NYC school bus camera pilot involved BusPatrol, which is run by former city official

New York City is expanding a school bus camera pilot program that began last year with BusPatrol America, a year after a top city public-safety official had left his government role to become BusPatrol’s president.

The expanded pilot, which would enlarge the program from 30 buses to about 250, has not yet been awarded. BusPatrol does not have a contract with the city, the company said in a statement Monday. Final bids are due Oct. 11.

But the prospect of BusPatrol’s expansion into New York City has put a spotlight on the Lofton, Virginia-based company at a time when the administration of Mayor Eric Adams has been rocked by federal investigations of alleged influence peddling and Adams’ indictment last week on bribery and fraud charges. Adams has pleaded not guilty. And neither BusPatrol nor any of its officials has been accused of wrongdoing.

In a statement, Adams' office said the pilot is being managed by NYCSBUS, a nonprofit bus operator, and that the city "did not pay for any of these services." BusPatrol and another company, Verra Mobility, participated in the first stages of the pilot.

The city’s first bus camera pilot program was an outgrowth of a measure proposed in summer 2023 by its Finance Department, according to city records. At the time, BusPatrol’s current president, Justin Meyers, was chief of staff for Phil Banks, deputy mayor for public safety. Banks and his brothers, former Schools Chancellor David Banks and consultant Terence Banks, last month had their phones seized as part of separate federal probes.

Meyers, a one-time spokesman for former Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone, also had been assistant commissioner for the Suffolk County Police Department and chief of staff for former Suffolk District Attorney Timothy Sini, who has worked as an outside lawyer for BusPatrol. Sini defended BusPatrol in a class-action suit against the company that was recently dismissed.

Sini is also counsel to Terence Banks and to Turkish Airlines in separate investigations. Terence Banks is not a target of the probes, Sini has said, and Turkish Airlines has been complying with government requests for documents in the Adams case. The airline hasn't been accused of wrongdoing. Sini has not been involved in BusPatrol matters relating to Meyers and New York City.

BusPatrol, in a statement, noted that Meyers "did not lobby the City of New York for, or participate in, discussions with the City regarding the NYCSBUS pilot’s creation or the drafting of the City’s request for proposals."

The company noted it has "no contract or agreement with the City of New York," and stressed that "BusPatrol complies with all laws and regulations, including those relating to lobbying and the hiring of former government employees."

City lobbying records indicate that several firms and BusPatrol officials have lobbied city officials since 2019, including former State Sen. Todd Kaminsky, now at the firm Greenberg Traurig, and BusPatrol chief growth officer Steve Randazzo. Randazzo, a former assistant Suffolk County executive under Bellone, was among county officials who were instrumental in the rollout of BusPatrol in Suffolk County.

As Newsday has reported, other top former officials in Suffolk County, which is among BusPatrol’s largest clients, signed an amended contract with BusPatrol in November 2023 — years before it was to expire and in a way that limited Suffolk’s ability to terminate the contract.

A report in the news site The City cited public records that listed a meeting between David Banks and Meyers, who was then at BusPatrol, on Nov. 28, as well as a Zoom meeting between BusPatrol and David Banks in May 2022.

In a statement, the city Department of Education said its chancellor’s office played no role in the bus camera pilot.

"Procurement and contracting by central New York City Public Schools follows an open and transparent process, in which the chancellor does not participate," the Education Department said. "New York City Public Schools played no role in the organization or coordination of this pilot."

By Mark Harrington

mark.harrington@newsday.comMHarringtonNews

Mark Harrington, a Newsday reporter since 1999, covers energy, wineries, Indian affairs and fisheries.