New York State Governor Kathy Hochul wants to change that. She wants to put two police officers on each of the city's 147 overnight trains.
"There is a lot of anxiety on these trains late at night. I want to tamper that down," she said.
Thursday morning, the governor appeared at Grand Central Terminal to give more details on this proposed plan for $77 million.
At her State of the State address, Gov. Hochul gave a brief outline of the proposed six-month initiative that would ramp up patrols between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m.
She had said that most crimes happen overnight and added patrols would be in addition to the National Guardsmen that have been redeployed into the transit system.
"You look at most of the crimes committed, is on the overnight hours. We also want to have the police deployed to make sure when commuters get on in the morning, that the environment is safe, and that those who need assistance are not on the trains in the morning. Those who have spent the night on the train, we can help people get to supportive locations. So, it's about making sure that the first-morning commuter experience is very positive," Hochul said during her State of the State address earlier this week.
Subway riders can start seeing officers on every overnight train starting Monday.
"Today is thursday? How does Monday sound? I'm not waiting. Monday. Monday you will start seeing the increase presense on the overnight trains," Hochul said. "This is overtime, this is something we are willing to do at the state level to assist the city. We've done it before. It's made a difference and I'm going back to proven strategies that work."
Approximately 750 NYPD officers would be stationed across the city with an additional 300 in the train cars themselves.
Thirty subway stations that account for 50% of crime in the transit system would also see ramped-up enforcement and be prioritized.
"But its the led lights, the cameras, and the shameless fare beaters. It hit our coffers in the MTA hard. So I've directed 40 stations (to be outfitted) with modern turnstiles by the end of 2026 and continue until we have completed this process," Hochul said.
For Mayor Eric Adams, who's no stranger to public safety, he applauds the governor for her efforts.
"I love the concept. Former transit police officer, I used to be a transit cop. We used to do TPF, tactical patrol force. We rode the trains from 8 p.m. To 6 a.m., mandatory two hours overtime every night," Adams said. "I think what the governor presented is in alignment with the partnership that we've had when we wrote out the subway safety plan."
While Hochul also supports legislation to remove those experiencing homelessness in the transit system, Mayor Adams said they are unable to put a mental health worker along with officers when on patrol overnight.
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