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Delayed Improvements Could Threaten Subway Safety

Officials Say Proposed Cutbacks May Hamper Rescue Efforts In A Terror Attack

NEW YORK (CBS) ― Could there be new dangers for New York City subway passengers?

City Comptroller William Thompson Jr. and the head of the firefighters' union, Steve Cassidy, charged Wednesday that proposed cutbacks could hamper rescue efforts in the event of a fire or a terrorist attack. They say the new delays in subway improvements could mean riders might not get home safely.

"These delays directly affect and threaten public safety," said Thompson.

What Thompson, Cassidy, and transit advocate Gene Russianoff are concerned about is the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's recent decision to postpone $366 million in projects to install special fans in subway tunnels that clear out smoke during a fire or contaminated air in case of a post-9/11 biological or chemical attack.

"In the case of a fire or a terrorist attack, ventilation is the key. If you don't get fresh air, people are going to die," said Cassidy.

Smoky subway fires have been a problem in the past.

"From May 2007 to April 2008, there were roughly 1,400 minor fires on city subways," said Thompson.

And it can get bad too. In December 1990, for example, a smoky electrical fire near the Clark Street station killed two subway riders, injured 149, and left 1,000 others gasping for air.

"In the wake of that in 1992, the MTA promised that by 2007 all the fan plants would be rehabilitated and now they're out in the 2020s," said Russianoff. "That's not a timeline. That's a bad joke."

"How is it that we would get out in the case of a fire?" said Nanette Barbar, a Bedford Stuyvesant resident. "How would we be able to evacuate safely? That would be a great concern of mine."

Added Chelsea resident Johan Tolosa: "Safety is always the first priority when it comes to taking the train. You never know what you're going to face – either a terrorist attack or just a local attack."

Thompson said the MTA should ask the federal Homeland Security Department to help fund the fan program, as the MTA said budget constraints forced the project delays.

The fans were postponed, said a spokesman, because the agency felt it would not compromise the safety of the system.

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