Sen. John Kerry was on a wrong track in last night’s presidential debate – as any New York straphanger knows.
In an early exchange about homeland security, Kerry got it wrong when he claimed President Bush’s cuts in funding for infrastructure protection was “why they had to close down the subway in New York when the Republican Convention was there.”
The only problem is that no subway service beneath Madison Square Garden was suspended during the convention, even as buses were diverted and gridlock ruled the streets.
“We did not stop any trains,” said Transit Authority spokesman Paul Fleuranges. “I will not guess or opine what he was talking about.”
Kerry’s comment came in response to a question about homeland-security spending. The Democratic challenger said, “The president hasn’t put one nickel, not one nickel into the effort to fix some of our tunnels and bridges and most exposed subway systems.”