ALERT ON APARTMENT BUILDINGS
By LARRY CELONA and DAN MANGAN
May 20, 2002 -- Are those new people in the apartment next door not just tenants but also terrorists?
That's the possibility the FBI raised this week, warning that al Qaeda terror bigwigs have been talking about renting U.S. apartments and then blowing them sky-high.
While the feds say the information does not cite a time or place for any attacks, FBI field offices have all gotten the warning and passed it along to local terror task forces.
The threat "does worry me," said Michael McKee, associate director of the Manhattan-based Tenants & Neighbors lobbying group.
McKee noted that unlike most other U.S. cities - where the majority of people live in houses - New York's residents live mostly in apartments.
And because of that, New York might be that much more of "an irresistible attraction for the terrorists" just as the World Trade Center was, he said.
Police sources said the warning about terrorists rigging apartment buildings with explosives has been around for more than several weeks.
But one police source noted that the apartment warning was "very vague," with no locale singled out.
"It was a 'cover your a--' warning," the source said.
And although they have been made aware of the potential threat, cops in New York have not taken any special steps to prevent a terror attack on apartment buildings, the source said.
However, just because the warning was not specific does not mean it isn't possibly true, said another police source, who cited recent apartment bombings in Moscow.
The risk of similar events occurring in New York City has been a concern since last year for a group that represents residential landlords.
"You need to know who's living in your building" said Frank Ricci of the Rent Stabilization Association. He said his group advises landlords to conduct financial and criminal background checks on would-be renters.
But Ricci also said other tenants should act as the "eyes and ears" of a building, and alert a landlord about suspicious activity.
nypost.com
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