Having/Fearing A Blast In New York City

Every few years, my friend Annette from Australia comes to visit. It's exciting for me – not only to see her and spend time with her face-to-face catching up on our lives, but it's also a chance for me to experience the city as a tourist.

Some of the places Annette and I enjoyed sightseeing over the past couple of weeks was The Highline – a defunct railroad that runs along midtown on the west side of the city. Now considered a public park, it's the perfect place to capture breathtaking views of the city.

We took plenty of photos by the Flatiron Building, Grand Central Terminal and Times Square – where thousands pass each day. Tourists take advantage of the sights and can't get enough of the buildings, the lights, the character of the city. Others, like myself, don't spend too much time thinking about the history of our city or appreciate the landmarks.

Safely enjoying NYC with Annette!

Sadly, the first Friday that Annette was in town the terror attacks took place in Paris. Even though the city's on alert all the time, I felt particularly vulnerable being there after the carnage that took place in such a romantic and enjoyable place overseas.

Ironically, one night when I was coming home from the city after a fun evening with Annette, there was a helicopter hovering over the 'L' train station. I didn't think much of it until I turned on the news to see that there'd been a shooting only moments before on Rockaway Parkway outside the train station (I exited the train station that day via the turnstile on Glenwood Road so I didn't see the entire remnants of the crime scene until later in the evening when I headed to the 69th Precinct Clergy Council meeting.)

More violence!

Some can say the “urban terrorism” going on in our community is due to targeted violence and vendettas or gang violence that results in innocent bystanders getting hit in the crossfire. So, would you rather be in Canarsie at midnight or Paris during the attacks? Targeted violence insinuates that something transpired between the victim and suspect before the violence took place.

In Paris? Innocent people who had nothing to do with their attackers – some who never committed a crime and all they wanted to do was enjoy an evening out at dinner, at a concert or at a soccer game – were terrorized and slaughtered without even being able to de-escalate the situation.

When I compared situations – in the grand scheme of things – I honestly felt a little less safe in a crowded place like Times Square, which seems like more of a terrorist target. A suicide bomber or active shooter would kill and injure hundreds of people – not one or two reckless thugs who wind up with a bullet in their torso from a drug deal gone wrong.

Kudos to the NYPD and its efforts at preparing officers to handle a terrorist attack. A few weeks ago, police officers took to the abandoned Bowery train station in Manhattan where terror drills were held. This training session was supposed to give officers a refresher in how to respond during an attack.

Let’s get real! You can train all sorts of units and special departments to “prepare” for a tragedy like 9/11 or the massacres in Paris, but what about civilians? My only problem with terrorism preparedness is that residents are not given or aware of regular seminars on what to do when shots ring out or a bomb goes off when they’re in a crowded city.

Unfortunately, at the core, there is no real way to prepare civilians or police for a real terrorist attack or mass shooting. Unless you’re living in a dream world, preventing violence like this is IMPOSSIBLE. Part of me feels that more money, aside from funds spent on training the NYPD to handle crisis situations, should be allocated to disseminating more information to tourists and civilians on staying safe when mass chaos breaks out.

Are YOU prepared if you’re enjoying a show at the Barclays Center and a bomb goes off? Sure, police are trained to evacuate and communicate to get everyone to safety, but how does an elderly woman know what to do when she’s being trampled while escaping an active shooter? What do we tell children to do?

Can we really spare hundreds of lives by training armies of officers in an empty train station?

We’re already unprepared to handle gun violence in our community – where do we run when a gang banger opens fire into a crowd or a barbecue trying to hit someone who ratted them out to police?

It’s gonna take a lot more than drills and dry-runs – which lack crowds of people that need to be ushered to safety – to make me feel secure ANYWHERE in our city. In a perfect world, we could all have a blast without worrying that a blast will take place.