Bank pitching in to increase Lynn T garage safety

LYNN ? When Eastern Bank executives decided their employees who park in the Market Street commuter garage needed added security, they did more than ask state transit officials to assign an additional officer to the garage.MBTA spokeswoman Kelly Smith said Eastern and the state officials signed an agreement to split the cost for additional garage security between 7 a.m. and 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. ? the hours when commuters, including bank employees, arrive and leave the garage.?We thought we would pitch in to help make the garage safer,” said Eastern spokesman Andrew Ravens.Smith said in addition to security partly paid for by Eastern Bank, the MBTA also assigns an officer to the garage from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Smith said the total cost for the added garage security is $43,000 a year.Transit Police Lt. Richard Sullivan said patrols “swing through the garage on a regular basis” and said the garage, with its two, multi-level parking wings, attracts drug users.?They seek shelter and anonymity to use and then filter out of the garage,” Sullivan said.The Item on Monday reported commuter safety complaints and other concerns in the 1,000-space garage located across Market Street from the bank’s One Eastern Place headquarters.Ravens said bank security concerns date back a year ago when some of Eastern’s 500 employees began to park in the garage. He said guests attending bank headquarters functions also parked in the garage, prompting bank representatives to contact MBTA officials.?We’re looking out for the best interests of our colleagues and the community,” he said.