Starting Monday, users of the largest subway system in the country will see New York City Police officers on each overnight train. Kathy Hochul announced Thursday a strategy to calm rider anxiety, which has been increasing amid a spate of high-profile crimes.
Hochul said in a press conference, “I am not waiting.” “Monday, you’ll start to see the increased presence on overnight trains.”
Hochul stated that the $77 million plan will add 750 police officers to platforms, stations, and overnight trains.
Hochul stated that in just one year, the number of police officers in the New York City Subway system had doubled.
According to the governor, most crimes committed in the subway occur at night.
There is a great deal of anxiety in these trains at night. Hochul said, “I want to calm that down.”
Statistics from the New York Police Department show that crimes in transit have dropped 36% since last year.
Riders have called for the government to take action after several high-profile incidents in the subway.
A woman who was sleeping on the floor of a Coney Island station’s Stillwell Avenue station, Brooklyn, died on Dec. 22 after being set ablaze. Sebastian Zapeta was an undocumented Guatemalan immigrant who was arrested following a short manhunt. He was charged with murder in the first and second degree and arson for the death of Debrina Kawam, 57, who was originally from Toms River.
Zapata has denied the charges.
Police said that on Christmas Eve, an alleged man used a blade to slash both a male and female at Manhattan’s Grand Central Subway Station. The suspect was charged with assault and menacing on Wednesday.
Police said that the man was arrested for assault, reckless endangerment and harassment. He also faced charges of menacing and disorderly conduct.
Police report that on New Year’s Eve, a 45-year-old man was shoved into the subway tracks in Manhattan’s Chelsea district, just before an incoming train. Police said that the victim, Joseph Lynskey survived and will make a full recovery.
Kamel Hawkins (23), the suspect in this subway shove, was arrested and charged with assault and attempted murder. He has not yet entered a plea.
Alvin Bragg, Manhattan’s District Attorney, announced on Wednesday the indictment of a man aged 23 in connection with the December slashing incident at the 50th Street Subway Station in Manhattan. Bragg claimed that Orsen Reyes stomped a 48-year-old man’s face and cut him with a blade. Reyes was charged with first-degree assault and three counts each of assault in second-degree, as well as three counts of criminal possession of a weapon.
He has denied the charges.
Bragg stated in a press release that “New Yorkers deserve safety in our subway system and we will work with our partners in law enforcement to combat transit crimes.” “I wish the victim continued healing from this horrific assault.”
Hochul made the move after she ordered the New York National Guard and New York State Police to deploy troopers into the subway system to make riders feel safer. This deployment was made after six people, including one fatality, were shot at a Bronx subway station on February 13, 2024.
