When Adam Mohmad is away from Tate's Fine Men's Wear, the small clothing shop he manages at 325 Broadway, he routinely calls in to check on daily sales figures and other shop concerns. But nowadays, he also asks another question: "What's happening across the street?"

		"I thank God each time they say, 'Nothing so far,'" he said. "Nothing" means nothing suspicious that warrants an investigation. Businesses like Mohmad's, which happen to be across the street from Federal Plaza, increasingly find themselves caught in the center of cordoned-off bomb-threat investigations that effectively close Broadway and its sidewalks for blocks. The police actions strand employees inside and keep potential customers well away from the shops' front doors for hours. "Every time it happens, we lose business. We're not even at 20 percent of where we're supposed to be this week," Mohmad said last month, the day after an investigation of an illegally parked car in front of Federal Plaza. An NYPD spokesman said 12 investigations requiring a
bomb squad have been conducted near the building this year. "Ten years ago, a kid leaves a backpack, someone would just pick it up," the spokesman said. "These days, we have to investigate." Federal agents, police officers, firefighters and a bomb squad officer in a protective suit converged on the site at about 11:30 a.m. on April 13 after a dog dispatched to sniff the car for explosives signaled that dangerous materials may be in the trunk. Though no explosives were found, police arrested the driver for falsifying a parking permit, an FBI spokesman said. The permit, issued for a Department of Corrections employee, had expired, but its date had been changed. Even if the permit had been valid it wouldn't have permitted the driver to park in front of the federal building, the spokesman said. "Just put it down as felony stupidity," an FBI official at the scene told the Trib. He did not want to be identified. The investigation of the vehicle kept a four-block stretch of Broadway closed until about 2:30 p.m. Business owners inside the police tape could only watch the clock. "It's the new world we live in, what are you going to do?" said Tom Moreno, manager of a Blimpie sandwich shop on Worth Street. Moreno, who recalled two similar investigations in the previous month that had also closed the street, said he was grateful that the tape was placed just ahead of his store, allowing customers to come in. "We got lucky this time," he said. Other retail shops at 325 Broadway, however, seldom catch a break, managers there said. Vincent Ju, manager of Shilla Express, a Korean fast food restaurant a few doors down from Tate's, said the last investigation was the worst for his business in recent months. Police and federal investigators commandeered the restaurant for their command center from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., golden hours for the lunch counter. "This is a critical time for us, and not only us, but the deli next door and the hamburger place. All of us," Ju said. At Steps, a women's clothing store at Broadway and Worth Street, manager Lisa Modeste said she was glad that reports of suspicious packages and vehicles were taken seriously. "It's good and bad," she said. "But I think it has to be a good thing." All of the business owners in the area interviewed by the Trib agreed with Modeste, but expressed frustration about the frequency of the investigations. Just a week before the car investigation, some recalled, a FedEx truck was searched for explosives when a package of cookies in a box marked "dynamite" aroused suspicion from a passerby. Before that, they said, an unattended bag at Dunkin Donuts on Broadway got the attention of investigators who were tipped off by a wary customer. Each incident forced street closures and business interruptions. While police follow up on all reports of unattended bags and suspicious vehicles, investigations near Federal Building are especially thorough because it is considered a potential terrorist target, said a 1st Precinct spokesman. The sight of police tape and a man in a blast suit investigating a vehicle caused more frustration than fear in some local workers trapped once again outside the lines. "It's probably another hoax or a false alarm," a young man said, watching the action from the corner of Leonard Street. "I hope."