Oct. 11--Asbestos-laced cloth will be removed from the ventilation system at one of the city's biggest bus depots, the Daily News has learned.

Contractors on Friday will begin removing the cloth, which was designed to reduce vibrations on the noisy air vents that pump air to the first three floors of the giant depot -- where roughly 1,000 people work.

Transit officials discovered earlier this year that the cloth contained asbestos, a Daily News investigation found.

Transit sources with knowledge of the depot's fan room told The News that their bosses were notified of the material, but did not tell employees in the depot that the air they were breathing may have contained asbestos.

Asbestos poured into the depot's air supply because some of the cloth was deteriorating, said sources with direct knowledge of the building's ventilation system. Signs were recently installed on the vents where asbestos was located that said "DO NOT DISTURB OR TOUCH THE VIBRATION CLOTH. THE VIBRATION CLOTH MATERIALS ON THIS UNIT CONTAINS ASBESTOS."

Metropolitan Transportation Authority safety officials made plans to remove the material four days after The News published its story, said agency spokesman Tim Minton.

"The MTA is committed to ensuring the safety of all work sites and protecting employees from health hazards," said Minton, who added that tests have shown the air at the depot to be safe.

The abatement will take place over the next month and will cost approximately $150,000, Minton said.

The job includes removing asbestos-containing material from two of the depot's locker rooms and its server room, a job that was planned in July.

Minton said the work does not include removing or replacing any of the ventilation units in the fan room where the asbestos was found.

Asbestos has not been used by heating and air conditioning professionals since at least the 1970s due to federal regulations and increased safety standards.

The East New York depot was built in 1947, and sources said some of the ventilation equipment inside dates to then.

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