Suspicious Package Alert Closes Bridge In New York

[Gold9472]

Suspicious package alert closes bridge in New York
Fri May 6, 2005 10:13 AM ET

NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York police closed the Manhattan Bridge on Friday while they investigated a suspicious package, a police spokeswoman said.

"The bridge is closed completely, it's still under investigation," the spokeswoman said.

Both subway trains and road traffic normally use the bridge between Manhattan and Brooklyn, and subway services were experiencing delays as a result of the closing.

The alert came the day after two makeshift grenades exploded outside a midtown building housing the British consulate and other foreign offices, renewing fears about security in the city in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

[somebigguy]

Here we go again, gotta sell the war in Iran.

[pcteaser]

Security Scare Closes Williamsburg Bridge For 2 1/2 Hours

http://www.wnbc.com/traffic/2070740/detail.html

NEW YORK -- Three men climbed the top of the Williamsburg Bridge on Friday morning after a night of bar-hopping on the Lower East Side, police said.

The drunken antic shut the bridge for more than two hours, snarling traffic and spawning unsubstantiated -- and inaccurate -- reports that the men had left suspicious packages on the bridge before rappelling off it.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the situation showed that the city's heightened state of alert to potential terrorist attacks was working.

"In the end, we did what we were supposed to do," Bloomberg said. "Operation Atlas has been implemented. It works. We are on top of things. It's also true you shouldn't be going on the Williamsburg Bridge, breaking into some place you shouldn't be, and drinking. How stupid can you be?"

The three men -- identified as John Izzi, 26, of Brooklyn; Tekomah Goggins, 29, of West Tisberry, Ma.; and Joshua Ferranto, 29, of Boston -- spent the night at three Lower East Side bars and one after-hours club before climbing to the top of the bridge, coming down and startling bridge workers, who called authorities, police said.

Police initially said the men scaled a suspension cable to the top of a bridge tower but said later in the day that the men had apparently climbed entirely through the tower.

The three are charged with reckless endangerment, criminal trespass and disorderly conduct. In addition, Goggins is charged with resisting arrest.

Police shut down the bridge and slowed traffic on nearby spans as they searched for suspicious objects.

"These three guys are in trouble and they certainly inconvenienced a lot of people," Bloomberg said.

The bridge, which connects Manhattan and Brooklyn, was closed in both directions after 8 a.m., backing up traffic on both sides. It was reopened at about 10:30 a.m.

[Gold9472]

I like how everyone assumes terrorism now for everything.

[dz]

i like how talking about 9/11 is completely off limits, but justifying horrible decisions using 9/11 is completely ok.

[pcteaser]

i like how talking about 9/11 is completely off limits, but justifying horrible decisions using 9/11 is completely ok.

Good point.