Two Cops on Every NYC Subway Train at Night Starts Next Week, Hochul Says

New York City: Governor Hochul is rolling out a plan to have police on every overnight subway train starting next week. She shared this news with reporters on Thursday.

The initiative, first mentioned in her State of the State address, aims to increase police visibility on the subway for the next six months. Hochul emphasized that people want to see officers on trains and in stations.

Beginning Monday, two NYPD officers will patrol each of the 150 subway trains that run overnight from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. Importantly, this plan won’t add new transit cops. Instead, it will use $77 million to fund overtime for over 1,000 officers, including 300 extra shifts for overnight patrols.

Currently, there are about 2,583 uniformed officers in the NYPD’s Transit Bureau. Hochul reassured that this won’t take away from those already providing essential services.

Transit sources mentioned that some precinct officers from outside the Transit Bureau might also join the effort. This surge follows the deployment of 1,000 National Guard soldiers and at least 250 state police last year. However, the National Guard can’t make arrests in the subway.

Last year, ten people were murdered in the subway, including a tragic incident involving a homeless woman. While burglaries and robberies dropped, the number of assaults remained steady.