Gov. Hochul stated the state will likely be paying to place police on each in a single day subway prepare in NYC for the following six months, “to reduce crime and the fear of crime” within the MTA’s mass transit system.
“I want to see more uniformed police officers,” Hochul stated Tuesday in her annual State of the State handle. “Not just on the platforms, but more importantly on every single train overnight — 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. — for the next six months.”
“The state will support these efforts financially,” she stated, calling the state of the subway system “chaos.”
The announcement comes only one month after Hochul stated she was deploying 250 extra Nationwide Guard troops to the system for the vacations — not as a result of the system was in chaos, she stated on the time, however as a result of her March 2024 deployment of 750 troopers had been profitable in driving down crime.
In contrast to the guard deployment, NYPD officers have full jurisdiction on the subways, and are in a position to make arrests. It was not instantly clear if all officers can be NYPD officers, nor what it could value to deploy the officers to lots of of excursions patrolling the subway’s trains in pairs from nightfall till daybreak.
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Barry Williams/for New York Each day Information
FILE – A NYPD officer checks a subway prepare because it pulls into the Union Sq. subway station in Manhattan. (Barry Williams for New York Each day Information)
Ten individuals have been murdered within the subway system final 12 months — most not too long ago the random, grotesque immolation of a homeless New Jersey lady asleep on a Brooklyn prepare. That’s up from 5 murders in 2023. Burglaries, robberies and grand larcenies dropped final 12 months, whereas felonious and misdemeanor assaults remained regular.
The Governor additionally referred to as for the set up of passive platform boundaries — meant to guard riders from falling or being pushed onto the tracks — at 100 extra stations. The boundaries, first put in final January, are at the moment in place at 14 of the system’s 472 stations.
Hochul and MTA officers have repeatedly touted the significance of accelerating not simply bodily safety on the subway, however the notion as nicely.
To that finish, Hochul stated she can be directing the MTA to put in brighter LED lighting at each subway station by the tip of the 12 months.
Hochul additionally referred to as for the set up of recent turnstiles to discourage subway fare jumpers, a challenge the MTA has floated since Could 2023.
“Shameless fare evaders will finally be stopped with modernized gates,” Hochul stated. “This will make the subway less chaotic, and also help strengthen the financial footing of the MTA.”
A person jumps a turnstile throughout rush hour at a subway entrance February 22, 2024 in New York Metropolis. (Picture by Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Photos)
The company loses an estimated $285 million in misplaced subway fares yearly.
MTA officers stated Tuesday that the brand new fare-gates can be put in in 20 stations this 12 months and 20 stations subsequent 12 months. Straphangers can count on to see them quickly on the 42 St. Port Authority station of the A, C and E trains, the Delancey St. – Essex St. station of the F, M, J and Z trains, and the Roosevelt Ave. station on the No. 7, E, F, M and R traces.
Hochul additionally took purpose at homelessness and psychological sickness on the subway, reiterating her help for an enlargement of the state’s legal guidelines governing the involuntary dedication of mentally ailing individuals.
“We need to expand involuntary commitment into a hospital to include someone who does not have the mental capacity to care for themselves — such as refusing help for the basics: clothing, food, shelter, medical care,” she stated Tuesday.
The controversial coverage, floated final month, has attracted pushback from civil libertarians, well being advocates and others.
“Critics will say this criminalizes poverty or homelessness — I say that is flat out wrong,” Hochul stated. “This is about having the humanity and the compassion to help people incapable of helping themselves.”
