Gov. Kathy Hochul pledged on Thursday funding to have at least two cops on every subway train overnight without diverting officers from over patrols — but the NYPD’s top police union says there aren’t enough cops to do the job.
Hochul stood in Grand Central Station on Jan. 16 flanked by officers to announce that her new subway safety plan would begin on Monday. Some 300 transit cops are expected to be situated in pairs on the trains, while another 750 are expected to be placed on station platforms.
This won’t come cheap, however. The new patrols will be achieved by expanding officer overtime, which will cost $77 million. Nonetheless, Hochul said, the state would pick up the tab.
“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,” the governor said. “Yes, between now and when the budget process is done. So we have the resources to do that.”
After the six months have elapsed, Hochul says she will seek another $77 million from the state legislature for the later half of 2025 in order to continue the patrols.
This subway surge comes after several high-profile crimes in the bowels of the Big Apple left the city shocked and appalled by an ongoing, dangerous mental health crisis in the city.
On Dec. 22, 2024, Guatemala migrant Sebastian Zapeta-Calil allegedly set Debrina Kawam on fire as she slept aboard a Coney Island F train, burning her to death caught on horrific video. On Dec. 31 Joe Lynskey was shoved in front of an oncoming 1 train on 18th Street and 7th Avenue station, allegedly by Kamel Hawkins.
Hochul promised that police resources would not be diverted from thousands already on the beat in the subway, citing the overtime component as a means of achieving it.
“We have had horrific, unusual, high-profile crimes that have occurred,” she said. “We’re not doing anything with the 2,500 police officers who are already there patrolling the system. This is to add on top of that. This is not diverting existing law enforcement. I want to assure everybody of that.”
The NYPD confirmed Thursday that the first phase of the new overnight initiative will start Monday.
“The NYPD will be rolling out the ambitious plan to put two officers on every overnight train in phases. Phase 1 will officially begin on Monday and include the first 100 officers,” an NYPD spokesperson said in a Jan. 16 statement. ” Additional phases will be rolled out over the coming weeks with the expectation that the full operation will be complete by the end of the month. This is a massive undertaking that involves specialized training as well as logistics and resource management. We appreciate the governor’s support in keeping New Yorkers safe.”
However, not everyone in law enforcement agrees with the move.
Though Police Benevolent Association (PBA) President Patrick Hendry has lauded the move to add more cops to the subways, he also says that the NYPD does not have the staffing to maintain the promised patrols. He called upon Albany lawmakers to help the city recruit more officers to do the job.
“New Yorkers have been demanding more police presence, both in the subways and in our neighborhoods. But the NYPD simply does not have the staffing to sustain that presence for the long haul everywhere it’s needed,” Hendry said. “In order for these plans to succeed, we need additional help from Albany to recruit and retain the Finest.”
Hochul conceded that felony assaults have risen in the subway. In an effort to stop crime, which some in the NYPD believe to be driven in part by criminals who do not pay their fare.
The MTA also rolled out new spiked barriers at the Lexington Avenue-59th Street station as part of an ongoing effort to stop fare evasion. Yet it seemed to do little good as amNewYork Metro observed many continuing to hop the turnstiles.
