Sean Duffy, the U.S. transportation secretary, criticized New York state’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority on Tuesday for allowing antisemitic protesters to shut down Grand Central Station in midtown Manhattan the previous evening.
“Disgusting. These antisemitic mobs shutting down transit centers need to be condemned, and the organizers should be held accountable,” Duffy stated. “New York City commuters are already afraid of being the next assault victim. Now, they have to worry about pro-Hamas agitators. Enough is enough.”
“Where is MTA? Why were these people able to suspend service at one of the biggest transportation hubs in America?” he added. “Where is the condemnation from Gov. Kathy Hochul?”
The transit authority responded to Duffy on social media with a “fact check.”
“Grand Central Terminal was never shut down, and service was not affected. Police officers routinely prepare for all types of scenarios, and this was no different,” Michael Kemper, the MTA chief of security, stated. “Demonstrators were confronted, ordered to leave and those who failed to comply were arrested.” (The New York City Police Department told JNS that two people were arrested.)
Debora Allen, a former member of the board of Bay Area Rapid Transit in the San Francisco area, also responded to Duffy’s post on social media.
“Is this what we have to look forward to in BART and other Bay Area transit? Was there a National Alliance of Public Transportation Advocates session on this?” she wrote. “Note the response from MTA, replying nothing was shut down, nothing to see here. Typical transit spin.”
Duffy also responded to the MTA “fact check.”
“Service was not affected? Tell that to the Jewish Americans who feared for their lives while this went on,” he wrote. “This is why no one trusts the MTA to keep them safe anymore.”
“By the way, this wasn’t a ‘scenario.’ It was an antisemitic mob,” he added. “Condemn this for what it is, or else you’re enabling this harassment.”
On Wednesday, an MTA spokesperson told JNS that reports alleging that service at the station was affected on Monday due to the protest are inaccurate.
