Governor Kathy Hochul is deploying 750 National Guard members and roughly 250 Metropolitan Transportation Authority and New York State Police officers to address increased crime in the New York City subway system.
In a press release on Wednesday, the New York governor announced a five-point plan to address rising crime in the Big Apple’s subway system. The governor’s plan includes deploying state personnel to help the New York Police Department conduct bag checks throughout the subway system, advancing a bill that would allow individuals who assault other passengers to be banned from public transportation, installing additional cameras to protect the cabins of train conductors, increasing coordination between law enforcement and district attorneys, and increasing the number of Subway Co-Response Outreach teams.
“Since taking office, I have been laser-focused on driving down subway crime and protecting New Yorkers,” Hochul said. “My five-point plan will rid our subways of violent offenders and protect all commuters and transit workers. I am sending a message to all New Yorkers: I will not stop working to keep you safe and restore your peace of mind whenever you walk through those turnstiles.”
According to NBC News, the governor’s announcement and the deployment of National Guard troops to the New York City subway system follows a series of crime incidents that took place recently throughout the subway system.
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NBC News reported that a 64-year-old man was kicked onto the subway tracks on Sunday while he was checking his phone at Penn Station. NBC News reported that another incident took place last Friday when a 27-year-old man was slashed by a suspect on a train in Manhattan. The outlet noted that a third incident occurred last Thursday, resulting in a subway conductor being slashed in the neck after sticking his head out of a train in Brooklyn.
Hochul claimed that the deployment of 750 National Guard troops and 250 other law enforcement officials is intended to “rid our subways of people who commit crimes and (to) protect all New Yorkers whether you’re a commuter or a transit worker.”
“No one heading to their job or to visit family or go to a doctor appointment should worry that the person sitting next to them possesses a deadly weapon,” she said, according to NBC News. “Let me be very, very clear. These brazen, heinous attacks on our subway system will not be tolerated.”
