Much Fingerpointing over Guardless Bridge The empty guardhouse at the center of the Rector Street Bridge, still shrink-wrapped and suspended between the bridge’s two passageways, might as well be some funky art installation for all its usefulness in providing the 24-hour security that public officials promised. The absence of a guard on the two-month-old bridge has some Battery Park City residents concerned about safety, but no government agency is taking responsibility for the bridge security.   Officials from the city, the state and the Battery Park City Authority pitched the bridge plan last winter to Community Board 1 as a way to improve access between BPC and the subway lines near Broadway. Stephanie Gelb, the Authority’s vice president of planning and design, said then that her agency would provide 24-hour security on the bridge. But last month, after some residents complained about the missing security, the Authority said it was not responsible. "The Battery Park City Authority has nothing to do with the bridge at all," Pat Quinn, a public affairs assistant for the Authority, said at a meeting of CB1’s BPC committee. The federal government paid for the bridge, she said, the state built it, and the city is responsible for providing police officers to watch over it. In a phone interview, Tim Carey agreed, saying the Authority was responsible only for cleaning and maintaining the bridge. In promising the security, Gelb "apparently misspoke," he said. "We have been working with the NYPD and we have assurances they will cover the bridge," Carey said. "That matter is still being evaluated," said Jerry Varson, a Police Department spokesman, when asked about the bridge security. "I don’t have a specific answer if we’re doing it or when we’re doing it." Keith Kalb, a spokesman for the city’s Department of Transportation (DOT), which was involved in the bridge’s planning, distanced his agency from the issue. "The bridge is owned by State DOT," he said, "We only issued permits for it." A state DOT spokeswoman, Lisa Kuhner, completed the bureaucratic circle, saying, "The Battery Park City Authority is the one responsible for the security on the bridge." There have been no reported incidents on the bridge. But the danger to pedestrians increased, some residents said, when workers last month covered most of the bridge’s mesh walls with solid panels, largely blocking views of the passageways from the street. "I feel like I’m going through a subway tunnel," Steven Maz, a Tribeca resident, said as he crossed the bridge late last month. "I don’t feel safe here. I prefer the other bridge," said Jorge Arango, pointing toward the pedestrian bridge at Liberty Street, a few blocks north. Inaction on the issue is frustrating Community Board 1. At the committee meeting attended by the Authority’s Quinn, CB1 member Bob Grassi recalled that during bridge discussions over the winter, "I asked about installing cameras on the bridge, and the Authority said it was not necessary because we’ll have security. It’s not acceptable to say now, ‘We have nothing to do with it, it’s not our bridge.’" CB1 passed a resolution calling on the Authority to assign 24-hour security guards to the bridge. "If something happens on the bridge, security will be put in there in a second," said BPC resident Helene Seeman. "But I don’t think we should wait until that happens."