3 House Dems: Station Agents Important For Fighting Terror

Photograph by bitchcakesny on Flickr

The latest plea to save hundreds of subway station agents from the MTA's budget cuts is now coming from House of Representatives. Three Democrats sent a letter to MTA chairman Jay Walder, "We strongly urge you to re-evaluate the current plans" and not, potentially, "compromise" subway security.

The NY Times reports that the letter came from Homeland Security Committee Chairman Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-Mississippi), Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas; chairwoman of the transportation security subcommittee), and Rep. Yvette D. Clarke of (D-Brooklyn; chairwoman of the subcommittee on emerging threats), who acknowledged the MTA's budget woes but called the station agents "an important link in the transit security chain":

Although our domestic transit systems have thus far been spared, deadly terrorist attacks in Spain, Great Britain, India and Russia over the last few years have emphasized the vulnerabilities of public transportation in large urban areas and demonstrated the security challenges unique to these open, passenger-heavy systems...

The case of Najibullah Zazi is a chilling reminder that our transit systems are targets of Al Qaeda and its affiliates.

MTA spokesman Aaron Donovan told the Times, "The subway system. is the safest it’s been in years, thanks to the vigilance and dedication of the N.Y.P.D., and there will continue to be a strong presence of M.T.A. employees throughout the subway system," while TWU president John Samuelson points out that station agents can field riders' concerns (you know, See Something, Say Something!).

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By Jen Chung in News on March 13, 2010 3:25 PM

Comments [rss]

Mr Mel

Perhaps if they were thoroughly trained, it might be beneficial. In the past they did everything to avoid responsibility. If their jobs were to be saved the TWA would more than likely forbid the new responsibilities and then try their usual blackmail tactics.

Mr Mel

Make that TWU.

Needles

Keeping station agents are apparently important in the fight against terrorism, just not important enough to give the MTA the funding needed to keep them I guess.

longacre

Last time I saw a clerk not sleeping or yelling at a passenger, he had left his booth to pour his pee cup into a floor drain.

Vincent

Yeah, I really have no idea how we could possibly feel safe without these agents of public protection on duty...

http://www.insignificantthoughts.com/2009/04/04/guardians-of-our-safety/

Snoopy

Ha Ha Ha

Are 95% of the M.T.A. employees working undercover? Because I don't see them around the stations.

freddynyc

Yes, they are certainly our eyes and ears in the effort to fight terrorism...

http://gothamist.com/2010/02/23/mta_to_lay_off_more_than_1050_worke.php

longacre

SHOCKING! Broken down by industry, transportation unions were the second largest benefactors to the most recent campaigns of both Thompson ($52,200) and Jackson Lee ($26,000), and seventh largest for Clarke ($9,000).