As crime in the city’s subway system remains a major concern for many New Yorkers, the city is implementing plans to improve public safety.
One strategy officials have adopted is deploying more police officers to patrol city subway stations this month. On Oct. 22, the NYPD and MTA announced that they would add about 1,200 additional overtime officer shifts at over 300 stations every day — adding up to about 10,000 more overtime patrol hours daily.
“What was happening was there were frequently cops in the system, but the riders weren’t seeing them,” MTA CEO Janno Lieber told Errol Louis on “Inside City Hall” Monday night. “On the occasions where there is something bad that is going on, we want them to know there’s a cop on the platform who can intervene and make a difference. It’s working.”
The increased presence of police officers comes at a time where major felonies — like assault, robbery and homicide — on city public transportation have increased by nearly 40% this year compared to the same time period last year, according to the NYPD.
“There has crept in some sense of disorder, and in the subway, small things like people smoking on trains, open drug use, that is alarming to people because they wonder, ‘what might that person do to me in a closed subway car?’” Lieber said.
The NYPD has responded by issuing more than 100,000 summonses so far this year (over 320 per day) for fare evasion and other violations, a 54% increase from last year, according to the MTA. Additionally, arrests are up 93%.
“I think it’s useful for passengers to see that those kinds of behaviors are being stopped and we’re pushing back against it,” Lieber said.
As the MTA deals with crime, it also has some big projects it needs to complete.
The East Side Access project, which began 15 years ago, is in its final stages.
The MTA’s largest capital project will connect the Long Island Rail Road to Grand Central Terminal through a new concourse. It will help travelers heading into Manhattan from Queens and Long Island reduce their time commuting.
“Listen, this project has been around since biblical times. And when I took a look at it, I came to the MTA in 2018, I said, ‘we’re not going to push the date back anymore — we’re going to stick to this 2022 date,” Lieber said. “People are literally in there 24/7.”
However, with construction still not complete, a 2022 grand opening — which has been promised for years — is now doubtful.
“All these systems that are getting checked out and confirmed and commissioned,” Lieber said. “That’s where we are. We’re still pushing forward and trying to get it done.”