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CONCERNS BEYOND CRIME Kelly first served as police commissioner between 1992 and 1994. Thus, he was in office at the time of the first attack on the World Trade Center — Feb. 26, 1993. He was working at Bear Stearns as senior managing director for corporate security on Sept. 11, 2001, when the Trade Center was again attacked. At that time, his office was in midtown Manhattan and he was living a block away from the Trade Center buildings. He saw the first tower begin its ultimate collapse, a sight he says he will never forget. Following the events of 9/11, in January 2002, Kelly was again appointed police commis- sioner. It was determined New York "had to do something to supplement what the fed- eral government" was doing to protect the city from terroristic attacks. Among the steps taken, Kelly said, were bringing in counterter- rorism experts and assigning detectives to 11 overseas cities. In addition, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the NYPD established a terror- ism task force that continues to function. Although there have been 16 other attempts to attack New York and its people since 9/11, none has been successful. Kelly described one plot designed to have individuals blow them- selves up on a subway train; it was foiled by an intercepted phone call that resulted in an arrest on the New Jersey side of the George Washington Bridge. In response to a question regarding the spread of terrorism, Kelly said, "Certainly core Al Qaeda has been eliminated." However, sub- sets of the organization are strong in Yemen, Mali, Syria, Somalia and other places. He Raymond Kelly greets North Port High School student Shai Richards in Sarasota on Feb. 10. Photo courtesy Robert Pope Photography and Ringling College Library Association. Sarasota News Leader February 14, 2014 Page 67