Police union, Gov. Hochul respond after Mayor Adams calls out cops for using phones on duty
NEW YORK -- There have been stunning developments about subway safety. The head of the MTA on Wednesday tried to assure riders there really are more cops on the trains as transit crime continues to skyrocket.
And Mayor Eric Adams' vow to go after transit cops who don't appear to be doing their jobs received intense pushback from both the governor and the police union, CBS2's Marcia Kramer reported.
Adams is a former transit cop, which gave added significance to his complaint, echoing rider complaints, about cops who are seen reading their smartphones instead of patrolling the platforms or the trains.
He has also been in lockstep with Gov. Kathy Hocul on subway safety, so it was startling that she didn't endorse his his plan to have riders send him pictures so he can discipline those who don't toe the mark.
"I have confidence in the NYPD to do their jobs. I'm grateful for what they do," Hochul said.
That was the governor's response when Kramer asked her if she shared Mayor Adams' concern about transit cops spending too much time on smartphones, and if she would join the call for members of the public to take pictures of cops who they think are not patrolling properly. She said, in essence, she stands with the cops, not the mayor.
"I have their back. I support them. I support the law enforcement efforts. Everybody has their own tactics," Hochul said.
Adams set off a firestorm when he said Tuesday, "We are going to start taking very aggressive actions to make sure police are patrolling our subway system, not patrolling their iPhones."
Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Lynch issued a statement, saying, "New York City police officers did not ask for NYPD-issued smartphones. We were ordered to carry and use them. We are now required to document every minute of our tour on these phones. ... If there's a problem with cops using the phone on duty, NYPD management should change the policies and go back to pen and paper."
This as MTA board members were bombarded by complaints in the wake of rising crime and the recent Sunset Park subway shooting incident.
"Police is never there. Who is to blame here?" one person told CBS2's Elijah Westbrook.
"Yet another person has been killed on the New York City subways," another said.
"We are going to keep advocating for more police here," another added.
MTA head Janno Lieber admitted that ridership is down and that rising crime in to blame.
"The trends are worrisome. Total major felonies in March increased by 52 percent compared to the same month in 2021, and for the year so far, January to March, they're up by almost 70 percent. Our riders know this," Lieber said.
Lieber admitted that what MTA surveys show is that what makes riders feel safe is to see cops on the subways, and he tried to reassure the riding public that there are actually more cops on trains.
"Uniformed patrols are up 34 percent. Our own data backs up what the police department is saying, that there are more police in the system of late. We had half a million swipes by police officers in all of 2021. In just three months, the first three months of 2022, we've already hit that same half a million number," Lieber said.
Police are given special MetroCards to get into the system to patrol.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for Mayor Adams did not reply to a request for comment about the police union charges. He also had no information about whether New Yorkers are sending the mayor pictures of cops they thinking are not doing their jobs.