Cuomo Unveils Subway Safety Plan to Restore Order and Confidence in NYC's Transit System
Key Highlights Include Increasing NYPD Transit Staffing Levels by 50 Percent, Actions to Combat Fare Evasion, Establish Protocols to Address Repeat Offenders, Creation of Subway Safety Report Cards and Appointment of Subway Safety Director
“New Yorkers need to feel safe, criminal activity on the subways cannot be tolerated, and the mentally ill and homeless need help and services – period.”
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, candidate for Mayor of New York City, today unveiled a multi-faceted plan to restore safety and order to New York City’s subway system. Recognizing the importance of a secure transit environment, Governor Cuomo’s Subway Safety Plan aims to reclaim the subway as a reliable mode of transportation and enhance the overall experience for all straphangers.
"New Yorkers need to feel safe, criminal activity on the subways cannot be tolerated, and the mentally ill and homeless need help and services - period. Our transit system exists to be a transit system, not a haven for the social challenges no one wants to address,” Governor Cuomo said. “This plan tackles these issues head-on, using data-driven strategies we will dedicate the necessary resources to make the subways safe, get help for those who need it and restore confidence in New Yorkers who have either stopped using the subway all together, or are constantly looking over their shoulders as soon as they go through the turnstiles.”
Governor Cuomo’s Plan proposes rebuilding NYPD Transit to a staffing level of roughly 4,000 officers, or 50 percent more than the current permanent force level of NYPD Transit. The Plan would also make significant investments in robust physical deterrents and modern payment systems while reforming enforcement policies to be effective yet equitable. In addition, there would be increased oversight and implementation to meet these objectives through the creation of Subway Safety Report Cards and the appointment of a Subway Safety Director.
The Plan comes at a precarious time for the New York City subway system. Today's subway crime is characterized by a complex mix of mental illness, substance abuse, homelessness, and recidivism. However, New Yorkers feel less safe riding the subway and violence remains stubbornly high. Between 2019 and 2024, felony assaults in the subways have increased by 112 percent and misdemeanor assaults have increased by 59 percent. The nature of subway crime has fundamentally changed: while traditional property crimes have experienced a much slower rate of growth, subway assaults have soared and calls about disorderly behavior have doubled since 2019.
Key components of Governor Cuomo’s Subway Safety Plan include:
Bolster Staffing Levels of NYPD Transit Bureau by 50 Percent - The NYPD Transit Bureau will receive increased manpower and a renewed mandate to ensure safety within the subway system. Under Cuomo’s plan, NYPD Transit will be rebuilt to a staffing level of roughly 4,000 officers, which is about 50 percent more than the current permanent force level of NYPD Transit. Historically, maintaining about 4,000 transit officers - as was done in the 1990s - led to materially lower levels of subway crime, demonstrating the impact of a well-staffed transit police division on prevention.
Infrastructure, Access Control, and Environmental Design Improvements - The MTA is currently investing $1.1 billion to modernize turnstiles at the 150 highest-traffic stations, covering 75 percent of ridership. While early results from pilot locations with new high-barrier turnstiles show 20-30 percent reductions in fare evasion, Governor Cuomo says this program must be accelerated and expanded across the entire system. While the upfront cost is substantial, the investment will pay for itself through recovered fares and enhanced safety. The MTA should also ensure that every station is well-lit: upgrading outdated, dim lighting to modern LED systems that provide bright illumination while taking full advantage of CCTV cameras by integrating them into a state-of-the-art monitoring system that can use advanced analytics to enable an immediate response by transit police.
Fare Evasion and Revenue Protection Strategies - Governor Cuomo proposes a two-pronged strategy on fare evasion: invest in robust physical deterrents and modern payment systems, while reforming enforcement policies to be effective yet equitable. On the physical side, the MTA should accelerate the installation of new high-security turnstiles and fare gates that are much harder to bypass. Governor Cuomo also calls for the MTA to expand the number of human resources present in the subway system to combat fare evasion. The MTA’s 2022 Blue-Ribbon Panel on Fare Evasion concluded that “police should be out of the fare evasion equation altogether” except in cases of physical altercations or egregious misconduct. Thus, Governor Cuomo proposes the MTA should create a team of MTA inspectors whose sole job is fare compliance.
Mental Health and Homelessness Response - The City and the MTA have a number of programs designed to engage with the homeless and mentally ill individuals in the subways. A number of these programs rely on a “co-response” model of creating teams including clinicians, social workers and police, which Governor Cuomo piloted in 2019. Governor Cuomo’s Subway Safety plan calls for improving the coordination among these different outreach efforts as well as increasing the resources devoted to them. Given the number of incidents of violence on the subways involving the seriously mentally ill, Governor Cuomo supports involuntarily removal and commitment of these individuals in some cases to inpatient psychiatric facilities who pose a risk to themselves or others.
Coordinated System Response and Criminal Justice Accountability - The current approach to handling crime and disorder in the transit system is too often disjointed and ineffective, marked by fragmented responsibilities and a lack of follow-through. First, Governor Cuomo proposes the Mayor’s office should work with the NYPD and the City’s criminal justice system to create dedicated Transit Intervention Teams composed of specialized prosecutors or units in each District Attorney’s office to focus on transit cases, as well as designated judges or court units for transit-related offenses. Second, the plan would implement clear, enforceable protocols for handling repeat offenders, particularly those with known mental health issues.
Data-Driven Deployment and Response - Under Governor Cuomo’s plan, the NYPD Transit Bureau will significantly upgrade its analytics capabilities. This includes implementing a transit-specific version of CompStat: a weekly or monthly transit safety review where detailed crime maps, charts, and trends are analyzed by police leadership and City Hall.
Unified Governance and Coordination - Improving subway safety and restoring the public’s confidence in riding the subways requires better coordination among the numerous entities responsible for the subway system. Numerous city departments and non-profit organizations that are heavily engaged in the process of removing people with serious mental illness, substance issues, and the homeless would benefit from better coordination and access to an integrated data system that would support various initiatives, including a comprehensive record of interactions with the finite number of individuals who create the biggest problems for the subway system.
Implementation and Oversight - Restoring subway safety requires a sustained, results-driven approach with clear accountability. Governor Cuomo will establish a robust implementation framework that includes well-defined success metrics, regular public reporting through Subway Safety Report Cards, and appoint a high-level Subway Safety Director who will convene regular meetings with NYPD Transit, the MTA leadership, homeless services, health department, and District Attorney representatives to break down barriers and keep everyone moving in the same direction.
Details on Cuomo's Subway Safety Plan Found Here
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