Just what we all wanted for a holiday gift, a transit threat! New York increased security in subways and trains today after the government announced a possible threat of al-Qaida suicide bombers during the holiday season. The FBI received a “plausible but unsubstantiated” report that al-Qaida terrorists in late September may have discussed attacking the subway system.

Rep. Peter King, the top Republican on the House Homeland Security Committee, said authorities “have very real specifics as to who it is and where the conversation took place and who conducted it. It certainly involves suicide bombing attacks on the mass transit system in and around New York and it’s plausible, but there’s no evidence yet that it’s in the process of being carried out.” -Associated Press

Alright folks, just be sure to do what the sign says-see something, say something.

You may not be intimately familiar with the Kingston Trio, a folk group that originated in then 1950’s, probably best known for their reinterpration of “Tom Dooley,” or their original, “The MTA.”  In case you are aware of the group, then you’ll also find it sad that Nick Reynolds, a founding member of the trio, passed away on Wednesday in San Diego.

In celebration of the man and the group, here’s a video of the group in its heyday performing the classic “The MTA,” with Mr. Reynolds on vocals.

A sad event, indeed.   In reading the obituary on the Trio’s website, I noticed that in lieu of flowers, “Nick’s family suggests memorial contributions be made to the Natural Resources Defense Council.”  I can’t think of a better time than now to do so, in the memory of a great musician.   So takepart and visit the website for the NRDC, and give if you can.   And here’s another classic Trio track.

It was a sad day for NYC greenies last week when we learned that Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s congestion pricing plan bit the dust. It seems the State Legislature pulled the plug on the plan in a secret meeting after it had been approved by the City Council in a 30-20 vote. The plan would have created an $8 “tax” on vehicles entering Manhattan south of 60th street, reducing inner city congestion and its associated health risks, as well as creating approximately $4.5 billion in the next five years for the overstressed and under-funded NYC public transportation system.

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A NYC Transit worker who was walking home in Harlem was attacked by a group of four men. One stabbed him, but 5 train conductor Maurice Parks managed to pull out his own knife, stabbing one 28-year-old in the chest and a 22-year-old in the stomach. The four men, who approached the transit worker near 139th and St. Nicholas Avenue, were trying to rob him. The 22-year-old and a 15-year-old attempted to get away, but the police arrived before they could. The fourth attacker is still at large. And the 28-year-old died at the scene.

While Parks has not been charged with a crime, it seems that fatally stabbed man was not an attacker but possibly a bystander who was trying to help.

Yikes! What a tangled tale. Sadly it explains why sometime bystanders don’t get involved when seeing a crime unfold.

One way to keep our streets safer is to start a neighborhood crime watch. For more info visit http://www.ncpc.org/topics/neighborhood-watch