Gov. Hochul announces another 250 National Guard troops deployed to NYC subways
NEW YORK CITY (WABC) -- Fighting crime in the New York City subways is now getting more attention.
This time from Governor Kathy Hochul who announced on Wednesday that cameras are now on every subway car, reaching full coverage in the system ahead of schedule.
The other part of the equation is the Governor announced that during the holidays, an additional 250 National Guard members will patrol the subway system.
It brings the number of National Guard members stationed at subway entrances to 1,000. A show of force intended to deter crime and to reassure riders.
The Governor and MTA chairman insist they are making progress in driving down crime in the transit system. Overall crime is down since the pandemic but not in every category.
"This is not a response to a specific crime. We're not seeing a trend that's alarming, but it's about continuing a strategy that has proven its success and expanding it to protect even more people," Hochul said.
The deployments were first stepped up in 2022, along with state troopers and NYPD officers, in response to a surge in post-pandemic violent crime.
Felony assaults are down in the subways so far this year, along with burglary and grand larceny. And down, overall by 6.3% over last year. Since the pandemic, crime is down overall by 12%.
But murders are up 200%, felony assaults are up 55% and burglaries are up 140%.
"There's nothing you heard from me or the governor-not just today, but ever-that suggests that we think that crime is not a problem. What you did hear is significant indicators, of progress," MTA Chairman Janno Lieber said.
Last week, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch told Eyewitness News that she had no plans on letting up. That large police deployments are paying off.
"New Yorkers have been clear they want to see our cops on the subways and they want to see them on the platforms. And since the surge happened, they're seeing that," Tisch said.
Mayor Adams has stepped up efforts to remove the severely mentally ill from the transit system. As for the Guard, some riders Eyewitness News spoke with said their presence is reassuring. Others said it's overkill.
"I think it's sort of a waste of resources to bring the National Guard to handle something like the subway," one subway rider said.
"Nothing against the governor, but there's no need for it. I would rather see them in places that would really benefit more. But Grand Central? There's nothing really going on. So there's really no point in it," another subway rider said.
The MTA has accelerated its installation of security cameras throughout the system including customer areas of trains to protect passengers and conductor cabins to protect MTA employees. The MTA has also installed security cameras in all subway cars throughout the system.
Another encouraging statistic is that arrests in the transit system are now up 100% since the pandemic.
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