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Accessibility statementSkip to main content Democracy Dies in Darkness SubscribeSign in Close The Washington PostDemocracy Dies in Darkness NationalClimate Education Health Innovations Investigations National Security Obituaries Science NationalClimate Education Health Innovations Investigations National Security Obituaries Science WHY NATIONAL GUARD TROOPS ARE BEING DEPLOYED IN NEW YORK’S SUBWAYS By Emmanuel Felton and Ian Duncan March 7, 2024 at 4:36 p.m. EST Members of the National Guard patrol the subway at Grand Central Terminal in New York on Thursday. (Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images) Listen 6 min Share Comment on this storyComment Add to your saved stories Save New York is sending hundreds of National Guard troops and state troopers into the New York City subway to address crime in one of the country’s largest and busiest systems, Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) announced on Wednesday. WpGet the full experience.Choose your planArrowRight Crime is down in the subway system compared to the heights reached during the pandemic, but Hochul’s announcement comes after a string of high-profile incidents on the subway and a recent uptick in crime. In late February, a subway conductor was hospitalized after being slashed in the neck in an apparently random late-night attack at a train station in Brooklyn. Just days before, two commuters were attacked by a man wielding a hammer in a Queens subway station. And just hours after Hochul’s announcement, another conductor was smashed in the head with a glass bottle in another unprovoked attack. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement “These brazen heinous attacks on our subway system will not be tolerated,” Hochul said on Wednesday. The state’s influx of law enforcement agents will add to the 1,000 city officers New York Mayor Eric Adams (D) placed in the system in February after police reported a spike in crime on the city’s subway platforms and trains. Hochul has also proposed legislation that would allow judges to bar people with criminal records from riding the subway. The announcement also comes as Republicans across the country point to urban crime as a sign that criminal justice reform efforts championed by many Democrats have failed. Some New York Democrats have said concerns that fear of crime helped Republicans pick up several congressional seats across the state in the 2022 midterm elections and want to minimize that risk this year. Restoring confidence in the subway system has also been seen as critical to the city’s recovery after the pandemic. “There’s a psychological impact, people worry they could be next, anxiety takes hold,” the governor said. “And riding the subway, which would be part of your everyday life, is filled with stress and trepidation.” WHAT WILL THE NATIONAL GUARD TROOPS BE DOING? Hochul’s plan calls for 750 members of the New York National Guard and 250 state troopers to be assigned to stations across the vast subway system. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement The task facing law enforcement is immense: With 472 subway stations, the city has more subway stations than any other system in the world. The guards and troopers will be stationed at the city’s busiest stations to check bags for weapons, a show of force not often seen since the days following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Some critics said they were concerned the checks could lead to racial profiling. “I think it is ridiculous to be placing National Guard in the subway system,” said city council member Shekar Krishnan, a progressive Democrat who represents part of Queens. “We need to be investing in strategies that really keep safe such as mental health services. Instead what we are doing is fear mongering that will only lead to Black and Brown New Yorkers being further over-policed.” HOW LONG WILL THEY BE STATIONED IN THE SUBWAY? The elevated police presence will be temporary, according to Hochul. But she declined to give a timeline, saying she didn’t want to tip off criminals. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement A temporary deployment is not enough, Richard Davis, president of the union representing subway workers, said in a statement. “This promised surge … cannot be just a temporary measure. It must remain in place,” Davis said. “We will not be pacified.” Share this articleShare IS CRIME UP IN THE SUBWAY? The number of serious crimes reported on the New York Subway system in January rose almost 47 percent compared with the same month the year before, according to NYPD data. Police logged 223 crimes in the system, an increase that was largely driven by a spike in grand larceny, which are thefts in which the perpetrator doesn’t use force. The 223 reported crimes in January equated to 1.92 crimes per million riders, according to MTA data, a rate last reached in February 2022. In a report to the MTA’s board last month, subway officials said that over the long run “we remained encouraged to see our crimes per million rider figures trend down year over year.” Advertisement Story continues below advertisement The rate of crimes fell in February when 148 incidents were reported — a decrease of 15 percent compared with the same period last year, according to New York Police Department data. WHAT ELSE IS THE GOVERNOR DOING TO ADDRESS CRIME IN THE SUBWAY? The stepped up law enforcement presence is part of what Hochul is calling a five-point plan to address crime in the subway. which will include $20 million for mental health workers to work with people on the subway. She is also asking the legislature for money to add more cameras to the system. Judges would be able to ban people with criminal records from riding the subway altogether, under another Hochul proposal. “My five-point plan will rid our subways of violent offenders and protect all commuters and transit workers,” said Hoch. “I am sending a message to all New Yorkers: I will not stop working to keep you safe and restore your peace of mind whenever you walk through those turnstiles.” HOW DO RIDERS FEEL ABOUT THE EXPANDED POLICE PRESENCE? On social media, riders both praised the plan and posted concern. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement Matthew Morrison wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the plan worried him, saying that he had been stopped several times during NYPD’s controversial stop and frisk program, which allowed officers to stop people they suspected of carrying a weapon. In 2013, a federal court ruled that the program was unconstitutional and disproportionally targeted Black and Latino men. “The idea of now being subject to harassment by national guard ... gives me great anxiety for basic travel again,” he wrote. Meanwhile, Brendan Delgao took to X to voice support for the plan. “It’s important to address these high profile crimes,” he wrote. “I am confident that the National Guard and MTA Police will make a positive impact.” Share 184 Comments Loading... Subscribe to comment and get the full experience. Choose your plan → Advertisement TOP STORIES Climate change Reporting on Earth’s changing climate and the search for solutions Are we living in an ‘Age of Humans’? Geologists say no. Scientists say they’re closer to reviving mammoths. What could go wrong? Squashing lantern flies isn’t enough. Here’s how to kill them. 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