Gov. Hochul announces multi-billion dollar investment plan to make subways safer
MIDTOWN, Manhattan (WABC) -- New York Governor Kathy Hochul appeared at Grand Central Terminal on Thursday to announce new budget investments in the city's subway system.
New York State will pour $68.4 billion into the aging system over the next five years to help fund safety initiatives, mental health programs, and infrastructure improvements across the system.
Some upgrades to the system include 1,500 new subway cars, 500 buses, 60 handicapped-accessible stations, and a new Interborough Express subway line.
The investment includes modern signals on the N, Q, R, W, A, Rockaway shuttle, J and Z lines.
This is all being made possible due to a state budget agreement, which is its largest-ever capital plan to prevent the city's transit system from falling apart.
While this is a significant investment, safety is also a top priority for transit officials, and Hochul says the subway system is getting safer.
With hidden cameras onboard every subway car, and low-tech measures like steel barriers on subway platforms, police officers told the governor they are making a difference.
"Even here, you notice people using the barriers. Even when we're walking down the platform we feel a lot safer," said an MTA police officer.
Riding the No. 7 train, the governor told reporters on Thursday that riders should notice a difference now that police patrols have been stepped up, especially in the overnight hours when two officers are onboard every train.
Hochul says she understands why people might feel vulnerable at night, which is why she made the changes.
"They may have had a long shift at the hospital. They're working at night and, you know, they deserve a first-rate experience, and they need to be secure, they need to be safe," she said.
Major crime fell 18% in the first three months of the year, and for the first time in seven years, there were no murders in the transit system in the first quarter.
Even in the face of more dollars on the way, MTA CEO Janno Lieber is not turning a blind eye to New Yorkers' feelings while riding through the system.
"Riders who want to be sure that people who are struggling with mental health in the public space are being brought into treatment rather than being left to suffer in the public space, which does have an impact on riders. Riders are asking us 'please make me feel safer by dealing with that population more effectively,'" he said.
The governor's announcement at Grand Central is also where a high-profile deadly incident started Friday morning.
The NYPD has arrested a person in connection with the first homicide of the year in the subway system.
Luis Jose-Duarte, 46, was charged with manslaughter after a confrontation with the victim, 38-year-old Sheldon John.
Overall crime is down 8% so far this year, driven by double-digit declines in robbery and grand larceny, but felony assaults are up 14.5%. At least one third of the victims are police officers and transit workers, who often must confront them. The governor and the MTA chairman acknowledge it's a struggle.
"A lot of it is attributable, we just got to be honest, we're doing more enforcement," Lieber said. "The NYPD is doing more enforcement. And there are more interactions that result in somebody who got stopped for fare evasion, for example, whacking a cop or even worse. That is a big driver of what we're doing."
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