A six-month News 12 investigation found that nearly one-third of Long Island Rail Road stations in Nassau County lack security cameras.
News 12 asked the MTA to provide a list of camera locations and the criteria used to select their placement. The agency refused, citing security concerns.
So News 12 visited each LIRR station in Nassau and Suffolk and discovered that 33 of them may lack cameras.
The findings were used to create a database comparing census data and median income. It showed that many of Long Island's wealthiest areas have train stations with surveillance cameras, while some lower-income areas did not.
Some commuters who spoke with News 12 said they generally feel safe taking the train but added that they'd like to know where there are and aren't cameras.
The Town of Oyster Bay appears to have four stations where there are no obvious cameras on train platforms.
Oyster Bay Town Councilman Louis Imbroto had no idea about the lack of cameras.
"I was surprised, but what I was more surprised about is that the MTA is keeping all of this a secret," Imbroto said. "The MTA should put these cameras in, and they should share the locations that have them and that don't have them until they do."
State Assemblywoman Amy Paulin, who chairs the state committee that oversees the MTA, agrees.
"They should be everywhere," Paulin said. "We're about to embark on a capital plan. We're going to make sure it's part of the plan."