By Michael V. Cusenza
Governor Kathy Hochul on Tuesday announced comprehensive new steps to increase the presence of law enforcement officers, expand public resources and strengthen mental health policies to make a beleaguered city transit system safer.
The new measures include partnering with Big Apple officials to increase NYPD patrols on subway platforms and trains; installing new protective barriers on subway platforms to protect riders; upgrading fare gates and delaying egress on exit gates to help crack down on fare evasion; adding LED lighting throughout stations to increase visibility; and updating and strengthening mental health laws to ensure that New Yorkers with severe mental illness are connected with care instead of being left to languish on subway trains and platforms.
According to Hochul, Approximately 750 NYPD cops will be stationed across the five boroughs with an additional 300 in the train cars themselves. The increase in enforcement will prioritize 30 subways stations and transit hubs that account for 50 percent of crime in the transit system.
Hochul also pledged to work with the City to increase police patrols on every overnight train for the next six months. NYPD officers will work from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m., and there will be a uniformed officer onboard every subway train in service during those hours.
Hochul said her administration will provide the funding to install platform edge barriers at more than 100 additional stations by the end of 2025. The selection of stations for the installation process will prioritize feasibility. Hochul also promised to provide funding to install LED lighting in all subway stations throughout the system which will increase visibility throughout the stations.
To address fare evasion, Hochul promised to 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. The MTA will prioritize stations with higher ridership traffic, accessibility features and those with high fare evasion. The piloted design used in the roll-out was solicited through the MTA’s “Request for Information” to qualify the next generation of fare gates across the system.
On Tuesday, Hochul also claimed that her Safe Options Support initiative has successfully transitioned nearly 850 unhoused individuals into permanent housing and continues to make progress. SOS teams deployed across New York State often encounter individuals experiencing unmet medical and psychiatric needs. To address this gap, Hochul said she will add street medicine and street psychiatry providers to SOS teams statewide.
Additionally Hochul said she will work with the City 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 homeless people for our mobile outreach teams to better connect and coordinate services.
For the governor’s critics, the plan provides too little too late.
“Your plan comes after years of knocking our police officers down and uplifting violent criminals,” City Councilwoman Joann Ariola (R-Ozone Park) addressed Hochul on Twitter. “Who will be protecting our neighborhoods while you put 300 police officers on the trains? Staffing for NYPD has never been lower and the burnout rate is apparent by how many are leaving, thanks to your failed policies.”
