Mayor Eric Adams on Monday downplayed the MTA’s embarrassing camera malfunction during the Sunset Park subway shooting as the transit system’s top watchdog launched a probe into the surveillance snafu.
Adams dismissed the fact that the cameras at the 36th Street and 25th Street stations in Brooklyn were not functioning on April 12 when disturbed gunman Frank James opened fire and injured nearly 30 people.
“We have a great camera system and I’m proud of what we have,” Adams said during an on ABC’s GMA3.
“All my tech guys say, ‘Eric, cameras go on and off.’ That is just a reality of, in the subway system in particular, underground.”
Adams also defended the MTA’s CEO Janno Lieber, calling him an “amazing partner” in the wake of the subway shooting and subsequent day-long manhunt for the suspect.
Lieber has argued the camera shutdowns – revealed only after the shooting – didn’t impede the NYPD’s investigation.
James was eventually caught 30 hours after the incident, after phoning in his location after he was spotted walking on the streets in Chelsea.
“Overwhelmingly, the number of cameras in our system are doing a great job every day,” Adams insisted.
“Are we going to have malfunctioning camera systems? Yes, that happens. So, we want to make sure that when it happens, that we immediately rectify the situation.”
Acting MTA Inspector Elizabeth Keating also announced on Monday morning that her office will begin an investigation into the camera snafu.
She said the screw up has “raised questions about the MTA camera system” and the inquiry will evaluate the transit system’s “maintenance and repair program for critical equipment.”
The probe will also focus on why alleged bad internet connection failed to send back footage to the NYPD and MTA headquarters.
Democratic City Council leaders are also fed up with the MTA’s lack of answers, requesting a full audit of the system’s camera network.
The state Comptroller’s office also released a 2019 audit that found the NYC’s Transit division were slow to respond to problems identified and also didn’t perform the required preventative security maintenance.
