NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — Mayor Eric Adams and Gov. Kathy Hochul announced a series of initiatives aimed at lowering crime in New York City subways on Saturday.
The programs include an additional 1,200 police overtime shifts in the subway, installation of surveillance cameras in every subway car and two new in-patient psychiatric facilities dedicated to treating homeless New Yorkers with severe mental health issues.
The programs will draw on the state’s public emergency fund.
“This effort will help with two things New Yorkers desperately want: The addition of hundreds of additional strategically deployed officers on our trains and help to those suffering from serious mental health illness so they can find a way out of the subway system,” said Adams. “We must address both the perception and reality of safety, and the expanded partnership we are announcing today with Governor Hochul will do just that.”
Adams increased police presence in the subway system in January and May as well.
These increases do not appear to have had any impact on the rate of crime in the subway system. Numbers have fluctuated between a low of 30 transit crimes per day and high of 62 over the course of 2022 — usually staying in the 30s and 40s.
The psychiatric facilities, which will be managed by the New York State Office of Mental Health, will each have 25 inpatient beds, for a total of 50.
The units will be available to people who are 18 years or older, homeless and experiencing severe mental illness.
OMH will also develop a Community Residential Step-Down program to transition inpatients at the psychiatric facilities into a stable living situation.
The program will provide short term shelter with 60 beds across 15 units.
The facilities will also offer skill building courses and other services with the goal of getting residents into permanent, independent housing.
Other programs announced on Saturday include the continuation of surveillance cameras on subway cars; MTA security guards placed at subway entrances to crack down on fare evasion; OHM training for police and EMS on how to handle people undergoing a mental health crisis; and conductors announcing stations where police are present.
“My number one priority as governor is keeping New Yorkers safe in the streets, in their homes, in their schools, and on the subway, and we will do whatever it takes to make our subways safer for riders,” said Hochul. “Our expanded subway safety strategy of Cops, Cameras, and Care will crack down on subway crime, help those experiencing homelessness get the support they need to get out of the system, and alleviate concerns of riders to ensure New Yorkers feel safer throughout the subway system.”
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