(Bloomberg) -- New York Governor Kathy Hochul is sending 250 additional National Guard officers into New York City’s subway system, adding to an initiative she begin in March to boost security on the nation’s largest transit network.
The addition will put the number of National Guard members across the city’s transit system at 1,000. While the number of reported major felonies in the subway are down 6% this year through Dec. 15 compared with 2023, stabbings and headline-grabbing assaults continue to plague the system.
“This is not a response to a specific crime,” Hochul said Wednesday near Grand Central Terminal where she announced the plan. “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.”
In March, Hochul deployed 750 National Guard officials into the subway to perform random bag checks on passengers. As the city anticipates more visitors coming in for shopping, sightseeing and holiday events, Hochul wants to increase public confidence and boost a sense of security.
“It’s magical this time of year, but it all starts with the fundamental obligation to ensure that people who come here or those who live here every single day feel safe,” Hochul said.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority runs the city’s subways, buses and commuter trains. Subway riders say their satisfaction with the system would increase if there were fewer people behaving erratically, according to the MTA’s November customer survey.
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