Hochul outlines subway safety investments in NYS budget, including National Guard and NYPD
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul says the state budget agreement reached earlier this week commits to making the subway system safer.
The governor and top MTA officials held a briefing Thursday morning at Grand Central Station in Manhattan to tout the safety initiatives. They also rode the 7 train to the Fifth Avenue-Bryant Park station, where platform barriers were installed three months ago.
"This is the beating heart of this city, this is what sets us apart from all others -- getting people anywhere they want to go within minutes. It's extraordinary," Hochul said in her opening remarks at Grand Central, where she was flanked by members of the National Guard and New York State Police.
"When I first took office three and a half years ago, this system faced a triple threat. First of all, subway crime was raging, absolutely raging, I would say, as an outgrowth of the pandemic, of which we know we were the epicenter for the nation. Ridership was down, it was absolutely lagging, and the MTA faced a looming fiscal crisis that threatened to bring this system to a screeching halt," she continued. "Those were real challenges, but we were undaunted. We knew we needed to lean hard into them and find solutions that would work."
The governor spoke about previously securing recurring funds to save the MTA "from literally falling off the fiscal cliff," and pointed to safety measures she has already implemented, from deploying the National Guard to flooding the system with police overnight, cracking down on fare evasion and installing more cameras.
She went on to say the new budget deal includes $45 million for the National Guard task force, $77 million to keep funding NYPD officers on overnight trains and $30 million for homeless outreach teams, including the creation of designated intake center.
She also spoke about reforming the state's discovery laws to reduce the number of cases thrown out because of technicalities, and making it a misdemeanor to hide your face with a mask when committing a felony crime.
"That's important, because we've seen in the subway people masking themselves trying to evade the cameras that we put in place. But if you're hiding under a mask, how are our police supposed to identify you and make sure you don't hurt somebody else the next day?" she said.
The budget deal also funds the MTA's $68.4 billion capital plan, which includes platform barriers at 100 more stations, LED lighting to make stations brighter, replacing aging turnstiles with gates that are harder to evade, moving forward with the Interborough Express connecting Brooklyn and Queens, making stations more accessible and enhancing Hudson Valley service.
The MTA also said earlier this week some subway cameras will now test out an artificial intelligence feature to help law enforcement during investigations. The agency stressed, however, the AI feature will not use facial recognition.
MTA, feds clash over subway crime
Hochul said Thursday crime in the subway is down 16% compared to 2019, before the pandemic. She also said ridership is up 7% year-over-year.
Nonetheless, the governor also acknowledged a 38-year-old man was stabbed to death on a 5 train last week, and there is more work to do.
"Mark my words, I will do everything in my power to ensure that the people of this city and the state are safe, and I'll put the investments where they need to go. I'll make the changes in the law where necessary, because we won't stop until every single person has what they deserve -- the right to be safe in their homes, in their communities and on our subways," Hochul said in her closing remarks, before taking questions.
The MTA said earlier this week subway crime continues to trend down so far this year. In the first quarter, major crimes dropped more than 18% from 2024.
Congestion pricing and the May 21 deadline
Despite all of the state's efforts, the federal government -- specifically U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy -- has criticized the MTA for not doing more. In recent days, he threatened to withhold funding for the agency if crime doesn't continue to decrease.
Duffy has also threatened to pull funding if Hochul doesn't turn off congestion pricing cameras by May 21. She said she's determined not to knuckle under.
"I don't know why, with all the responsibilities that the secretary of transportation has, including preventing train, plane, and helicopter crashes that's under his jurisdiction, that they're so focused on a localities decision, a city and a state that want to control their own traffic," Hochul said.
MTA CEO Janno Lieber said the state will not be swayed by Duffy's "coercive measures."
"As I say, we've won in every court east of the Mississippi, and let's let it be resolved that way, rather than them trying to coerce something with threats about money," Lieber said.
"We're gonna win in court," Hochul added.
As of now, the governor and the MTA have apparently made no contingency plans if Duffy makes good on his threat. Though his deadline is May 21, the court case is not expected to be heard until the fall. He did not respond to requests for comment.
