US News

MTA PULLS PLUG ON EMERGENCY TEAM

MTA bigs quietly disbanded a team of emergency personnel two months ago who acted as a go-between for the police and fire departments and subway officials during a crisis, officials said today.

The group — which was only in effect for 13 months — responded to major fires, floods, and criminal acts that interrupted service on the trains.

Transit watchdogs criticized shuttering the team without having a replacement program in place.

“You don’t pull the plug on a program that seems to be working pretty well have anything in place to replace it,” said Bill Henderson of the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee.

But Interim MTA CEO Helena Williams said “fully-trained personnel have been available 24/7 to respond to emergencies.”

MTA officials planned to replace the group with a new team run by the general managers on each subway line, she said.