Snip from Reuters:
No specific reason was given for the move but cell phones have been used to trigger bombs in the past. Cell phone service is disabled in the Holland and Lincoln tunnels that connect Manhattan to New Jersey under the Hudson River, the Midtown Tunnel to the city's Queens borough and the Battery Tunnel to Brooklyn, officials said.
Reader comment: Some Boing Boing readers think this is a sensible public security precaution, others do not. Dan Winckler says,
After I read your post about the Port Authority shutting down cellphone service in the Manhattan commuter tunnels, I found the contact information for the PA's Office of the Inspector General (Link). I'm writing them an email protesting this ineffective, inconvenient security measure. Maybe if several hundred New Yorkers (and maybe a few security experts (cough, Schneier, cough)) protest this they'll shift their resources to effective, proactive measures that seek out the terrorists instead of inconveniencing the city's motorists.
In person: Office of Inspector General 5 Marine View Plaza – Suite 502 Hoboken, New Jersey 07030
In writing: The Port Authority of NY & NJ Office of Inspector General P.O. Box 2018 Hoboken, New Jersey 07030
By telephone or Email: T: Main Office: 973-565-4340, 24-Hour Pager: 917-788-6277 F: 973-565-4307 E: inspectorgeneral@panynj.gov
An update. BB reader "ringelmatz" says:
Service has been restored as of 4 pm in the East River tunnel crossings (run by MTA) and expected later in the Hudson River (run by Port Authority) crossings. Link. However, after complaints that it could be a security risk *not* to have service, the NYPD asked that all cell phone capabilities be restored to area tunnels later in the afternoon.
Chris Brewer adds,
It would seem that shutting off cell phone service in subway tunnels as a deterrent is a waste of time. According to the Wikipedia entry on the Madrid bombings (Link), the bombs were set off using the alarm function of the cell phone, not by sending a text message. Which means that (a) cell phone service is not required, and (b) the different bombs can be triggered to go off at the same time as the cell phones can be synchronised, as opposed to relying on text messaging that doesn't guarantee to get through, and won't arrive at the same time on all phones.
Update 2: The service shutdown now appears to have been the result of a communication screwup between MTA and the NYPD. Oops.
Cell phone service resumed in two of four busy New York commuter tunnels on Monday after it was shut off amid heightened security concerns following last week's deadly blasts in London, officials said. Cell phone service to two of the tunnels had been shut down in a miscommunication between the New York Police Department and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, officials said. Service to those two tunnels was restored.
In announcing the resumption of service, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority said, "It appears to be a miscommunication between the NYPD and the MTA."
