The Statue of Liberty | blog

Taxi driver Kone Mahamadou avoids walking the streets near his Harlem home at night, convinced violence threatens to reclaim the neighborhood - even if NYPD statistics say otherwise.

“If you walk these streets, especially at night, you know crime is definitely not down,” said Mahamadou, 44, who lives near Adam Clayton Powell Blvd. and W. 131st St.

“It’s not safe. I don’t know where they get these statistics.”

Crime is still plummeting across the five boroughs - including Harlem’s 32nd Precinct, where Mahamadou lives - continuing a trend that began 15 years ago, according to the NYPD.

Yet many residents worried about the nation’s battered economy think crime is actually surging - an impression that does not surprise experts.

The Department of Homeland Security is dismantling a next-generation biological attack warning system in New York City subways because of technical problems, U.S. officials said.

Robert Hooks, a deputy assistant secretary, said the department no longer believes it is necessary to expand the pilot program, as he told Congress in July, because of resource and technology limits. Hooks said a long-planned alternative sensor system, set for initial deployment late next year, also will not be available nationwide until 2012, to allow for more testing.

By: washingtonpost.com    Read more >>