CITYWIDE

THIS LABOR DAY COULD BE EXTRA QUIET

New York City travel agents are used to people trying to get out of town on Labor Day weekend, but they say the city could be extra quiet this weekend. “I don’t know if it’s partly the weather situation, or just wanting to get away because of the convention, but a lot of people are like, ‘Get me out of here for cheap,'” said a Travelcraft travel agent, Carina Klein. She said most callers are looking for destinations within a four-hour drive. Many are going to the Hamptons or upstate, she said, adding that there’s a lot of interest in spas. She said there are more travelers than usual – and the phones keep ringing. “There seems to be more last minute calls than usual,” she said. “People are still calling.” Predictions by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey for weekend travel seem to confirm the agents’ feelings. In a press release sent out yesterday, the Port Authority predicted that 9% more people would use the airports this year than last year. Kennedy Airport is expected to see the biggest increase in passenger traffic. The authority said 552,000 people are expected to use the airport, a 15.4% increase over last year. Most New Yorkers said they wanted to have a relaxing weekend of barbecues, family time, and cultural activities, whether they were staying here or heading out of town. A meteorologist at the National Weather Service, Scott Reynolds, said that as long as New Yorkers stay close to home, the weather would be “very nice,” about 80 degrees each day, with no rain in the forecast.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

WESTCHESTER

BOMB STUDY PROMPTS OFFICIAL TO KEEP ROAD CLOSED

WHITE PLAINS – A study on what a bomb might do to the Kensico Dam in Westchester has changed the county executive’s mind about allowing traffic on the road that runs along the top of the 87-year-old dam.

County Executive Andrew Spano said yesterday that West Lake Road, which he had planned to reopen on Saturday, would close permanently in the interest of public safety. He said New York City, which owns the Kensico Reservoir behind the dam, had undertaken and submitted “a bomb blast study to evaluate the dam’s vulnerabilities.”

He did not release details of the study. Christopher Ward, New York City’s environment commissioner, had insisted in June that the road remain closed, saying that if the dam were lost or damaged, “about 250,000 residents could face catastrophic flooding and New York City could lose most of its drinking water.”

The 307-foot-high masonry dam in Valhalla was built in 1917, and there have been concerns that the dam would be vulnerable to a car bomb. The road on top brings traffic close to the reservoir, which handles 90% of New York City’s water supply.

The half-mile-long road was closed for four months immediately after the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001, then reopened, then closed again in March 2003. Its closing has been an inconvenience to many motorists and an obstacle to police and fire vehicles responding to emergencies.

The Department of Environmental Protection welcomed Mr. Spano’s announcement, saying, “The safety of the residents and infrastructure in and around the reservoir remains a top priority. …We do regret any inconvenience caused to local residents by these actions.”

– Associated Press