George Washington Bridge at night https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hI-jj_dVQME
EDITORIAL: No one should go to work fearing for their safety or having no access to a restroom. Such conditions would be problematic in any situation, but they’re particularly deplorable when they’re related to a huge public entity like the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
About 400 private security guards employed by Summit Security Services work at a number of Port Authority facilities, most notably the George Washington Bridge, where they supplement police in preventing terrorism and stopping suicide attempts. Their duties may somewhat overlap with police, but that’s where the similarities end.
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The security guards earn between $36,000 and $35,000 a year, while Port Authority police can earn $108,000 annually after six years of service.
More troubling are some of the guards’ working conditions. An article in The Record on Sunday described how guards can be deprived of bathroom breaks and not given adequate backup when required. Guards are stationed in small booths on the bridge itself and in a park on the shore of the Hudson River underneath it.
Eight current and former guards told The Record that those stationed on top of the bridge must be temporarily relieved to take a bathroom break. But due to staff shortages, a replacement guard is not always available, forcing guards to either forgo a break or to relieve themselves on the bridge or in any available container. Even if these are relatively rare occurrences, this is intolerable.
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Guards working under the bridge at ground level have problems of their own, including watching for objects thrown off or falling from the bridge. Sadly, this can include the occasional suicide jumper.
