New York City – NYC FBI Agents Under Fire For Not Showing Up To Work On Snow Day

New York City – Officials at the FBI’s New York field office – the first line of defense in preventing another terrorist attack here – got so spooked by the threat of bad weather that they declared a “snow day” Monday, sources told The Post.

Millions of other New Yorkers with jobs unrelated to national security managed to trudge through the snow while the FBI stayed warm at home.

Nearly 2,000 agents and support staff were told not to bother showing up for work at 26 Federal Plaza, the sources said.

The downtown field of fice, one of the FBI’s largest, houses 1,100 agents and 800 support staff, and is home for many of the nation’s top counterterrorism experts.

“The whole office was of ficially closed except for one shlub stuck answering the phone,” a law-enforce ment source said.

Many agents were noti fied on their BlackBerrys just before midnight as the first, apparently dangerous flakes began to fall – hours before Mayor Bloomberg reluctantly gave schoolkids the day off, the source said.

Other federal agencies, including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, followed.

FBI spokesman James Margolin confirmed “a large percentage of our personnel” were told not to come to the office Monday, although he said he wasn’t sure of the exact number – since he, too, stayed home.

Essential staff were on hand, manning the operations center, and answering calls on the switchboard, he said.

Margolin said in a crisis, they would have been prepared.

“FBI agents are always on two-hour availability, to be able to report on short notice, nights, weekends, or whenever,” he said.

That the agency entrusted to protect the city couldn’t stop Frosty the Snowman, let alone Osama bin Laden, outraged New Yorkers.

“Criminals don’t take snow days and neither should crime fighters,” Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. (D-Queens) said.

Terrorism expert Harvey Kushner agreed.

“I find it symbolically difficult to swallow that these agencies on the forefront of the war on terrorism would shut down for the day,” he said.

Shockingly, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New York branch, open in the morning, closed up shop soon after, an official said.

Most New Yorkers worked Monday. NYPD officers patrolled streets, postal carriers easily completed their rounds. Every city agency was open for business.

Many New Yorkers worked the whole day out in the elements, including Times Square’s Naked Cowboy, who did not let the snow keep him from strumming in his skivvies.

But the Federal Aviation Administration also informed employees at its Queens offices – except for those who work in the control towers – to take a snow day.

“All of the offices were closed because of the storm,” spokesman Jim Peters said.

President Obama has shown little tolerance for those wimpy about the weather.

Last month, when the Washington private school where he sends Sasha and Malia called a snow day, Obama said DC needed to toughen up.

“Folks in Washington don’t seem to be able to handle things,” the hearty Chicagoan said then.