A homeless man was able to get inside the transit workers’ women’s locker room at the 96th Street station on the Second Avenue Subway and take a shower without ever being stopped, a union official told The Post.
The man snuck into the ladies’ room on the afternoon of Aug. 22, rinsed off, and then casually walked out the door, where he ran into several shocked MTA workers.
“They saw him come out of the locker room and come down the stairs dripping wet,” said.
Tramell Thompson, a union activist who runs the Transport Workers Union Local 100 resistance group Progressive Action.
Thompson, 35, shot a 1-minute video showing how easy it is for anyone to get into that secure area from the platform, sent it to the MTA and posted it on Twitter.
“What if a woman had been in there showering or changing? Anything could have happened. It’s not safe,” he said.
New York City Transit President Andy Byford got back to Thompson two days later and apologized for taking so long, and then Vice President Barry Greenblatt followed up by saying investigators found non-working exit alarms, door locks that had been taped over, and deadbolts that were jimmied to prevent them from securing doors.
Thompson said the MTA posted a security guard there, but only for a couple of days.
The MTA also responded to Thompson’s concern by disciplining him for pointing out the massive security breach. He showed The Post a copy of a disciplinary action given to him that claims he compromised the safety of the worker area at the station by taking the video and posting it to the internet.
Thompson, who is running for union president, said he believes that the MTA leadership is trying to silence him for pointing out issues within the agency.
“They probably feel that I’m embarrassing them,” he said. “Every issue I’ve brought to them has been legit. They are just looking for ways to shut me up.”
TWU leadership said they will represent Thompson if he wants to fight the disciplinary action.
“If there’s any kind of disciplinary action that he wanted to grieve, we will represent him like we would any other member every step of the way,” said TWU spokesman Pete Donohue. “That’s our duty and responsibility.”
This is the second time in recent weeks that a security issue at that station has been highlighted. On the morning of Aug. 20, workers found that a subway train that was parked overnight on the tracks just north of the station had been completely covered in graffiti.