Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo criticized his successor’s decision to deploy the National Guard to New York City’s subway stations, arguing instead that more police officers patrol underground.
Cuomo argued that Governor Hochul’s directive to station hundreds of troops in subways for bag searches is useless, saying it is not a viable long-term solution to fighting crime. .
“We need police,” Cuomo told John Catsimatidis and Rita Cosby on Wednesday.Cats and the Cosby Show.“
“The National Guard is not a police force, so we don’t need to reinvent the wheel here,” Cuomo said.
At Hochul’s order, 750 National Guard troops and 250 state police and MTA officers were sent to patrol subway stations, a decision she firmly said was a crime deterrent to allay commuters’ “anxiety.” defended.
The troops, who were heavily armed until the governor banned long guns this week, are conducting baggage checks for straphangers, but they are not properly trained for the job, stopping a rise in traffic crimes. That doesn’t help, Cuomo said.
“Why are we seeing a spike in crime in the subways? Because police levels in the subways are the lowest they’ve been in a decade,” Cuomo said.
“We don’t need the National Guard to screen packages. We need transit police in the system. That’s the answer…This is not the National Guard’s job. It’s not what they’re trained to do.”
Hochul earlier this week opposed hiring additional NYPD officers, saying it would require a lengthy process to request funding and would be a pointless venture when you have the National Guard at your disposal. He claimed that there was.
But Mr. Cuomo accused Mr. Hochul of making a political decision based on a national backlash against police, calling him a “big fuss.”
“We’re still in the hangover of ‘defunding the police,'” Cuomo said.
“That’s politics. [city] City councils don’t want to hire police, and the state doesn’t want to say they should hire more police because they’re hungover. [from] “Defund the police.”
The former governor said the tide of opposition to increased police presence in New York City has subsided, pointing to Mayor Adams’ 2021 election.
“New Yorkers elected a police officer as mayor. The signal is undeniable. They elect a former police officer because they want public safety.” “We have fewer police officers today than when we elected Mayor Adams,” he continued.
Crime on subways jumped 45% in January compared to the same month last year, but fell 15% in February. Adams attributed this to new NYPD patrols on the subway.
According to New York City Police Department statistics, crime in the subways has increased by 13% for the year.
Hochul’s deployment of the National Guard is part of a larger five-point plan to improve subway safety, including:
- An influx of 1,000 National Guard, state police and MTA troopers.
- A law that allows judges to ban traffic offenders from trains and buses.
- Surveillance cameras are installed in all vehicles and in the conductor’s room.
- Strengthening collaboration between the NYPD and district attorney to deter repeat offenders.
- $20 million to expand the Subway Co-Response Outreach mental health team.
