Travel Tip!

If you are by chance traveling by rail this holiday weekend and the train seems crowded, check out the first or last car — both of which may be emptier than usual:

The FBI’s source reportedly told agents of an al Qaeda-connected group’s desire to place bombs or suicide bombers inside the first and last Long Island Rail Road commuter cars and detonate them as the train entered Pennsylvania Station in Manhattan, also used by the Washington-New York-Boston Amtrak system and the New York City subway.

Oh. This Again.

It’s been a while, old friend:

Federal authorities are warning law enforcement personnel of a possible terror plot against the New York City subway system during the holiday season.

An internal memo obtained by The Associated Press says the FBI has received a “plausible but unsubstantiated” report that al-Qaida terrorists in late September may have discussed attacking the subway system.

Box-Blocking Moron, Don’t Make Me Yawn

On the contrary, this is the most effective remedy for traffic congestion — much cheaper than gadgetry and revenue producing, to boot:

You may have begun to notice more traffic tickets being written. And you may have guessed — correctly — that it has to do with getting New York City more money. Well, brace yourselves, the city is putting 200 more ticket-writing traffic agents to work.

The city’s latest move to close the budget gap is annoying New Yorkers to no end. Soon, you may not be able to avoid the police no matter what you do. Approximately 100 of the agents will be in Manhattan; the other 100 will be spread out across the other boroughs.

“You get stuck out there in the middle; not because you’re not paying attention,” driver Rob Frangavilla said. “People walk across; you’re stuck there. I just think it’s a crazy way to raise money.”

. . .

NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly laid out the plan on Tuesday.

“[We will put them] in Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens. We will not deploy them right now in Staten Island,” Kelly said.

The agents will be looking primarily for drivers who “block the box” at intersections. That ticket will cost $115.

The Thug

Interesting:

Newsday recently reported that the New York Police Department is phasing out “The Thug” and replacing it with a target that looks more like Mr. Clean, a visage apparently inspired by no one. Not so with “The Thug,” which, depending on who’s doing the talking, is any number of people, from actor Ernest Borgnine to boxing great Rocky Graziano to Fred Worell, a deceased sergeant who worked as an instructor at the range.

At least, that has been the prevailing wisdom since the scowling face made its debut. But after Newsday’s report, retired Det. Harold Schiffer stepped forward with a proclamation likely only to deepen the mystery.

“I know who that guy is,” Schiffer, 65, said. “It’s a guy named Jesse Oldshein. He’s 90 years old and living in Florida.”

When contacted, Oldshein, a retired lieutenant, didn’t make much of the mystery, probably because to him, there’s no mystery about it. “That’s me,” he said from his home in Boynton Beach. “I was up at the range one day. They asked to take my picture. They said, ‘Pose in a boxing stance.’ Next thing I know, my face is on the target.”

. . .

Officially, “The Thug” is known as Silhouette SP-83A. It portrays a bad guy — snarl on face, snub-nosed revolver in hand — out of a Cagney movie. But the NYPD says the shaded area covering the head and much of the torso makes it difficult for instructors to see from a distance the shot patterns left behind by an officer.

Mr. Clean is shaded differently, as is a second new target, a faceless silhouette that looks like a Martian. The new targets were designed by the Firearms and Tactics Section and have been in place as part of a pilot program since July.

Oldshein says he never gave much thought to the issue, but his wife, Francine, remembers other police officers for years teasing him about it.

“It was a big deal back then,” she said. “So many people came over to us: ‘Hey, Jesse, you should get residuals,’ or ‘Hey, Jesse, I shot at you today.'”

Earlier: “Cops’ Favorite Target Thug, but Just Who Was the Guy?” New York Times, February 17, 2005.

What Are City Republicans Good For?

. . . quipping about taxpayer bailouts:

In 2006, Citigroup signed a 20-year, $400 million contract to name the Mets’ new stadium in Queens Citi Field. As recently as last week, the troubled financial-services conglomerate said it had no intention of backing out of the deal for the new stadium — the replacement for Shea Stadium, which is being demolished.

Well now, with Citigroup getting a second multi-billion-dollar rescue from the federal government, two City Council members would like to see Uncle Sam get some credit.

The two councilman, Vincent M. Ignizio and James S. Oddo, both of Staten Island, called on Tuesday for the stadium to be renamed Citi/Taxpayer Field. The two men will soon be the only Republicans on the 51-member Council; the only other Republican, Anthony Como of Queens, was recently defeated in a special election.

“Perhaps a name change is in order, since it will be the taxpayers of the country who will foot the bill for not only part of stadium, but for the company itself,” Mr. Ignizio said. “The taxpayers are spending billions for this company to maintain its operations and deserve the recognition for their largess.”

Mr. Oddo quipped: “Not naming the field after Jackie Robinson in the first place: mindless. Tom Seaver stepping onto the new mound for the first time: timeless. Actually acknowledging the contributions of the hardworking taxpayer: priceless.”

Cute.

Location Scout: Citi Field.