John Liu, the Queens councilman and chairman of the transportation committee, rips the MTA again for its Lockheed Martin contract to wire the subway with 3,000 security cameras and AI software. The TA approved another $4.9 million for Lockheed, making the original $212 million contract no worth $303 million.
“ Lockheed-Martins' no-bid contract announced last August has now grown into a monstrous $300 million behemoth. This January, the MTA testified before the City Council that the system was delayed because the MTA suddenly decided it needed an $80 million for a command center. Obviously, a command center for this type of system should have been included in the original procurement. Now, the MTA wants to add another no-brainer: a $5 million antennae to communicate with first-responders. And, this amendment doesn't even include the equipment needed to operate the antennae. This is like building a house and forgetting to draw up plans for the roof and beams. In the post-Madrid, London, and Mumbai world, we cannot afford the type of unfocused planning and piecemeal implementation of security in our mass transit system."
-- Chuck Bennett
Comments (1)
The "add ons" smell of continued corruption that has plagued the MTA for years. They are just a small portion of under the table payments. Who would plan this elaborate system and not include a Command Center or the equipment to function properly? Another slush fund Governor Pataki and Chairman Kalikow have created to syphon the Federal and State project funds.