Date: 201912
Local time of day: 0601-1200
Location: JFK.Airport, NY
Aircraft: Commercial Fixed Wing
Flight plan: IFR
Flight phase: Final Approach
Airspace: Class B JFK
ATC / advisory: Tower JFK
Reporter organization: Government
Reporter function: Approach
Reporter qualification: Air Traffic Control Fully Certified
Human factors: Communication Breakdown; Confusion; Situational Awareness; Time Pressure; Workload
Anomaly: ATC Issue All Types; Conflict Airborne Conflict; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
Detector: Person Air Traffic Control
When detected: In-flight
Result: Air Traffic Control Issued New Clearance
Contributing factors: Procedure; Human Factors; Company Policy; Airspace Structure
Primary problem: Ambiguous

Narrative: We were straight 31's operations. Aircraft X was straight inbound to runway 31R. He was gaining on the traffic ahead of him (also a 'D' wake class) and he was losing separation. I tried to adjust his speed control but then I realized he was going to lose separation with the traffic behind him also. So I told him to go around when he was losing the 3 miles of required separation. The traffic ahead of him was still around 1800 feet and there was another aircraft at about Aircraft X's 8 o'clock and less than 2 miles at 2000 feet inbound for RWY 31L. So I told Aircraft X to climb and maintain 3000' on runway heading to get the required separation with the aircraft he was following as well as the one inbound for the parallel. It was at this time that I noticed an 'F' tag (which are suppressed on my TDW [Tower Display Workstation] pref-set because there is usually no need for me to see FRG's radar tags) tracking across my final eastbound at 3000'; about 2 miles directly ahead of Aircraft X. I told Aircraft X to immediately descend to 2000' and then issued the traffic which was at his 11:30 to 12 o'clock and a mile and a half; 3000' (Aircraft X was currently at about 2600' and descending back to 2000'). I also issued him the traffic for the parallel as well; I am not sure if there was the required stagger separation at this point. Aircraft X continued on radar vectors and was switched back to approach and landed at JFK later without incident. The weather was closing in at this point and I was issuing the RVRs as they had come down to around 4000 or 5000' RVR. The ceiling was low; and I couldn't see anything out the windows. LGA was on the LOC RWY 31; so I had no options with Aircraft X. I understand that JFK airspace only goes up to 2000'; but approach should not be bringing IFR traffic across my final at 3000' when I have no other out in this configuration. I couldn't turn Aircraft X left because of the traffic landing RWY 31L; I couldn't turn him right because of LGA's Localizer 31 traffic; and I couldn't climb him because of the crossing traffic. Approach put me in a situation where I was handed two aircraft with 3.2 miles of separation on final with strong compression and was bound to lose separation with no conceivable way to regain it. There should be a stipulation in the SOP that we should be allowed to take aircraft to 3000 feet when approach is landing both 31s and LGA is on the LOC31; otherwise we have no out. If the crossing traffic was at 4000'; this would not have been an issue.




Synopsis: Controller reported issuing and then having to modify a go-around clearance to a due to loss of separation.