AMNY Subway Tracker

A bit of news came out of the City Council hearing today on the MTA’s security and anti-terror plan.

The MTA did say its $212 million dollar Lockheed Martin security system — complete with artifical intelligence and smart cams — will  be up and running by the third quarter of 2008.

There was a lot of debate over human element versus AI and the perceived lack of urgency on the part of the MTA. The transit union weighed in as well saying they receive no substantial emergency training whatsoever.

Staten Island Councilman Mike McMahon stole the stage for a few moments by berating MTA representative Veronique Hakim, general counsel for the Capital Construction division.

“I think sending down a lawyer to answer questions about the security and safety of all New Yorkers is to me is unacceptable. We should be having the system put in place instead of talking about all the roadblocks and bureaucratic reasons the system is not in place and is taking too long ... The MTA seems more concerned about designing a system and taking the human element out of it and to make a ‘prototype artificial intelligence system” rather than having security in place," he said.

Oddly, Darlene Mealy, the newly sworn in councilwoman from Brooklyn and a former transit union activist was a no-show at the hearing. Transit reporters expected her to shine with the chance to grill her former bosses at a formal hearing.

-- Chuck Bennett