Addabbo, Pheffer, Braton & Building Trades: "We Need to Move Forward Quickly on Aqueduct Project"...

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NYS Senator Joseph P. Addabbo, Jr., NYS Assemblywoman Audrey I. Pheffer and Community Board 10 Chairperson Betty Braton today urged the Governor, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Senate Democratic Conference Leader John Sampson, to move forward as quickly as possible with their revamped Aqueduct bidder selection.“Given that no new bidders have entered into the Aqueduct selection process for over a year and that the state has all the financial and background information on the remaining bidders, it is conceivable that a quick, efficient and valid selection of an Aqueduct operator can be made,” Senator Addabbo stated. “In order to realize the thousand construction jobs, hundreds of post- construction jobs, local economic benefit, community gain and state financial benefit, we must move forward in a positive, expedient and thorough manner.”

“We have had too many false starts and stops. This project must move forward in a timely and expeditious manner. I look forward to immediately beginning the process to find a new operator for VLTs at Aqueduct. I will continue to demand that the community concerns and input are included. New York State must work diligently to bring to our community the jobs, employment opportunities and economic stimulus that Aqueduct will provide to our local economy,” said Assemblywoman Pheffer.

Queens Community Board 10 Chairperson Betty Braton agrees: “It is important that after eight years of delay, the Aqueduct VLT project moves forward with a vendor who meets the required conditions put forth last month, in order to provide much-needed jobs for people in the surrounding community, spur area economic development, and provide needed revenue to the state."

According to a March 15 Daily News article, Governor Paterson declared on Monday that the Aqueduct racino project should be back on track within a month, and was hopeful “to find a procedure that would work” within that timeframe. Reportedly, Paterson’s administration was drafting new rules to govern the selection of an outfit that would operate 4,500 video slot machines after his first choice, AEG, was dismissed. The draft of the new selection process is set to go before legislative leaders sometime this week, and apparently would be run more like a regular state bid, overseen by the Lottery Division and making recommendations based on “the best value,” according to a Paterson official. Then the governor’s office and legislative leaders would review that analysis “to get their concurrence,” the official said. The governor also said he intends to meet soon with both Silver and Sampson to discuss the selection of a new bidder.

One leader, Senate Democratic leader John Sampson, wants to simply pick one of the remaining bidders that lost out to AEG, so the state could more quickly benefit from an expected $300 million upfront payment. Another leader, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, is said to prefer an expedited process based on the state’s procurement laws, like Paterson officials. But Silver also insisted on four conditions when AEG was picked, and several are likely to make it into the new process, especially that the winning bidder guarantee an upfront $300 million payment to the state. Paterson aides have said the administration wants to water down a condition that every investor go through a gaming licensing process, something along the theory that was suggested by Speaker Silver, but one that’s actually practical and feasible.

A March 14 Albany Times Union article, “A Debacle at Aqueduct,” sums up the present situation: “The state, meanwhile, can’t count the money that a casino deal of this magnitude would mean fast enough. The best estimate is that the slot machines would bring in $300 million a year, quite a sum for a state in dire fiscal shape. The New York Racing Association, which runs Aqueduct, Belmont and Saratoga Race Course, has serious money woes of its own, which could be alleviated, in part, with promised slot machine revenue…At least other states that see gambling as a way out of fiscal trouble don’t take nearly 10 years to award casino contracts. The last thing New York needs is to reopen the entire bidding process. It needs, as Senate Democratic leader John Sampson says, to just get it done. And it needs, as Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver says, to follow the procurement laws this time. Doing it right, in other words…”

Why the State Must Do It Quickly

Addabbo continues, “The future existence of Aqueduct as a racetrack depends on a quick selection process.”

Senator Addabbo additionally submits a joint statement he obtained from Gary LaBarbera, President, Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York, and Louis Coletti, President and CEO, Building Trades Employers Association. The Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York includes local affiliates of 15 national and international unions representing 100,000 working men and women in the five boroughs of New York City:

The development of a racino at Aqueduct represents a critically important and time-sensitive opportunity to provide hundreds of millions of dollars in desperately needed revenue for the state and to create 1,000 union construction jobs for an industry that has lost 21,000 jobs in the last two years.

Due to these factors, we call on the state to proceed with selecting one of the remaining qualified bidders that can both build quickly and provide the state with the upfront money to help close the budget deficit.

The developer must furthermore commit to exclusively use union labor and contractors of the building and construction industry in New York City. This commitment is the only way to assure that New York City residents will be employed on this project at good wages with health insurance and pensions and that local communities will share in the economic opportunity to be created.

We must proceed with the selection of a developer that meets this criteria now. We cannot afford the further and unnecessary delays associated with going through another lengthy request-for-proposals process when other well qualified bidders are ready to invest in making this development a reality.

Why the Project Must Go Forward

Adds the Senator, “If the project at Aqueduct does not occur and it ceases to remain a racetrack, quite possibly the state could sell the land to any developer. Based on the current zoning of the Aqueduct property, most any kind of development could happen there as of right, without a hint of community input. Residents and their concerns would be totally shut out of the process and the finished product. The community’s worse nightmare could become a reality at Aqueduct if it stops being operated as a racetrack.”

Seinfeld Appears On 'SNL' To Rip Eric Massa...

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Continuing to promote "The Marriage Ref" by simply being Jerry Seinfeld, the comedian joined Seth Meyers last night for the segment "Really!?! With Seth And Jerry." Seinfeld took on the role originated by Amy Poehler as he and Meyers laid into Eric Massa. Asked Seinfeld: "Why do I have the feeling that Massa massages were followed by Massa-bations?"

SNL opened the show last night with a sketch mocking Eric Massa and the ever-growing list of "non-sexual" acts he engaged in with his staff. Cutting away to his memories, we finally got a glimpse at the tickle-fest that was his 50th birthday, as well as insight as to what "snorkeling" actually is. And while it may seem lewd, it's nothing compared to his stint in the Navy.

Free Health Fair in Ridgewood on March 20th Sponsored by Senator Joe Addabbo...

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What: Health Fair Sponsored by Senator Joe Addabbo
When: Saturday, March 20th from 10AM to 2PM
Where: Trinity Reformed Church in Ridgewood 66-30 60th Place.
The event is FREE..!

Longtime Leader Sears Faces Challenger by Azi Paybarah - The New York Observer

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Helen Sears flirted with the idea of running as a Republican in the special election for Hiram Monserrate's State Senate seat.

Now, she's got a challenge for her position as a district leader. Sears, who's been a district leader as long as I've been alive (literally!), is facing a challenge from Jessica Ramos, a local union organizer.

Ramos told me, "I am running for District Leader in the 34th Assembly District--Part A--because we need change. The incumbent has failed to live up to the values of the party."

There's also a racial undercurrent to this race that can't be ignored. Sears is white, Ramos is Hispanic, and the demographics in the neighborhood are trending away from Sears and more towards Ramos.

Just another fun race to watch in Jackson Heights

Richmond Hill Journal - Richmond Hill in Queens Aims to Do Better With Census by Kirk Semple - NYTimes.com

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Harpreet Toor, left, and Ravisharon Kaur talked with members of the South Asian community in Queens about the census. Eirini Vourloumis for The New York Times

Kulwinder Singh, a 52-year-old Punjabi Sikh who works as a tow-truck operator, approached a young community organizer who was taping a promotional poster for the 2010 census to a wall inside his temple in Richmond Hill, Queens. Mr. Singh looked perplexed.

Related

The 2010 Census Form

The New York Times

Percentage of 2000 Census questionnaires returned by mail, in selected tracts

“Population count,” the organizer, Herminder Singh, 19, explained in Punjabi, before launching into a detailed explanation of the survey.

The older man listened intently, finally declaring, with a resolve that would warm the heart of any census official: “My family has 10 to 15 members. When the form comes, I’ll fill it out.”

Those forms will start arriving in the mail next week, and government officials say the success of this year’s census will depend heavily on the grassroots efforts of thousands of nonprofit, corporate and community organizations that have volunteered to mobilize their constituents to complete the forms and mail them in.

They have their work cut out for them in Richmond Hill, a middle-class neighborhood with a large South Asian and Indo-Caribbean population. In the 2000 census, swaths of the area had some of the most dismal response rates in the city, with only about 4 in 10 households mailing back the forms.

This time around, members of Seva, a community-based organization that works with Richmond Hill’s immigrants, have vowed to raise those numbers by acting as advance troops for the Census Bureau.

“We understood how there was a vacuum in the community,” said Gurpal Singh, 34, the group’s executive director, who was born in the Punjab region of India and has lived in Richmond Hill since 1985. “We looked at what happened in 2000, which was nothing.”

Census officials say these advocates will be crucial in helping to dispel fears that the information they provide on the form will be used against them. Though the law protects the confidentiality of the information, many illegal immigrants fear that providing their personal information could lead to deportation. The group members can also help overcome language obstacles — a particular concern in Queens, where nearly half the residents were born overseas.

“The challenge is the thing that we’re also very proud of, and it’s our diversity,” said Susie Tannenbaum, the community and cultural coordinator for the borough president’s office. “So many language groups, so many immigrant populations.”

Richmond Hill, once heavily Italian and Irish, has changed drastically in recent decades. South Asians, particularly Indians, began settling there in large numbers during the mid-20th century. They were followed, beginning in the 1970s, by Guyanese and Trinidadians — descendants of Indians taken to the Caribbean in the 19th century to work as contract laborers on sugar plantations. The neighborhood is also home to one of the world’s largest Punjabi Sikh populations outside India.

Gurpal Singh and his partners at Seva decided to get involved in the census outreach more than a year ago because it dovetailed with their work as organizers. They saw it as a way “to get people into the room, to get them talking and to then discuss other things,” Mr. Singh said.

They have conducted scores of seminars for Richmond Hill businesses, community groups and its plethora of mosques, Sikh and Hindu temples and Christian churches. They have sent out e-mail blasts and used Facebook.

“We’ve been taking the grassroots approach, just making sure the local real estate guy understands what the census is about and the message he should send out to his clients,” Mr. Singh said.

The group’s attention to the neighborhood’s cultural subtleties is reflected in the thousands of posters and leaflets it has printed. Leaflets for the Punjabi population, for instance, are in Punjabi, illustrated with photos of Sikhs in turbans. But those for the Guyanese population are in English, with images of West Indian people.

“Because we live in the neighborhood, we have to use our instincts to know whether someone is going to walk by a poster and think it’s sexy,” said Ravisharon Kaur, 35, director of programs and development for Seva.

But some of the most critical work has begun only in the past few weeks, as organizers and their workers — many of them high school and college students, like Herminder Singh — blanket the neighborhood with literature and address constituents’ concerns one-on-one.

On a recent Sunday, Nadia Kahnauth, a Guyanese-American lawyer and Seva representative, stood in front of her congregation at the Bhuvaneshwar Mandir temple and gave a short speech about the census. (The temple is in Ozone Park, but draws some of its mainly Guyanese congregation from neighboring Richmond Hill.)

After the service, Ms. Kahnauth, clutching a stack of Census literature and flanked by her husband and three school-age volunteers, stood next to a statue of the Hindu deity Ganesha and buttonholed congregants as they filed by in stockinged feet.

“Do you have any questions about the census?” Ms. Kahnauth cheerily asked a Guyanese man. He stopped, a confused look on his face.

“It’s very simple,” she said, explaining the process.

“O.K.,” the man said, nodding, though his apprehensive smile and wary glances suggested otherwise. As he headed toward the door, Ms. Kahnauth smiled and shrugged, as if to say she had done the best she could.

The Seva activists acknowledge that they have not done enough to take aim at the neighborhood’s growing yet atomized Latino population, which accounts for about 28 percent of the total. In coming days, the group plans to dispatch a team of interns to canvass Latino businesses and storefront evangelical churches.

And once the census campaign is over, organizers will turn to a cause that hangs on the results of the count: the redrawing of state and federal legislative districts. They intend to leave the neighborhood census committees in place.

With a slight tweak to the committee names and a major shift in focus, they will be ready for their next battle.

South Queens Democratic Club March Meeting - March 24th...

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GUEST SPEAKER

BARBARA CONACCHIO,

CHIEF CLERK – QUEENS BOARD OF ELECTIONS

Date: Wednesday March 24, 2010

Time: 7:30 P.M.

Place: Carosello’s Restaurant

NYPD 106 Precinct Cop of the Month Award for March 2010...

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"Cops of the Month"...Police Officer Shawn Phillips and Police Officer Stephen T. Betts (center l-r) with Deputy Inspector Joseph Courtesis and Community Council President Frank Dardani...

Preservationists Present Plans for St. Saviour’s Site by Jeremy Walsh - YourNabe.com

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Proponents of transforming the old St. Saviour’s site into a city park have drafted this photo rendering of what it might look like. Image courtesy Christina Wilkinson

Although state funding for the land acquisition is in doubt, a preservationist group has unveiled a new look for the former site of St. Saviour’s Church in Maspeth.

Christina Wilkinson, president of the Newtown Historical Society, unveiled a photo rendering of what the 1.5-acre property at 57-40 57th Road would look like if purchased by the city and transformed into a park.

“I met with the residents who live around the site and they listed the amenities they would like to have in the proposed park,” she said at a Community Board 5 meeting last week. “It looks very nice.”

The features they requested include a wrought iron fence, walking paths, benches, restrooms, a playground for young children, a flagpole, a landscaped hill with a statue, and a thick line of trees shielding the park from noise and pollution along Rust Street, a main thoroughfare for trucks.

The movement to acquire the land for a park began last summer after city Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe indicated the agency would be interested in buying the property if local elected officials could find the funding. The city has since conducted an appraisal of the property, but those numbers have not been released, Wilkinson said.

But the city’s best hope for buying the land, a property acquisition program within the state Environmental Protection Fund, is in jeopardy as Gov. David Paterson and the state Legislature struggle to close a projected $8.2 billion deficit.

The governor’s initial budget proposed a 20 percent reduction to the fund from $255 million to $205 million and would change its primary funding source from the real estate transfer tax to an updated bottle deposit law expected to bring in an estimated $118 million in unclaimed recycling deposits.

State Parks Commissioner Carol Ash warned City Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley (D-Middle Village) last month that the changes would indefinitely suspend the property acquisition program.

State Assembly members Marge Markey (D-Ridgewood) and Mike Miller (D-Woodhaven) have both signed on to a letter asking Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) to spare the fund.

The church was built in 1847 and sold to the developer in 2005. The land has been for sale to developers since 2006. The owner, Maspeth Development, hired Manhattan-based Berko & Associates last year. They listed the property for $8.5 million, though a source said the owner is asking for $9 million. The city Department of Finance has assessed its 2010 property tax value at $2.2 million.

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Reach reporter Jeremy Walsh by e-mail at jewalsh@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 154.

Aqueduct Casino Deal is Dead by Russ Buettner and Charles V. Bagli - City Room Blog - NYTimes.com

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Gov. David A. Paterson’s office announced on Thursday that the company he had chosen to build and run a casino at the Aqueduct racetrack could not pass muster with state licensing officials and would not be awarded the lucrative contract.

A senior administration official said the company that had been selected, Aqueduct Entertainment Group, had supplied insufficient financial details for some of its investors. In other cases, the state’s Lottery Division was not comfortable licensing some of the company’s investors. The state had given the company until Tuesday to supply the information.

Barry Berke, a lawyer for Aqueduct Entertainment Group, called the state’s decision “arbitrary and capricious” and suggested the group is considering filing a lawsuit.

“In the event that AEG is not given an opportunity to address the issues raised by the Lottery, and the decision to reverse the prior selection of AEG as the successful bidder is not reconsidered, AEG intends to pursue all available remedies,” Mr. Berke said in a statement.

Under the advice of his lawyers, the governor has recused himself from the process.

Had its bid been approved, Aqueduct Entertainment Group would have had to come up with a $300 million licensing fee by the end of March, money that would have helped the state’s beleaguered finances.

The governor’s office said it now wanted to pursue a traditional, though rapid, procurement process, rather than the process that has been underway for eight years, of trying to reach a consensus pick among the leaders of the legislature and the governor.

Hollywood Stars Film in Snowy Woodhaven - Queens Chronicle

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Actress Rachel McAdams, top, Director Roger Michell, left, and rapper 50 Cent keep their coats bundled while filming a new romantic comedy last week. PHOTOS BY PJ SMITH

Woodhaven residents willing to brave the snow and cold Friday got a toasty treat: a glimpse at two of Hollywood and music’s hottest stars: Rachel McAdams, best known for her roles in “The Notebook” and “Mean Girls” and rapper-turned-actor 50 Cent.

McAdams and 50 Cent could be found milling about 94th Street and 85th Road, filming “Morning Glory,” a new romantic comedy by director Roger Michell that explores the wacky and hilarious lives of four morning news producers and anchors.

The film, which comes out this year, also stars Harrison Ford, Diane Keaton, Jeff Goldblum and Patrick Wilson.

Dad Returns Stolen Chalices to Queens Church, Prompting Son to Confess by Oren Yaniv - NY Daily News

Read original...Stolen chalices were returned to St. Helen's Church in Howard Beach. Barcelo for News

Two stolen chalices were returned to a Queens church by a man whose son was then charged with the burglary that shocked the parish two weeks ago.

Thomas Kurplewski told the Daily News his 20-year-old son Theodore confessed a few days ago to swiping the prized items - and that he and his friend wanted to give them back.

"Remorse was immediately felt," Kurplewski said of his son. "He's a good Christian man."

When the elder Kurplewski and his buddy showed up at the rectory of St. Helen's Church in Howard Beach on Tuesday night - holding a plastic bag with the loot - they told a different story.

The Rev. Alfred LoPinto said Kurplewski claimed he'd just bought the cups outside a nearby housing project.

LoPinto called cops, who questioned Kurplewski and eventually arrested the son. Theodore Kurplewski was awaiting arraignment Wednesday night.

The chalices were stolen, along with $150 from the poor box, in the Feb. 26 break-in. One worth $1,000 was given to LoPinto during a visit to Rome. The other, valued at $13,000, belongs to the vicar, the Rev. Robert Keighron.

It was an ordination gift from his parents and is supposed to be used for the rest of his life.

"That's why I'm so overjoyed it has been returned," Keighron said. "More than the monetary value, it has a tremendous amount of sentimental value.

"Whoever did it, in my heart, is completely forgiven," Keighron said. "But justice, in whatever way, also has to be done."

Poof! Parking Takes a Toll on Residents, Local Businesses as Spots Vanish in Woodhaven by Lisa L. Colangelo - NY Daily News

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Deli owner Mark Gallagher shows several tickets he’s received for parking in unmetered area near his Jamaica Ave. business. Farriella for News

Woodhaven has many qualities of a small town: People know their neighbors, have lived in their homes for decades and can tell you exactly where to shop.

When it comes to parking, however, the 1-square-mile neighborhood has some big-city problems.

Shoppers, merchants and residents jockey for spots along Jamaica Ave. and its side streets. Even residential blocks aren't immune from chronic parking shortages, worsened by outdated rules and patchwork enforcement that also plague other areas highlighted in the Queens Parking Crunch series.

More and more, homeowners are turning their front yards into parking spaces. The curb cuts they create take away even more spots on the crowded streets.

"There are too many cars in a small area," said Rose Palmeiri, 70, who has lived in Woodhaven for 50 years. "My husband rents a garage because there is just no parking. Years ago it was not like this."

Some residents say part of the problem stems from a surge in the number of illegal conversions. Homes originally built for one or two families now house even more.

Others say the neighborhood is flooded with cars that have out-of-state license plates and can clog up spots for weeks at a time.

The Woodhaven Residents Block Association recently vowed to track down owners of these cars and send them a warning. If that doesn't work, they plan to contact the state's Motor Vehicles Department.

"My house was built in 1919," said Vance Barbour, 51, who moved to Woodhaven 23 years ago. "It wasn't meant to be for people with multiple cars per family."

He rents a garage down the block, but that doesn't always help.

"If people don't find a spot by the end of the night, they park in the driveway of my rented garage," he said.

Barbour said the city should crack down on people who build curb cuts in front of their homes.

"That just takes away a street spot," he said.

Maria Thomson of the Greater Woodhaven Development Corp. said the situation worsened after the city changed parking meter fees. Instead of 30 minutes, a quarter now only pays for 20 minutes of parking.

Merchants say the parking crunch has hurt their businesses that are already suffering in a tough economy. And they are irritated that the city looks to traffic tickets as an important source of revenue.

"If shoppers can't park, they won't go to local stores," said Mark Gallagher, owner of the Manor Deli at 94-12 Jamaica Ave. "They will just go to Stop and Shop and Trader Joe's because they have parking lots."

He also noticed more homeowners removing shrubs and fences from their front yards to create a parking spot.

As Gallagher spoke about the parking situation one day last week, a traffic agent walked up and down the street in front of his shop as people rushed in for lunch orders.

Margie Schmidt, who operates the popular Schmidt's Candy store across the street, agreed that traffic agents tend to prey on customers.

"When people come in here, I always remind them about the meters," she said.

While there are no current plans to install muni-meters along Jamaica Ave., nearby Woodhaven Blvd. is part of the Transportation Department's Citywide Congested Corridors study, an agency official said.

The agency is collecting data on traffic, transit services and parking issues along Woodhaven Blvd. from Queens Blvd. to Rockaway Blvd. Lessons from the study could be applied to Jamaica Ave., officials added.

Relief can't come fast enough for some.

"My business is down 30%," Gallagher said. "Part of it is the recession but part of it is definitely the parking. It's a bad situation."

Queens Center Mall Accused Of Using Fake Parking Signs To Steer Revenue - WPIX

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Bogus "No Parking" signs had shoppers shelling out even more cash.

A recent report finds parking attendants have been posting no-parking signs marked with fake NYPD emblems outside the Queens Center Mall, forcing drivers to pay to park their cars in the garage.

The signs may have looked official, but they're not, NYPD spokesman Sgt. Carlos Nieves told the Daily News.

"The precinct was not aware that these signs were being put up," Nieves said. "The only people that are allowed to put these signs up are the NYPD."

The fake, neon signs often appeared on holidays and most Sundays, when metered parking is free.

Queens Center Mall spokeswoman Dawn Simon said eliminating street parking was meant to "facilitate traffic flow." Garage employees began posting the signs in 2004, when the mall was undergoing an expansion. Years later, garage employees continued posting the signs, apparently to increase revenue.

The parking garage costs $3 for the first hour and $1 an hour after that.

The signs could warrant charges of defrauding the city or obstructing governmental administration -- both Class E felonies.

Going Green in Queens 2010 - A Greening, Educational and Networking Conference - March 27th @ Al Oerter Recreation Center, Flushing NY

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The Going Green in Queens 2010 Planning Committee

The Queens Coalition for Parks

In partnership with the Queens Civic Congress

Announces the

GOING GREEN IN QUEENS 2010

A Greening, Educational and Networking Conference

Saturday, March 27, 2010

9:30 AM to 3:30 PM

At the

Al Oerter Recreational Center

131-40 Fowler Avenue - Flushing NY 11355

Easily Accessible by Public Transportation:

The #7 Train—Shea Stadium /Willets Point Station

The Q58 Bus- Corner of College Pt. Blvd and Fowler Avenue

And by Car - With free ample parking near venue

(right off College Point Blvd)

Free admission..!

Free workshops, free giveaways,free food, fun!

Please pre-register:

Herr281761@aol.com

Or

GGIQ2010@yahoo.com

Over 50 tablers/exhibits and 10 workshops - Tours of the new pool building

Going Green in Queens 2010 will be great!

Sponsored by:

• Citizens Committee for NYC-Partnerships for Parks

• Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Queens Chapter 31028

• With our media partner-The TimesLedger Papers

We are also collecting used cell phones for our 911 only program as

well as used eyeglasses and ink/toner cartridges for recycling

Look for us on Face Book and Twitter

NYPD Officer Caught Sleeping in Terrorist-Targeted Subway Station - WPIX

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A New York City police officer whose job is to monitor a terrorist targeted subway station underneath Grand Central Station, was caught snoozing on the job Thursday.

In photos exclusively obtained by PIX News, the officer is seen sound asleep inside the platform surveillance booth on the 7 train platform. The photos were taken at around 9:45 a.m. Thursday, just after the height of rush hour.

The officer was apparently nodding off for about 30 seconds, tried to wake up and then fell fast asleep.

NYPD Commissioner Paul J. Browne, released a statement late Thursday, saying the incident is under investigation.

"The NYPD is investigating whether an officer, who experienced a death in the family overnight, fell asleep on duty the following morning," Browne said.

Considered to be a high security "fishbowl" station, the subway platform handles tens of thousands of commuters daily. To make matters worse, Grand Central Terminal - which houses the station in question - was one of many locations where Al Qaeda operative Najibullah Zazi planned on carrying out suicide bombings. The plot was foiled by authorities in September 2009.