Also, it's not necessarily always open. Last time I was at JFK I arrived quite early on an AA flight (but not early enough to wander off into town) and both F checkin and the separate security setup were closed.

That was around 3:30pm for a 7:30pm flight, I checked in at the only open CW desk and had to wander over to "regular" security (which in fairness also had a fast track lane). I remember arriving at the CCR when it just opened at 4pm.