Congress To MTA: We Gave You $50M, So Why Didn't Your Cameras Work?

NEW YORK CITY — Congressional leaders demanded MTA officials explain why subway cameras malfunctioned in the station where last week's mass shooting in Brooklyn unfolded.

A pointed Wednesday letter from the U.S. House's Committee on Homeland Security noted MTA recently received nearly $50 million in transit security funds, with another $93 million on the way.

The committee members — who include New York City representatives Ritchie Torres, Yvette Clarke and Hakeem Jeffries — asked MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber how much of that money went toward maintaining, installing and updating subway cameras.

"Given the disturbing and continued rise of subway attacks this year, we write to urge you to be more transparent regarding how your agency utilizes Federal funding to secure the subway system and protect riders," the letter states.

The April 12 shooting in Sunset Park's 36th Street station left at least 23 people injured and sent police on a day-long manhunt for a suspect.

But, as Lieber acknowledged, critical surveillance footage from three subway stations couldn't be retrieved by investigators soon after the shooting because of a bad internet connection.

The delay left police — and the public — without images of a suspect for hours.

Eventually, security footage in and around subways captured images that brought authorities to Frank James, 62, who faces a terror-related charge in the shooting.

John McCarthy, the MTA's chief of external relations, said officials will respond to the letter.

"We have made significant use of the Transit Security Grant Program, but we have been disappointed that funding has been flat since 2012, after a significant decline," he said in a statement. "As the NYPD said last week, MTA video and other evidence throughout the transit system provided critical support to the investigation and apprehension of the suspect in last week’s subway shooting."

MTA Letter by Matt Troutman on Scribd