City Councilman Says L-Line Riders Will Be Used As “Lab Rats And Guinea Pigs”
By Eric Goodman

City Councilman Lew Fidler last week said riders of the “L” train — the 14th Street-Canarsie Line — are going to be used as “lab rats and guinea pigs” when the MTA begins to automate the entire subway system and will begin by using the line among its first tests.

Speaking to a packed crowd of attentive local citizens at last Thursday’s meeting of the Friends United Block Association at Temple Shaare Emeth, Fidler added, “When they take a conductor off the train, they are endangering your lives.”

Fidler said he is so intent on fighting the MTA that he intended to march down to the City Council Chambers this week with a group of other concerned citizens in hopes of halting a plan that he believes will do more harm than good.

“I’ve yet to meet a heroic computer in my life,” he said. “There is no way a computer can lead people away from an emergency situation such as a track fire.”

The councilman added that the new automated system can possibly be hacked into, and that certain terrorist organizations could make trains “disappear” with the touch of a button.

Another topic addressed at the meeting was fire safety.

N.Y. Fire Department Lieutenant Anthony Mancuso was on hand to offer some tips for fire safety as well as to warn about certain deception robberies that involve people posing as firemen.

Mancuso explained that there have been certain instances where burglars have posed as firemen, complete with an “official” badge in order to gain access to homes.

“Please remember that official firemen have a badge as well as a photo ID with a corresponding badge number,” said Mancuso. “Don’t let anyone into your home who presents a badge without the accompanying photo.”

Mancuso suggested that smoke detectors be put at a considerable distance away from the kitchen because it will go off constantly in an area that regularly creates small amounts of smoke. He also pointed out that pot covers, baking soda, and a fire extinguisher should be kept inside the kitchen because they are all products that can put out both gas and electric fires since none of them use water.

“Fire extinguishers are one of the most useful items you can keep in your house to fight fires but be sure to replace them every 10 years or so because prolonged non-use can cause the spraying mechanism to stop functioning,” he warned.

In addition to explaining how to fight fires, Mancuso also listed ways

to prevent fires. One important prevention technique is to use surge protectors. But the lieutenant warned not to load them up with high voltage products like space heaters, electrical grills or air conditioners because that could lead to a large electrical fire.

Mancuso also stated that it’s useful to keep a “go bag” in your house so that you can take important products like food, prescriptions, clothes and baby products with you in case you needed to evacuate the home.

The lieutenant closed by offering free carbon monoxide detectors to anyone who needed them. He pointed out that it’s best to keep carbon monoxide detectors near the boiler room in the basement because that is the area most likely to be effected by large amounts of the deadly gas.

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