By Lindsay Press
March 6 marks one year since Governor Kathy Hochul enacted her five-point subway safety plan. She acknowledged the milestone by highlighting the decrease in New York City transit crimes. According to the governor, major crimes have gone down 29% while arrests have increased 71% year to date. Meanwhile, in comparison to this same period in 2019, major crimes are down 28%. Further, so far this year, subway crimes are at their lowest level in 30 years.
Hochul added more state personnel to work with the New York City Police Department (NYPD) to assist with bag checks, directing the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) to speed up camera installation in the system, and increase the amount of Subway Co-Response Outreach (SCOUT) teams in the system, which operate in addition to the existing SOS teams in providing help to those with substance abuse and mental health issues.
She emphasized that subway riders are safer due to the deployment of National Guard troops and having two NYPD officers patrolling each train from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. Future plans include funding to install platform edge barriers at more than 100 additional stations by the end of 2025, with those with the highest ridership levels getting top priority.
To address fare evasion, Hochul said she will invest in modern fare gates in more than 20 stations across the system in 2025, and an additional 20 stations in 2026. Additionally, exit gates will delay egress at 150 additional stations in an effort to reduce fare evasion. Funding will also be provided to install LED lighting in all subway stations throughout the system which will increase visibility throughout the stations.
To further help reduce homelessness in the subway system — Hochul is working with the NYC Department of Homeless Services to expand their 24/7 “Welcome Center” model near end-of-line stations and will create spaces within stations that have a large presence of unhoused people for our mobile outreach teams to better connect and coordinate services.
Hochul’s results with police involvement come two years after she declared an end to her “Defund the Police” era.
“Keeping New Yorkers safe is my top priority – and I’ll never stop working to ensure riders can rely on our subways to safely get where they need to go,” Governor Hochul said. “By adding uniformed officers to every train, fortifying our transit infrastructure, and expanding mental health outreach, we’ve made real progress in driving down transit crime. Working in partnership with law enforcement, district attorneys and mental health experts, we’re working to make the subways safer for every straphanger.”
“It’s not a mystery – more cops, more enforcement, and more effective mental health outreach and treatment directly cuts down on transit crime,” said MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber. “Now we need legal changes proposed by Gov. Hochul that will ensure recidivist criminals aren’t free to keep preying on subway riders.”
— Additional reporting by Hank Russell