Al Graser, Susan Baer and John Jacoby get new assignments
Port Authority has made key changes to its’ regional airport management teams and this is covered in detail in the inside cover articles. To summarize, Al Glaser, Manager of JFK Airport has been assigned two critical assignments; one is being point man on the team who will be investigating airspace and capacity at our regional airports. Secondly, Al will be managing the process of putting the “Port Authority Brand” at Stewart Airport. Taking the helm at JFK will be Susan Baer who was Manager of Newark Airport. Susan will hit the ground running – an old military term meaning she will be ready to go on day one. Susan knows the airports, and has a wealth of management experience. John Jacoby has been named gener-

After a day of filming ''Old Dogs" at Terminal 4, John and Robin accepted Ajay's invitation to relax in KLM's newly renovated Oasis Lounge.

At 82 years of age, most of us will be thinking about sitting on a rocking chair. Not Azriel (Al) Blackman. The JFK Aircraft Maintenance Crew Chief is still on the job. His wife, Delores Blackman, will still be packing his lunch and waiting for him to arrive from his days work. Born on August 30th 1925, his career started with American Export Airlines as an apprentice Mechanic in the Sheet Metal Shop on July 17th, 1942, a month and one half shy of his 17th birthday, earning 50 cents an hour. Today, Al is the most senior employee in AA’s history. Al’s career certainly has not been boring. On November 10th, 1942, Al literally ran into his first airplane, he struck his head against a Wing Float causing laceration of the skull. His recovery and usual enthusiasm was enough to get him a raise to .70 cents per hour in May 1943. Along with that raise came accolades from the Superintendent of Maintenance that “this man puts extra effort into his desire to learn. He is very cooperative and shows capabilities of becoming a fine Mechanic”. That prediction has been verified over the last 65 years. Al became a Crew Chief in 1960, and has earned the Golden Wrench, and Charles Taylor Awards in addition to many other

recognitions from his peers and members of Management throughout his career. On his 60th Anniversary, Al stated that he had no plans to retire. “I love what I do, he said, it’s like working on a hobby and getting paid for it. Even if I won Lotto, I’d keep working, as long as I can and I’m able”. To date Al has been true to his words. Al keeps things in perspective; he says his greatest accomplishments are his children Adrienne and Mitchell and his granddaughter Rachel.

Do you see the photo of the sign at JFK Airport? It says if you “see something say something”. But supposing the government that asks you to do this does not protect you against a lawsuit. As per the usual, our elected genius’s in Congress have left this open. Members of Congress talk a great security story but when the chips are on the table, they fold. They can attack the decisions of the Executive Branch, but when they have to make a decision, they disappear. This is the modus operandi of these kinds of politicians. Do what is safe, do what is non-controversial and let others do the heavy lifting. Getting back to the sign; when

we read this what do we think? I thought that if we saw something threatening; a person who did not belong somewhere, someone trying to climb or get under a fence, someone leaving a piece of luggage in a crowded area, anything that is out of the ordinary, we would report this to the authorities and if necessary, present oral or written testimony of same. We read about the passengers on the Minneapolis flight who reported the bizarre behavior of seven Islamic passengers. How many Airport Press readers are aware that the people who reported this behavior are now being sued by The Council of American Islamic Relations (CAIR)? They have been threatened with multimillion dollar lawsuits, have been subpoenaed to provide testimony and are now wondering if their homes and

livelihood are at risk. Would they still report this behavior, or would they sit meekly on the airplane wondering if they were going to be blown out of the air. House Resolution - HR1640T sponsored by our Peter King of Long Island would have protected honest and good faith concerns of citizens who report “suspicious” activity. This is the piece of legislation that was rejected by Congress. The same government who wants us all to work together to defeat terrorism gives us a wet noodle to fight it. Now, when you see all these ubiquitous signs at JFK, Newark and LaGuardia; do you want to report odd behavior? Do you want to heed those signs and report what you have seen? Do call the number posted on the sign when you see someone scaling a fence or acting suspicious? I know what I’m going to do; call the phone number and to hell with CAIR and all their toadies in the press. To contact your Senators go to: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm