Nolan Vetoes $600M
MTA Security Plan
by john toscano

“This is $600 million we’re talking about and the legislature has the right of oversight, especially since there’s no security director...”

The recent spate of problems besetting the MTA, including doubt cast on its fiscal practices and the dismissal of its security director, led Assemblymember Catherine Nolan to veto the agency’s $591 million transit security plan late last month.

The Ridgewood lawmaker, one of four members of the authority’s Capital Program Review Board, said in an interview, "We’ll get some questions answered at our next meeting and nothing is going to be jeopardized by our action."

The next meeting could come at the end of July.

On Monday, Nolan (D) mentioned the large amount of money involved more than once. She also noted that there was no security director to oversee the plan.

The previous director, Louis Anemone, was fired May 9 after accusations of misconduct were traded with a superior. Earlier this week, it was announced that New York Police Department Chief William Morange, formerly head of the Organized Crime Control Bureau, had been appointed to fill the Anemone vacancy.

Morange’s job will be to protect the transit system, the largest in the world, from potential terrorist attacks. The $591 million plan for system security will include coordinating MTA security efforts with the New York Police Department, the FBI, the state police, the National Guard and the federal Homeland Security Department.

On Monday, Nolan insisted her action had been a relatively routine thing.

But, she pointed out, "This is $600 million we’re talking about and the legislature has the right of oversight, especially since there’s no security director. What I did wasn’t designed to slow down the program and I think it’s going to be resolved. But we do need another meeting to get answers to some questions the Ways and Means Committee had about the program."

As a member of the Capital Program Review Board, Nolan represents the Democrat-controlled Assembly and serves by appointment of Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. The board is charged with distributing government subsidies and its members have unilateral veto power over the funding, including security program funds.

Other members of the board are appointees of Governor George Pataki, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Republican Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno.

In the past, Nolan has sometimes been critical of MTA actions and was among those who questioned the agency’s recent fare increase, both before and after the courts overturned it. However, she didn’t mention these issues in discussing her veto of the security program.