NEW YORK (CN) — New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced her plan Wednesday to deploy state police and National Guard soldiers to the New York City subway system, where they will patrol stations and help check bags.
“Since taking office, I have been laser-focused on driving down subway crime and protecting New Yorkers,” Hochul said Wednesday. “My five-point plan will rid our subways of violent offenders and protect all commuters and transit workers."
Under the plan, 750 members of the National Guard will be deployed to assist law enforcement check bags in heavily trafficked subway platforms. Additionally, 250 officers from New York State Police and the MTA Police Department will be sent to assist. The nearly 1,000-person force will work to ensure no weapons are brought into the subways, Hochul said.
“No one heading to their job or to visit family or go to a doctor appointment should worry that a person sitting next to them has a deadly weapon,” Hochul said.
But New Yorkers have mixed views on the governor’s new plans.
“There’s so many people here, but it seems aggressive to me,” Michelle Hammel, a New York City resident of six years, said.
Hammel added that while there have been times she felt unsafe on the subway, she’s not sure it warrants the additional law enforcement presence.
“From my personal experience, it feels a bit much. A lot much actually,” Hammel said.
Jasnie Toro, a New York City resident, said that she believes it's important to feel safe on the subway, especially as a woman.
“Crazy things happen on our trains so, of course, I want to be safe for myself and for other females out there,” Toro said. “There shouldn’t be weapons at all.”
According to Hochul's spokesperson Maggie Halley, the National Guard personnel are already deploying in the subway system, but it will take a few days to get the full 750 personnel in place.
New York Civil Liberties Union executive director Donna Lieberman criticized Hochul’s plan, calling it an “unfortunate example of policymaking through overreaction and overreach.”
“A sweeping surveillance state and biased broken-windows policing won’t deliver security,” Lieberman said in a statement. “Real public safety comes from investing meaningful solutions, not over-policing.
Hochul’s order comes after New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced in January that the city ordered an additional 1,000 officers in the subway systems following a 45% spike in crime over the past year.
Hochul’s plan also includes a new program bill that will allow judges to ban people convicted of an assault from using MTA services. Additionally, the plan includes installing new cameras focused on conductor cabins to protect workers and improving coordination between law enforcement, transit personnel and district attorneys.
Follow @NikaSchoonover
Subscribe to Closing Arguments
Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.
