DAREDEVIL EXPLOITED
SECURITY FLAWS
WHY IS THE
PORT AUTHORITY OUTSOURCING SECURITY?
Justin
Casquejo, 16, entered 1 World Trade Center
after crawling through a small hole in the
construction fence and scaling scaffolding
on the exterior of the building.
TAGS:
1WORLD TRADE CENTER, 1WTC SECURITY, PA OUTSOURCED
SITE
SECURITY, 16 YR OLD SCALES THE SPIRE OF 1WTC UNDETECTED,
SECURITY
LAPSES, PAPD SHOULD TAKE CONTROL,
ACCOUNTABILITY,
MOST SECURE STRUCTURE IS VULNERABLE
WITHOUT
PROPER SECURITY
(Thursday March 20, 2014, Vesey
St., NYC) From street level looking
south the site from which the 1 World Trade Center tower rises all the elements
of an active construction site are visible.
Behind wooden fences, areas of chain-linked fencing and small mobile
trailers used by the many contractors and subcontractors, work continues on the
skeleton-like Oculus that will stand above the PATH train station. Though the 104 story tower and its massive
communication rings, antennae and spire reach 1176 feet into the sky above,
this location remains a very active construction site. Given the significance of the ground from
which this new tower arises one would think that security would be of paramount
concern. But, it appears, one would be
disturbingly wrong.
In the early morning hours of
last Sunday a 16 year old high school student from Weehawken New Jersey, Justin
Casquejo, allegedly slipped through a narrow 12’x12’ slit in the security fence
and entered the site undetected. But,
that is just the beginning of this story that seems incredulous and has laid
bare a host of very serious security breaches pertaining to the site and 1
World Trade Center itself. The young
daredevil reportedly told Port Authority Officers that he had planned his stunt
well in advance and needed only three visits to case the site before pulling
off his bold caper. That he was not only
able to enter the premises undetected, climb six stories of external
scaffolding, ride an operator controlled elevator and pass a sleeping security
guard before making the final ascent of his daring stunt should be and is
embarrassing and humiliating to the owners and operators of the site, the Port
Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ).
A TOWERING FORTRESS
During the nine months it took
to remove the wreckage of the fallen Twin Towers that covered a 16 acre site of
unprecedented destruction on United States soil, the questions were already
being considered as to what, if anything, to construct on that valuable parcel
of NYC real estate. Architects and
engineers made proposals and bids until a final decision was made. Preeminent to all involved was constructing a
symbolic edifice that would proclaim to the world, friend and foe alike, that
no terrorist attack no matter how evil and cowardly, could ever shake our
strength and resolve. As our Military
quickly routed al Qaeda and their hosts in Afghanistan, the Taliban, the debate
here in New York City centered on what would be appropriate to build on such
blood soaked sacred ground. When the
final architectural design was agreed upon and contractors and subcontractors chosen,
the one guiding and unifying principle was to erect a towering building with
safety and security the primary design component.
Just as the original Twin
Towers required new and novel engineering techniques, 1 World Trade Center
would also be on the cutting edge of structural engineering and all the
construction trades. It was an ambitious
project with an ambitious goal; it was to rise to a height of 1,776 feet as
that number is also the year the United States declared their independence from
the United Kingdom. 1776 is a special number for Americans and it will forever
remain so.
The design process was exhaustive
and the engineers had to bring to life the architects dream while remaining
true to the inherent element of security.
At one point in the construction then NYPD Commissioner voiced his
strong opinion that the security on street level was not as robust as he
thought it should be. The balancing act
between building a skyscraper with aesthetic value that would enhance the
already spectacular New York City skyline and one that would be capable of
surviving another terrorist attack such as that of September 11, 2001, was
difficult. Yet, all involved were able
to meet the standards that had been set out for them in the specifics; safety
and security were as much part of the specs as was any individual
infrastructural system in the Tower. It now stands as the tallest building in
the western hemisphere while its exterior’s graceful façade belies its hidden
brutish strength.
HOW DID THIS HAPPEN OR, WTF?
Social media has brought us
all manner of entreating video clips, blogs, v-logs, selfies, screen captures
and real time broadcasting via cellular phones.
If one were to visit the heavily trafficked web site YouTube, it would
become readily obvious that virtually any search term the user might pose will
produce a number of “hits”. Among some
of the most recent trending video clips are of young boys scaling imposing
heights and dallying about many hundreds of feet above the ground. This trend seems to have originated in Russia
but has quickly spread around the world attracting more and more audacious
stunts. For most of us the fear of great
heights seems to be part of our genetic heritage, an innate uncomfortableness
in being so far above the ground.
Watching some of the clips of Russian
teenagers flirting with death as a
form of recreation is enough to induce vertigo in the rest of us. Some of the clips posted out there in
cyberspace are truly remarkable.
Apparently, the youngster from the New Jersey side of the Lincoln
Tunnel, Justin Casquejo and his two best pals were sufficiently motivated to
make their reputation in this odd acrobatic, death defying sport. Aside from reaching the peak of 1 World Trade
Center, they more than made their mark in the eyes of the PAPD, NYPD and other
NYC law enforcement and security experts.
What their feats prove beyond their obvious nerves of steel and brass
balls is that security at the site just a block from here is not simply
inadequate; it is negligent and inexcusable.
What is the message those terrorists who oppose us are receiving as they
too take note of this potentially lethal laxity of security?
WHERE IS THE PORT AUTHORITY?
Despite recent headlines
implicating some of the highest ranking officials in the Port Authority in
various corrupt schemes and actions, the men and women of the Port Authority
police Department (PAPD) are an effective Law Enforcement Agency (LEA) tasked
with the mission to secure wide ranging infrastructure throughout the NYC Metropolitan
Area. The PAPD is a bi-state agency with jurisdiction covering all three major
NYC Area airports, NY to NJ tunnels and bridges, bus terminals, the PATH train
system and 1 World Trade Center. Actually
it was only recently that the PAPD was able to wrest control over 1 WTC from
the NYPD. As the lead LEA at 1WTC they
have the full responsibility of maintaining the secure integrity of this
site. To learn that they have been outsourcing
some of their responsibilities to private security companies is beyond
disturbing; it appears to represent a lack of commitment and due diligence on
the part of the Port Authority that leaves some of this area’s most vital
infrastructure including 1WTC inadequately protected.
As the details of this stunt
perpetrated by Justin Casquejo have been reported publically, there is a distinct
degree of anger and frustration felt by all New Yorkers and particularly those
who live in this Lower Manhattan neighborhood, many of whom were forced to abandon
their apartments in the aftermath of 9-11-2001. “When I first read the article
in the Post (New
York Post) I was shocked. My shock
soon turned to anger”, commented Chris Lynch, a commodities broker and resident
of Battery Park City on the southern tip of Manhattan. Lynch continued, “I remember that day in
2001. I remember all of it and how
terrified my children were. After all
that happened and all the years since, I thought that the site was probably the
most secure plot of land in the City. It
is deeply concerning that it is not. If
high school kids can get in, what does that say about security”?
ASKING QUESTIONS, EMBARRASSING ANSWERS
The Port Authority has announced
that they will conduct a broad audit at 1WTC in the wake of this security
failure. One local security consultant,
a 33 year NYPD veteran contends that the “PAPD is unable to conduct an internal
review objectively”. However, there are
those in the PAPD and the Port Authority in general who say that no “outsiders”
need to be brought in to conduct a review of their policies and
procedures. But confidential sources in
the FBI have acknowledged that their agency “will participate” in whatever
security review will be conducted.
The fact that the PA has
outsourced the security of the 1WTC has taken many by surprise. From high ranking officials in NYPD to the
Secret Service, FBI, and other federal agencies that will be occupying space in
the new Tower, this breach of site security, including the fact that a security
guard was “sound asleep” on the 88th floor as Justin Casquejo
slipped by, is “reprehensible”.
As reported in today’s New
York Times, “Though Mr. Casquejo seemed to be nothing more than a young thrill
seeker, the breach raised questions about the level of security at the site,
which largely remains a construction zone more than 12 years after the
terrorist attacks on Sept. 11 destroyed the original World Trade Center”. The
PA Chief of Security retired NYPD veteran Joseph Dunne continued in the NYT, “We
take security and these type of infractions extremely seriously and will
prosecute violators.” Dunne continued, “We continue to reassess our security
posture at the site and we are constantly working to make this site as secure
as possible.”
All we can do at this time is
hope that this teenagers stunt serves as a wakeup call for the powers that be. As one PAPD Officer noted earlier today who
asked to speak anonymously due to his current position, “I always thought it
was a poor decision to hire a bunch of rent-a-cops for 1WTC. But, what can you do? We go about our business, try our hardest to
serve and basically hope for the best. I
guess we all see now that just hoping for the best is not enough.”
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Brooding Cynyx 2014 © All Rights Reserved
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