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American Morning

Latest Terror Warning Has New York City on Alert

Aired May 22, 2002 - 07:02   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Up front though this morning, the latest terror warnings that has New York City on alert. It, of course, is beginning the Fleet Week here in the city, and more than a dozen naval ships and some 6,000 sailors are expected to begin arriving in the harbor in the next couple of hours.

CNN's Deborah Feyerick and Michael Okwu are standing by live along the city's rivers. Michael is in Battery Park City near where the ferries for the Statute of Liberty depart. Let's get going though with Deborah Feyerick first, who is live at the Brooklyn Bridge. How much fear is there this morning, Deborah?

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly a great degree of concern. Police did shut down the Brooklyn Bridge at about 5:00 this morning to investigate a suspicious package. There were four emergency vehicles on the span of the bridge going from Brooklyn into Manhattan, while they were investigating all of this. Police were waving cars away, rerouting everybody to different entry points.

Now, overnight, police were at the entrance of the bridge. They were checking a lot of cars, using flashlights to search underneath; this because of the new information that the bridge could be a possible target.

The FBI has received information that they call unsubstantiated. That means there is no time, there is no date, there is no idea as to how this may even happen. They received some information from an al Qaeda detainee, and right now what they are doing is they are trying to validate it through different sources.

The FBI did feel that the information was important enough to pass on to the NYPD's Joint Terrorism Task Force, which is made up of a whole different bunch of agencies. They got the information at their daily briefing. They got a lot of information at this particular briefing. But this one, of course, had a name, so that's why they are taking extra security. Police say all precautions are in place. Now, traffic is already backed up to migraine-size proportions.

Also potentially at risk is the Statute of Liberty. The island is open. The statute is shut, as it has been since September 11. And right now, there is a lot of security in the harbor as well. Of course, nobody wants a repeat of the USS Cole. The FBI and the police, neither of those agencies has issued any sort of specific alert. All they are doing is they are asking people to keep their eyes wide open, a little wider than usual -- Paula.

ZAHN: So the anticipation is that there is going to be -- what -- random checks of cars and trucks all day long going over that bridge?

FEYERICK: Absolutely. I think just until -- they're going to have police checkpoints at various bridges and also at the tunnels. They have had checkpoints, but not to this degree. These checkpoints are very visible. Cars are definitely being stopped. Their interiors are being searched.

You know, all of this just a way to sort of calm public fears, to say we are there, we are looking, we are being watchful, we are taking care of this. They are trying to address what they can when they can.

ZAHN: Deborah Feyerick, thanks so much for that live report.

Let's turn our attention now to Michael Okwu. He is standing by near where the ferries for the Statute of Liberty depart -- good morning, Michael. What's going on there this morning?

MICHAEL OKWU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, Paula. Everyone here is anticipating what is supposed to be a very festive occasion. Some 22 U.S. naval ships will sail up the Hudson River starting at about 10:30 Eastern Time this morning.

And essentially, this is the largest number of ships deployed here to New York Harbor by the Atlantic Fleet since in the 15-year history of Fleet Week. But of course, it's all going to happen amid a great deal of security.

Just to give you a sense of some of the measures that are being put in place for Fleet Week. All non-naval ships must stay at least 100 yards away from naval vessels, and at least 200 yards away from those naval vessels that have been moored. And in fact, during the parade of ships, once they start sailing up the Hudson River, we are told that no ships can come within 300 yards of those ships.

Now, some of the measures were also taken -- were put into place on 9/11, so some of these measures had been in operation for many, many months. No vessel, for example, is allowed within 150 yards of the United Nations and other monuments, including Ellis Island and Liberty Island, which of course is where the Statute of Liberty sits. No vessels may operate within 25 yards of any bridge, any pier, any abutment, any tunnel ventilators or waterfront facilities.

And all of that is going to be monitored by personnel in a blimp that will be flying over the festivities here. It is going to be the main command-and-control surveillance -- Paula.

ZAHN: And, Michael, as I understand it, in spite of all of these warnings of an unspecified nature, even the governor is encouraging New Yorkers to get out and about this Memorial Day weekend. You haven't heard anything otherwise, have you this morning?

OKWU: I haven't heard anything otherwise, and in fact, people here are conducting their business like any other morning. People jogging, walking their dogs, people anticipating what they think will be an extraordinary, glorious display of those beautiful navy ships -- Paula.

ZAHN: We can use glorious in this city, can't we? All right. Thank you, Michael -- good luck.

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