New York state lawmakers are warning that subways need to be made safer after Thursday’s underground shooting. The shooting occurred more than a week after Gov. Cathy Hochul heavily deployed National Guard troops to the city’s public transportation system.
Staten Island Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.) said the shooting was a “wake-up call” for left-wing New York politicians, but Albany Democrats question whether Hochul’s subway safety plan is enough. is holding.
“Yesterday’s subway shooting in #Brooklyn… should be a wake-up call to New York’s leftist leaders. We need appropriate levels of police on the subways and on the streets, and we need laws to keep criminals off the streets. ,” Malliotakis said. X I wrote this on Friday morning..
“We need to prioritize spending on the needs of our people, not illegal immigrants. We need laws that protect law-abiders, not law-breakers. It’s not about the fare, it’s about the safety of the subway,” she insisted.
Malliotakis’ comments come after a horrific incident Thursday night in which a 36-year-old man was shot in the head with his own weapon during a struggle with another man in the middle of a crowded subway train at Brooklyn’s Hoyt-Schermerhorn Station. It was announced immediately after.
As of Friday afternoon, Dejuan-Robinson remained hospitalized in critical condition, but the gunman had not been charged due to evidence of self-defense, officials said.
“It’s important that we do everything possible to ensure the safety and well-being of our communities. There are simply too many guns in New York and far too easy access to them.” Representative Jo Ann Simon (D-Brooklyn) said Friday.
A step-by-step guide to what happened during the Brooklyn subway shooting.
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“The governor’s recent deployment of the National Guard was unwarranted and created fear rather than a sense of safety,” she added.
Rep. Brian Cunningham (D-Brooklyn) told the Post that the situation is “horrifying” and that Albany needs to invest in a safer subway system.
“Frankly, I don’t think there’s enough National Guard or police to fill every subway car in New York City. I think it was a reaction, but I don’t know if it would have deterred what happened yesterday. ” he said.
Cunningham said he wants more investment in mental health services and federal action on gun safety.
But Rep. Lester Chan (R-Brooklyn) argued for more security guards on the subways.
“750 National Guardsmen are not enough to carry out bag checks at every subway station. We need at least 3,000 Guardsmen.” he wrote to x.
“Yesterday’s shooting incident at the downtown Buklin station could have been prevented,” he argued.
Hochul has not yet commented on the shooting incident, but he announced that he has formed a task force on subway and transportation safety.
The group, made up of law enforcement and prosecutors from the five boroughs and the MTA, met for the first time on Friday to discuss “intra-borough and intra-borough collaboration and early coordination strategies, strategies to deter repeat offenders, and evidence.” We discussed how to tackle problems using ”
“Like every New Yorker, I am horrified by yesterday’s shooting on the A train. Subway passengers should not be commuting in fear of being shot or slashed, and straphangers should not We are taking concerted action to keep the world safe,” Hochul said in a statement.
“The only way to solve the recent spike in subway crime is by working together at all levels of government. [Eric] Adams, police, prosecutors, and transportation officials, we will ensure that all New Yorkers are protected. ”
Meanwhile, straphangers were cautious Friday about using transit, especially the subway station where the shooting occurred.
“I didn’t want to come to this station anymore,” Maia Nelson, 41, told the Post at the Hoyt-Schermerhorn station, adding that she was “so scared and scared” while visiting the city from her new home. . New Jersey.
“I moved to New Jersey. It’s so bad. I don’t even live in New York anymore. I visit,” said Nelson, who grew up in Brooklyn but moved because of the city’s crime problem.
“[The National Guard] I should have come here sooner. When the coronavirus spread, it seemed like it was free for anyone to attack people. “The problem has gotten worse because nothing has been done since COVID-19,” he said, adding, “We need more police, especially in Brooklyn.”
“Nostrand Avenue station is the worst. Even though there’s a police station on the second floor, this is horrible,” Nelson said, shaking his head.
Hopeton Clark, 78, agreed there should be more officers in police stations.
“We need a little more boots on the ground. Not just on the platform, not just standing in one place, but moving to another car or another stop…if their presence is enough, if they I believe it’s going to be a catalyst to change people’s minds if they’re going to say, ‘No,”’ Clark said.
“Every time I hear something like a shooting, I get more and more scared.”
Adrian Bennett, who lives in Far Rockaway but rides the train almost every day to pick up his granddaughter from school, said he was “disgusted” by what happened.
“They say crime is going down, but it doesn’t seem that way, especially in the subways,” Bennett said.
When asked about the National Guard presence, Bennett said, “I think it’s just a sham, and that’s all I’m saying.”
“I have a designated place to sit,” she added of her strategy for staying safe during rush hour.
“I look around because my granddaughter is with me. I don’t want her to get hurt and I don’t want to get hurt.”
