New York State budget hearing erupts into shouting match (New York State Assembly)
Mattera pointed to reports in the New York Post and elsewhere citing guards letting people essentially jump the turnstiles, including when riders have issues scanning in amid the city’s post-MetroCard era.
"Why do we have people helping people avoid tolls? We have videos," he said.
Lieber became similarly angry after Mattera spoke over him: "Let me finish. Let me finish."
"You’re rambling," Mattera said. "Why do we have this?"
Lieber replied that Allied’s guards reduced fare evasion by more than one-third since the contract was signed, but the two kept shouting over each other before Lieber could be heard yelling, "shut up."
"Be quiet," he said, before Mattera demanded — and received — an apology from the Hochul appointee.
NY GOVERNOR POURS COLD WATER ON MAMDANI FREE BUS PLAN
Zohran Mamdani, mayor of New York, left, and Janno Lieber, chief executive officer of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), during a storm briefing at the New York City Emergency Management center in the Brooklyn borough of New York, US, on Friday, Jan. 23, 2026. (Adam Gray/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
State Sen. Bill Weber, R-Clarkstown, whose suburban commuters often rely on MTA heavy rail out of Suffern, Spring Valley and Tarrytown, said the security guard expenditure is just the latest transit boondoggle.
"It’s clear the MTA needs a full audit — and now, so do its subcontractors," Weber said in a statement.
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