Hochul outlines $77M subway safety plan that adds police patrols to overnight trains​on January 17, 2025 at 5:02 am

NEW YORK (WABC) — New York City subway riders will start seeing officers on every overnight train starting Monday, Governor Kathy Hochul said Thursday.

“I’m not waiting,” Hochul said. “Monday you will start seeing the increased presence on the overnight trains.”

The $77 million strategy will put 750 more police officers on platforms and in stations and 300 more officers on overnight trains.

“We’ve doubled the number of law enforcement personnel in the New York City subway system in one year,” Hochul said.

The governor said most of crime committed on the subway system occurs during overnight hours.

“There is a lot of anxiety on these trains late at night. I want to tamper that down,” Hochul said.

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.

It’s part of her five-point plan that includes brighter lighting and barriers on platforms, a crackdown on fare evasion with new modern gates, expanding homeless outreach at end of line stations and getting people with serious mental illness off the system and into care.

Hochul 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.

Thirty subway stations that account for 50% of crime in the transit system would also see ramped-up enforcement and be prioritized.

Hochul admits that fare evasion has left many riders furious-it’s costing the MTA an estimated $700 million a year in lost revenue.

“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.

The MTA on Tuesday installed spikes on the turnstiles at the 59th Street/Lexington Avenue station on the Upper East Side. The spikes were installed at the turnstile handrails, hopefully discouraging fare evaders from using the panels to push themselves up and being able to jump over the turnstile.

For Mayor Eric Adams, who’s no stranger to public safety, he applauded 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.

An NYPD spokesperson released a statement saying,

“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. 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.”

ALSO READ: Mayor Eric Adams announces $650M investment to get homeless people off the streets of NYC

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