Gov. Cathy Hochul defended her controversial effort to deploy the National Guard on the city’s public transit system, saying it remains on track even after a man was shot in the eye with his own gun on the subway this week. He said there was.
“My purpose is [the National Guard is] Visible at Major Transportation Hub – Grand Central [Station] Make it available for free use in places such as [NYPD cops]” Hochul told reporters at the St. Patrick’s Day parade. “So, the plan is proceeding as we expected.”
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.
After the deployment began earlier this month, straphangers entering the subway were greeted at baggage checkpoints by soldiers wearing camouflage and carrying guns, a scene reminiscent of the streets after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. has spread.
In response to the outcry, Hochul revised his tactics a few days later, leaving a few guards carrying assault weapons at certain outposts within the subway, but no one armed at the actual baggage checkpoint. There wasn’t.
Her critics include former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who criticized his successor’s decision to deploy the National Guard and instead called for more police to patrol underground.
Governor Cuomo argued that Governor Hochul’s directive is useless and does not provide a viable long-term solution to combating crime.
Hochul sidestepped a question about how effective the National Guard could be if it were unarmed and not patrolling subways like police.
Instead, she said the National Guard’s presence is just one part of a larger plan to improve subway safety, adding that the National Guard’s presence will give more NYPD officers “free rein” to patrol the subways. He added that it should be.
He said the plan includes targeting repeat subway offenders and removing “people with severe mental illness” from subways.
Earlier Saturday, Mayor Eric Adams also downplayed Thursday’s A train shooting, declaring the Big Apple remains “the safest big city in America.”
Abusive rider Dajuan Robinson, 36, suddenly attacked Younes Obouad, a 32-year-old father of two, on a train entering Hoyt Schermerhorn Street Station in Brooklyn on Thursday. He was shot in the eye with his own gun. According to police and law enforcement officials.
He appears to have targeted the victims because he mistakenly thought the straphangers were recent immigrants.
Officials said Robinson remained hospitalized in serious condition Saturday.
