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Potential Targets Rely on a Patchwork of Security

Since 9/11, federal, state and local officials have tried to secure some 100 potential terrorist targets in a two mile radius in northern New Jersey.

By Jon Surmacz

May 09, 2005 — CSO —

Northern New Jersey Ports a Prime Target… Since 9/11, federal, state and local officials have tried to secure some 100 potential terrorist targets in a two mile radius in northern New Jersey. But, as The New York Times repots, more work needs to be done. Recently, the Times reports, a photographer and reporter were able to drive within 100 feet of tanks at a chemical plant that contained enough chlorine gas to threaten the lives of 12 million people who live in a 14-mile radius. Also, in broad daylight, the photographer snapped several shots using a camera with a lens the size of a large sidearm. His actions went unnoticed. A Congressional study in 2000 found that the ports of Newark and Elizabeth in New Jersey, where the plant is located, were the nation’s most enticing for terrorists, the Times reports. Since 9/11, New Jersey officials have spent more than $350 million in state tax money on counterterrorism. However, the burden appears to fall on local officials for much of the security detail at the ports. "They tell us to patrol, do this, do that, but don’t give us the money or equipment," said Sgt. Michael Cinardo of the Kearny Police Department, which is one of several law enforcement agencies responsible for guarding the chlorine plant. Said Stephen Flynn, a former Coast Guard commander who is now a security analyst for the Council on Foreign Relations, "We put more resources into security the average large bank in Manhattan than we do for the entire security of Port Newark."

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