Additional 250 National Guard members deployed to subway stations across NYC
The added boots on the ground to bring the total number to 1,000 National Guard members monitoring the subways.
Commuters could expect to see more security in subway stations this holiday season.
Gov. Kathy Hochul announced an additional 250 National Guard members are being deployed to subway stations across the city.
Hochul says this move was not in response to a specific crime or any alarming trends but instead, to provide an extra layer of security for riders and people visiting the city for the holidays.
The added boots on the ground to bring the total number to 1,000 National Guard members monitoring the subways.
The resources were originally deployed back in 2022 in response to post-pandemic crime in the transit system.
Officials say the data shows this strategy is working. Since March the governor reported a 10% decrease in overall crime on public transit, while subway crime is down 42% since 2021.
"Fear is a really powerful emotional, when someone sees one of these trained individuals standing there, I can tell you as a mom, and someone who talks to people around here, they feel better knowing there is a strong solid presence that's going to protect them and also be a deterrent, that is a powerful, powerful tool, and if we weren't successful I would be coming up with a different strategy," Hochul said.
As another layer of security, the MTA has installed more than 15,000 cameras, which are now on every subway car in the city.
