On June 10, Public Advocate Bill de Blasio held a rally with dozens of transit workers and straphanger advocates calling on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) to comply with a recent judicial ruling ordering the agency to rehire 260 station agents who were recently laid off and to re-open 42 token booths that were closed.
“We cannot cut corners when it comes to straphangers’ safety,” said Public Advocate Bill de Blasio. “New Yorkers who depend on station agents for security and essential services deserve a chance to have their voices heard. The MTA’s new public hearings will only work if they listen to New Yorkers and commit to incorporating their feedback before final decisions get made.”
“The riding public has a simple and clear message for transit officials: We want the security and convenience of our station clerks back,” said Gene Russianoff, staff attorney for the NYPIRG Straphangers Campaign, a transit riders group.
The lack of station agents is part of a broader problem with security in subways. Over half of the security cameras installed in subway stations currently do not work, raising additional concerns about straphangers’ safety. Approximately 2,300 of the 4,313 station security cameras have technical issues, leaving over 100 stations with no functioning security cameras.
Earlier this year, the Public Advocate highlighted the cost of past cuts to station agents on the transit system. In 2009 the MTA eliminated 212 station agents and the amount of revenue lost to turnstile jumpers and other farebeaters rose from $7 million to $20 million.