We were hoping to start the week with a fresh slate, our minds free and clear of terror alert warnings after a weekend spent on the East End reading the profile of Hotel on Rivington developer Paul Stallings in Hamptons magazine. A Curbed reader breaks our reverie with the following letter, sent to building residents of 395 Hudson Street last week.
Dear All,Along with other tenants in the building, we received a notice from a private security firm, earlier this week, indicating that a female who resembled a known member of Al Qaeda had videotaped the 395 Hudson Street building. The note stated that we should not be alarmed, but we should be aware of our surroundings.
We escalated this through TLR Security, liaising with our colleagues in Thomson Financial. TLR Security has now spoken with the private security firm concerned, with the building managers, Cushman & Wakefield, with the NYPD, with the FBI, as well as with other security specialists.We have established that the alleged incident took place more than two months ago and came to the attention of the NYPD through an anonymous telephone tip-off. No verification of the alleged incident - from security camera film or from another witness - exists.
Neither we nor the authorities believe 395 Hudson Street is in any way a target of special interest to a terrorist organization.
Nonetheless, it underlines the importance for all of us to be vigilant at this time, to report anything out of the ordinary to Building Security, and to be aware of what our emergency procedures are.
Peter