Gov. Cuomo Blasts MTA After 2 Time Clocks Allegedly Vandalized
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – Gov. Andrew Cuomo is weighing in after two MTA time-clocks were allegedly tampered with.
Last week, the agency's new inspector general, Carolyn Pokorny, said a device at the 38th Street train yard in Borough Park had been sabotaged. This was the second time the time-keeping equipment was allegedly vandalized.
"For the second time in one week, MTA time-keeping equipment used to ensure accountability and honesty has been vandalized," Pokorny said in a statement. "Riders and taxpayers deserve to have a modern system in place in place to effectively verify when workers arrive at the job, and clock out at the end of their shift. We will not be intimidated by illegal acts of sabotage that are only designed to undermine our efforts to ensure accountability across the MTA and protect taxpayer dollars from misuse."
MORE: MTA Time Clock Vandalized Days After Similar Incident At LIRR Amid Overtime Scandal
The MTA came under fire when a study found the agency spent more than $418 million in overtime last year.
Transit union representatives have said the inspector general was too quick to accuse them of sabotage.
"We have an inspector general who's been on the job for a very short period of time," said John Samuelsen, vice president of Transport Workers Union Local 100. "She doesn't know anything about the transit system or how we operate it. To her credit, she's been visiting properties to try to figure it out, but before she leaps to a conclusion that sabotage was involved and before she makes broad statements that endanger NYC transit workers, she should accumulate some evidence."
MORE: MTA Says LIRR Overtime-Tracking Clock Was Tampered With
On Sunday, the governor called the MTA's time-keeping system a failure.
"The MTA still fails to have basic management systems in place," he said. "You need to know when people get to work. You need to know that."
Cuomo also said he's getting ready to nominate two new people to the agency's board.
