Separately, while here on biz 9/5/01 (before moving here), I had a brief encounter with a cabbie that left me, in retrospect, sure there was a high probability that he knew something big was up. It's just a hunch and I won't bother trying to prove it, because I'm satisfied by what I read in his eyes that he did.
So, while this current story sounds a lot like "Gabriel's lips are on the trumpet," I'd have to say that if if happened to me, while nothing would keep me from being in NY, I would be paying attention.
What happened with the cabbie on 9/5/01? Sounds interesting.