In a proposal that we first thought had been written by The Onion, City Council member Peter F. Vallone, Jr., at the behest of the New York City Police Department, has proposed  legislation which, t use the description of Ellie Engler, of the United Federation of Teachers, would be the equivalent of

“universally requiring permits for atmospheric, biological, chemical and radiological detectors places an undue burden on personnel conducting routine construction-related activities in New York City.”

See Sewell Chan’s excellent post in the Times’s municipal blog, The City Room.

The proposal would criminalize the unlicensed possession of equipment which detects or measures indicators of a biological, chemical or radiological attack. (Editor’s note: we’re trying to get a copy of the proposed legislation. But, unless Councilman Vallone has been seriously misquoted by the Times and the Voice - this is in fact what’s on the table).