By LIZ GOFF

Even as armed National Guardsmen patrolled John F. Kennedy International Airport and police officers checked the identification of every person entering Queens Borough Hall, the message from the Borough President’s Office this week was one of support and getting back to the business of life.

At Jamaica’s two federal buildings – the Joseph Addabbo Building that houses offices of the Social Security Administration and the Floyd Flake Building, home to Food and Drug Administration research facilities – there were no visible signs of increased security.

Meanwhile, Dan Bledsoe, spokesman for the Port Authority, said that his agency is likewise getting back to business, even though soldiers have become a part of life since bombing began in Afghanistan. "We are operating all of our facilities [bridges, tunnels and airports] at a heightened level of security."

There is an increase in law enforcement – Port Authority Police, State Police, FBI, Customs Agents from the Immigration and Naturalization Service, and the National Guards with M-16 assault rifles. The Guardsmen are assisting in screening passengers, providing a visual deterrent and to bolster confidence in terms of security for passengers, Bledsoe said.

And in a statement released to the PRESS as a message to Queens residents during this time of war, Shulman said, "Increased security measures may result in longer lines and delays on our highways and at our airports. This is a small price to pay, however, for measures that will enhance our safety and security."

The sight of a National Guardsman brandishing an F-16 assault rifle at JFK or LaGuardia airports became a new standard this week.

Governor George Pataki is not releasing the exact number of Guardsmen in New York City, but has simply said that they are being deployed to locations "as appropriate."

Where city and state police have established vehicle checkpoints at entrances to Manhattan (via bridges and tunnels), there are now National Security Guardsmen joining in the search of trucks and vans – and other "suspicious vehicles," police officials said.

The NYPD has been on its highest level of alert since Sept. 11 – "Condition Omega," officials said. Police are working 12-hour tours so they overlap, leaving no location unguarded. NYPD detectives have been put back into uniform to provide a more visible police presence. Police and National Guardsmen have been assigned to steady details at power plants, houses of worship, and other "sensitive locations," the officials said.

Precincts throughout Queens are included as "sensitive locations." Each is barricaded and there is a "fixed details" – two officers standing guard at precinct doors.