A special counterterrorism panel commissioned by the governor presented its recommendations Monday to bolster city security, especially at major transit hubs.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the panel, which included former NYPD Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, Kenneth L. Wainstein and Lisa O. Monaco, who served as Homeland Security advisers to President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama respectively, evaluated every aspect of the city and state’s security, including assets, policies and vulnerabilities.
"In order to continue to combat this changing and complex threat to New York, we will take concrete steps to implement the recommendations from our bipartisan national experts," the governor said in a statement.
Among of reports’ recommendations were emphases on Penn Station, Kennedy and LaGuardia Airports. Penn Station, according to the report, hasn’t had a major security overhaul since 1960.
The experts said each transit hub should have its own "state-of-the-art" command station so that the various law enforcement agencies operating in the port can coordinate more efficiently.
"If there’s a crisis, all law enforcement agencies and civilian personnel need to know how to react, and emergency response plans need to align and work in unison," the report said.
