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New York Governor Kathy Hochul will deploy 750 National Guardsmen and an additional 250 state troopers into the New York subway system to deter violent crime, which has spiked in the transit system in recent months.
In February, New York City Mayor Eric Adams added 1,000 police officers to patrol the platforms. But random attacks continue, with several transit workers recently injured on the job.
Naturally, this didn’t sit well with the Transport Workers Union. The union had a brief work stoppage last week after a conductor on an A train was slashed. And shortly after Hochul’s announcement, another female conductor reported she was hit by a glass bottle thrown by an unknown assailant as the train was pulling away.
Richard Davis, the president of Local 100 of the Transport Workers Union, said the plan did not go far enough.
“We will not be pacified,” Davis said in a statement. The surge “cannot be just a temporary measure. It must remain in place.”
The National Guard will primarily check bags in the station to prevent weapons from being brought onto the platform.
“No one heading to their job or to visit family or go to a doctor appointment should worry that the person sitting next to them possesses a deadly weapon,” the governor said.
