New York straphangers seem split on Governor Kathy Hochul‘s plan to surge 750 national guard members and 250 extra MTA police into the transit system, with some telling amNewYork Metro on Wednesday it makes them feel safer while others called it a waste of money.
Hochul charged that she will be supplementing the NYPD with some 1,000 additional state personnel underground in order to perform bag checks in hope of stopping the dissemination of weapons into the transit system.
Mere hours after the initiative was unveiled, commuters wasted little time in letting their opinions be known. Despite the hustle and bustle of running for their screeching trains, they still found time to weigh in on the latest subway safety developments.
Dulce Fana says she likes the idea. While she says she does not feel outright unsafe taking the subway, she often does take it during the early hours of the day from Midtown, which she says leaves her feeling vulnerable.
“I think it is a good idea, especially for me as I travel really early in the morning. Sometimes there are very disturbing people on the train early in the morning. Sometimes they are calm and just want to sleep, but some of them get angry,” Fana said.
Fatimah Bakare agreed that the surge was a good plan in order to keep the public safe. With all the talk of subway pushers shoving unsuspecting people onto the tracks, she fears becoming a victim and chooses to always stand at the center of the platform.
“As you see I am standing in the middle. There’s a lot of crazy people that push you into the tracks so I always stand here or hold onto something,” Bakare said.
Others, however, like James Tripp said he feels like concerns over crime in the subway are overblown, leaving him feeling somewhat unfazed by the announcement.
“If the governor wants to spend her limited resources that way, it is fine with me,” Tripp said with a smile as he boarded an Uptown 6 train at Times Square.
While Tripp towed the middle ground, other passengers were more critical of the surge.
Chris C says doesn’t feel unsafe himself when he rides the trains, but he does worry for kids when they decide to travel underground. For him, the National Guard checking bags is not the answer.
“It’s an absolute waste. We are going to have to pay for it and nothing is going to get done — it’s all on the commuters. They are going to take congestion pricing for alleged better service and put it back into their own pockets and no one is going to feel any safer,” Chris C said.
Dejuan Sullivan agreed. With the NYPD already surging cops into the bowels of the Big Apple, he says he feels like the initiative is “overkill.”
“I feel like it is unnecessary. We have got plenty of police here and I feel like that is overkill. “I feel there has been an uptick in crime, but it has mostly been isolated areas,” Sullivan said.
