"is completely innocent but you make it sound vindictive"
Not at all, I just think it's a funny example of New York humor. I enjoy listening to JFK Tower in particular because the controllers are so genuine and unpretentious (that's not to say that other towers aren't, mind you!); a lot of their comments sound like something out of Seinfeld, like this one was. There was no malice in what he said at all. But the comic timing of the clip was what amused me.