assemblywoman Nettie Mayersohn (D-Flushing), and state Sen. Toby Stavisky (D-Flushing). “We need to have a heightened sense of community.”

Reach reporter Tien-Shun Lee by e-mail at Timesledger@aol.com, or call 718-229-0300, ext. 155.