National Guard Deployed to New York Subways Raises Questions

The New York governor's plan to send hundreds of National Guard members to patrol New York City's subway system has drawn sharp criticism.

Governor Kathy Hochul announced on Wednesday that she would deploy 750 members of the National Guard and 250 state troopers, along with officers from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, to assist city police with bag searches.

It follows a series of high-profile crimes on city trains in recent years, including an attack last week on a train conductor, who was slashed in the neck by an unknown assailant.

Announcing the plan, Hochul said: "No one heading to their job or to visit family or to go to a doctor appointment should worry that the person sitting next to them possesses a deadly weapon... They shouldn't worry about whether someone's going to brandish a knife or gun.

"For people who are thinking about bringing a gun or knife on the subway, at least this creates a deterrent effect. They might be thinking, 'You know what, it just may not be worth it because I listened to the mayor and I listened to the governor and they have a lot more people who are going to be checking my bags.'"

However Donna Lieberman, the executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, said the announcement was "another unfortunate example of policymaking through overreaction and overreach."

"Sound policy making will not come from overreacting to incidents that, while horrible and tragic, should not be misrepresented as a crime wave and certainly don't call for a reversion to failed broken windows policies of the past," Lieberman said.

John Miller, a former NYPD deputy commissioner, told CNN that the National Guard are not police and have been deployed to provide a visible presence for commuters.

But he added: "The real question is whether the visible presence of National Guard, people in uniform with machine guns, is going to make riders feel safer or more ill at ease?"

Riders Alliance, a New York commuter advocacy group, added that the deployment would have the opposite psychological impact to that intended.

"While well-intentioned, deploying troops to the subway is more likely to increase the perception of crime among people who don't ride public transit than to protect the millions of people on platforms and trains," Danny Pearlstein, a spokesman, said.

Meanwhile, many commentators online have questioned why National Guard members have been deployed to the New York subway system amid the migrant crisis at the Texas-Mexico border.

One person wrote on X, formerly Twitter: "New York can put National Guard searching people like maniacs in the subway, but Texas can't on the border. Got it. Blue privilege."

Another commentator wrote: "Two years ago I escaped a shooting attack in New York's subway (luckily no one was hurt), so I know well how dangerous it can get. But to send the National Guard to bring more security is another symptom of the societal collapse of the 'Land of the Free'."

Crimes on the New York subway system were down 15 percent in February compared to last year, according to police data. Crime has also dropped overall in New York City since a spike during the COVID pandemic.

But Hochul said that "rattling off" crime statistics was not reassuring for commuters. "Saying things are getting better doesn't make you feel better, especially when you've just heard about someone being stabbed in the throat or thrown onto the subway tracks. There's a psychological impact," she said.

Eric Adams, the New York City mayor, also announced recently that he had sent in an additional 1,000 police officers to the subway system in February after an uptick in crime in January.

Correction 3/7/2024 5:49 a.m. ET: This article was updated to correct the spelling of Donna Lieberman, of the New York Civil Liberties Union.