National Guard stationed in NYC subway as officials bring back bag checks
NEW YORK -- New York City subway riders saw the National Guard and other agencies out in force Thursday morning, as random bag checks return.
The increased police presence comes as another rider was attacked overnight in the Bronx. A 53-year-old man was stabbed in the hand at the Pelham Parkway station after investigators said he stood up for an elderly woman who was being harassed.
Several violent subway incidents have been reported in past weeks, including assaults on riders and transit workers.
On Wednesday, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the National Guard and State Police are being deployed to help the NYPD conduct subway bag checks in response to the rising in crime.
Watch Gov. Hochul's announcement
CBS New York's Elijah Westbrook spoke with riders Thursday at the busy Times Square-42nd Street station, where NYPD counterterrorism agents could be seen holding machine guns and transit officers stood at the entrances.
"I have noticed a lot more officers around. I'm not sure, it could help the situation," one rider named Anthony said.
The best thing is to have more officers," another rider said.
Westbrook did not find the National Guard in Times Square, but spotted them joining forces with State Police across town at Grand Central Terminal.
The governor's five-point safety plan also includes installing security cameras in conductor cabins, $20 million to expand mental health outreach, working to change state laws to ban people who commit violent crimes in the system, and improving coordination with district attorneys when it comes to repeat offenders.
"Let me just be very, very clear. These brazen, heinous attacks on our subway system will not be tolerated," Hochul said Wednesday.
Mayor Eric Adams told CBS New York the bag searches will be random, "not profiling."
"I know how it plays on your psyche when you hear about some random acts of violence, and that's why we must be proactive," he said.
Watch Mayor Adams' interview
Officials would not confirm where the bag checks will take place, but City Hall sources tell CBS New York the NYPD will send bag-screening teams to 136 stations -- about one-third of the 472 stops systemwide.
The New York Civil Liberties Union called the bag checks "heavy handed... like Stop and Frisk... ripping a page straight out of Giuliani's playbook."
On the other hand, transit leaders say they hope the governor's plan isn't just temporary. When asked how long riders could expect to see the changes, she hinted the state has a nearly $3 billion surplus that could help extend the enforcement.
Meanwhile, police continue to search for the suspects in this latest stabbing. Anyone with information about the case is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).