The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has a great idea to combat the proliferation of subway crime. It starts with a $21 million light bulb.
Agency officials announced Tuesday a push to replace all old fluorescent lighting fixtures in subway stations across the city with brighter LED models, a move that will scare off criminals and ensure security cameras can provide reliable footage of wrongdoing. It was claimed to be useful for recording.
“Updating the lighting at each of our 472 subway stations will not only make the stations brighter and safer for customers, but will also reduce costs and carbon emissions,” New York City Transit Authority President Richard Davey said in a statement. I will.”
The MTA has already made improvements to stops at Bergen Street, Carroll Street and Lafayette Avenue in Brooklyn, the statement said.
“It’s simple: a brighter station is a safer station,” Davie said, adding that feedback from customers has been “overwhelmingly positive.”
But some straphangers interviewed by the Post Wednesday at stations where the new lights were installed didn’t see any real changes.
“I didn’t notice it at all,” said Andrew Halicki, who gets off at Bergen Street every day to toss pies at La Rose Pizza on nearby Smith Street.
“I think it’s better to have police presence at all times than bright lights.”
The MTA’s move comes as recent statistics from the NYPD show that subway crime has skyrocketed in the past two months, with the nearly 20% increase largely due to large increases in grand larceny, felony assault, and robbery. It was carried out as indicated.
Mayor Eric Adams said this week that the NYPD would quickly move to 12-hour patrols to stem a surging crime wave, blaming it on the rollback of safety plans that would have flooded underground areas with cops in 2022.
Still, crime experts say the MTA’s lightbulb initiative has value.
Proper lighting is an essential part of any security plan, said Brian Higgins, a John Jay College of Criminal Justice professor and former Bergen County, New Jersey, police chief.
“Lighting is a big factor,” Higgins told the Post on Wednesday. “It can be a psychological deterrent…in dimly lit areas where people gather or hide, you’re more likely to be spotted and more likely to be spotted. It’s also possible for cameras that have low-light issues to is also helpful.”
He also said Wednesday that not all straphangers tilted that way, but this may make riders feel safer.
“You’ll be able to see a little bit more… so it’ll be easier for thieves to see what you’re carrying,” said Spencer Adams, a 31-year-old bartender who lives in Carroll Gardens. He didn’t notice the change until the Post directed him to it.
“Is this a new light? It looks the same,” he said. “I had no idea. And I’m here every day.”
Mr. Adams went on to say that he had heard about the new light bulbs, but was concerned that the sometimes harsh white light would make the station “look like a hospital.”
Some took comfort in the cold glare of the new light bulbs.
“It gave me some peace of mind,” said Susie Pratt, a 22-year-old student. “Even if it’s dark outside, at least it’s not dark here.”
“I think it’s at night that you can really see and feel the difference in light,” she said. “I think it’s a good investment.”
The new energy-efficient light bulbs last longer and use less electricity, saving about $6 million a year after the system’s 150,000 lights are fully replaced by mid-2026, MTA officials say. Stated.
The new white light will also help the system’s 15,000 surveillance cameras better capture crimes and suspects, according to a statement from the MTA.
Another straphanger, who identified himself only as Navin, told the Post he wasn’t convinced the bright lights would change anything.
“I think people commit crimes whether it’s light or dark, whether it’s sunny or raining,” he says. “Criminals commit crimes when they want to.”
“If the city thinks it will work, then by all means give it a try,” he continued. “But personally…I don’t know.”
