When Terrorists Attack Transit

After the terrorist attacks in Brussels on Tuesday, New York transit officials "said there’s a reason why the terrorists in Belgium chose an airport and a subway station as targets," according to an article by Dan Rubinstein.

Polly Trottenberg, New York City transportation commissioner, and Tom Prendergast, chairman of the MTA, agreed about the additional threat of terrorist attacks at transit hubs. Trottenberg is quoted directly: "Transportation facilities very tragically are often targets for terrorism…They’re where a lot of people are congregating. They tend to be open. They make targets."

The city of New York responded to the Brussels attacks, two at an airport and one at a subway station, with increased security by the National Guard and the New York Police Department at "Penn and Grand Central stations, JFK and LaGuardia airports, bridges, tunnels, PATH and the Port Authority Bus Terminal," reports Rubinstein.