Governor Hochul Announces Subway Safety Fund Increase
ALBANY — During her State of the State address, Governor Kathy Hochul revealed a $77 million boost to the subway safety fund. This increase supports a strategy to sanction “superspeeders” while also incentivizing transit advocates to tackle driver behavior.
Hochul expressed her backing for a pilot initiative aimed at requiring drivers with multiple speed camera offenses to use technology that helps them stay within speed limits. This proposal is just one component of her broader transit agenda, which includes $50 million to extend the Second Avenue subway line and upgrade the Jamaica Avenue station.
The governor stated that the $77 million would primarily fund heightened police patrols in the metro area. Additionally, she promised to install platform fencing at 85 more subway stations and expand the SCOUT program, integrating mental health teams with police to assist individuals in crisis.
Hochul also highlighted congestion pricing in Lower Manhattan, dismissing former President Trump’s attempts to dismantle it. “Mr. President, the message remains the same: We are not going to bow to a new king, and congestion pricing will remain in place,” she stated in Albany.
The proposed “super speeding” legislation would see New York initiate a program mandating that repeat offenders equip their vehicles with “intelligent speed assistance” to help prevent speeding violations.
Moreover, she committed state funds for the design and initial engineering to extend the Second Avenue subway westward along 125th Street in Harlem, adding three new stations at Lenox Street, St. Nicholas Street, and Broadway. This expansion aims to connect travelers to seven north-south subway lines across Manhattan.
A state-funded feasibility study indicated that continuing the tunnel excavation west of the current East Harlem project would be time and cost-efficient, keeping equipment and workers engaged rather than pausing and restarting later.
In Queens, Hochul allocated $50 million to modernize Jamaica Station, a major transit hub where the Long Island Railroad, E and J/Z subway lines, and the JFK Air Train intersect. With over 1,000 trains and around 200,000 passengers using the station on a typical day, this site has not seen significant renovations in 23 years. The planned redesign aims to facilitate smoother transfers by better integrating rail, subway, and AirTrain services into a cohesive regional gateway.
