Please, Don’t Wesley Autrey Him!

We have a way of chewing up our heroes with effusive mayoral proclamations, Letterman appearances, State of the Union speeches and boatloads of swag until they’re finally fleeced for all they’re worth by sycophants and hangers on.

That said, ABC News aviation consultant John Nance is looking like he’s lost a step or two and should probably think about making the way for someone with a little more cred:

After hero Capt. Chesley B. “Sully” Sullenberger III turned the Hudson from a river into a runway, his co-pilot beamed.

“No one has ever pulled this off,” Jeff Skiles said as they floated in a rescue boat, according to passenger Billy Campbell, 49. “You’ve done something amazing!”

Sullenberger did not seem all that impressed, Campbell told The Post.

But when Campbell thanked the pilot for saving their lives, he did say, “You’re welcome.”

Such humility is not surprising to friends and colleagues of the US Airways pilot.

NTSB board member Kitty Higgins said Thursday’s feat “has to go down the most successful ditching in aviation history.” But to Sullenberger and his brother pilots, it’s just another day’s work.

Wow — Actual Legislation, Actual Information — Is This How Government Is Supposed To Work?

In case you were wondering:

How long can you park if the meter for the space is broken?

Many New Yorkers do not know the current answer — one hour — and are frustrated when they get tickets, particularly as New York City has aggressively raised fines and enforcement in recent years.

Today, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg sign ed a bill that permits drivers to park at a broken meter for as long as they would normally be able if the meter were working. The law is scheduled to take effect on March 1.

The law applies even if the single-space meter is missing. (“A person shall be allowed to park at a missing or broken meter up to the maximum amount of time otherwise lawfully permitted at such meter,” the new law states.)

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.

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.

He Is I, And I Am Him, Slim With The Tilted Brim

Community Boards across the city deal now facing Snoop Dogg quandary:

Local residents should expect to see fewer blocks named in honor of their late friends and neighbors now that the city has instituted new guidelines regulating the practice.

Just a few weeks ago, the city approved 85 new street designations throughout the five boroughs — 13 of them right here in Brooklyn. But that’s the last big batch of honors the borough is likely to see for some time.

Community Board 11 Chair Bill Guarinello recently explained the new criteria his board will now be following, saying that “street namings have been run like the Old West” and that in the past the designations were partly granted on the basis of “who you know.”

“Community Board 11 has new standards,” Guarinello said. “There are going to be times now when we are going to be rejecting people.”

Under the new criteria, candidates put up for consideration must have been “New Yorkers of a significance to New York City.”

This greater emphasis on citywide rather than local appeal significantly raises the threshold that prospective honorees now have to achieve before a street is designated in their honor.

The latest group of Brooklynites to have streets named after them includes victims of violent crime, a successful realtor and members of Coney Island’s Polar Bear Club.

According to Guarinello, Community Board 11 committees charged with considering new street dedication applications will immediately begin using the city’s revamped criteria.