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Port Authority bus riders see beefed-up security

By Matthew Sweeney, amNewYork Staff Writer | msweeney@am-ny.com

August 1, 2008

The best evidence of the beefed-up security at the Port Authority Bus Terminal might be that a guy snapping photos inside can get stopped three times -- twice by Port Authority employees and once by a plainclothes cop -- within five minutes.

"They don't like it when people start taking pictures," a Port Authority employee said before escorting a reporter and photographer to the bus station's administrative office while the confusion was cleared up.

The busiest bus station in the world, with some 200,000 passengers coming through each weekday, has taken steps to boost security during the past year.

"It has all the attributes of a suburban shopping mall and a major transportation facility," said Ernesto Butcher, the Port Authority's chief operating officer. "It is in the category of those kind of facilities that have been targeted around the world."

At a cost of $100 million, the Port Authority has added steel cross braces to the south side of the south building as a seismic retrofit -- a halfway-completed project to help the structure withstand natural disasters. Exterior columns were strengthened. Security cameras were added.

Bollards (barriers often disguised as large planters) along Eighth Avenue and 42nd Street keep vehicles from ramming the building. The glass in the doors and the walls along the east and north sides of the building have been made shatter-proof.

"Most importantly there is protection from anyone attempting to use an automobile or vehicle to ram the structure," Butcher said.

Since the 9/11 attacks, the Port Authority has spent more than $200 million on security at the bus terminal. There have been other improvements, unseen by the public, that the Port Authority will not discuss, said spokeswoman, Jennifer Freidberg.

As with the subway, there is no way the Port Authority can inspect all the passengers and bags that come through.

Nicholas Casale, a transportation security consultant, said that while it's impossible to thwart all attacks, you can make it as difficult as possible and minimize the damage.

The watchful eyes at the Port Authority, however, may be one of the best deterrents to an attack in the terminal.