MTA and NYPD grilled at City Council hearing on subway safety
NEW YORK -- The MTA and NYPD were on the hot seat about subway safety at a City Council hearing on Monday.
It came hours after a 65-year-old rider was slashed at the Bowling Green Station, and a week after the 10th homicide in the subway system this year.
Council members asked officials how they are making the subway system safer. NYC Transit President Richard Davey said the agency is asking the NYPD to put cops on platforms, but he acknowledged that's only one tool.
The NYPD says there were 13% fewer crimes in the subway system in November compared to last. However, year to date, crime is up 30% in the system.
Davey lauded one tactic -- the hiring of 200 unarmed guards for $1 million per month to stop fare evasion.
"Simply having someone there to manage the gate for its proper purpose is paying for itself in many stations and not leading to confrontation," Davey said.
"I just feel this is a waste of tax dollars money -- $1 million a month. You got the people coming out of booths," Councilwoman Darlene Mealy said.
Last week, the MTA announced station agents would be coming out of booths, be trained in de-escalation and given cellphones for faster response times should something happen.
READ MORE: NYC Transit: Subway agents to move out of token booths and engage riders directly
The NYPD says 97% of people stopped for fare evasion get a summons, and 3% are arrested. In the last week, those arrests lead to five guns being recovered.
"Out of everyone arrested for a major crime in the subway system, just north of 40% have documented psychiatric history," said NYPD Acting Chief of Transit Michael Kemper.
The NYPD said more officers are going out in teams of two with social workers, but this week the department is also rolling out training for interacting with people who exhibit signs of neglect for their personal well being.
"Has the presence of police on the platforms reduced response time to incidents on the train?" asked Council Majority Whip Selvena Brooks-Powers, chairperson of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
"Yeah, I don't have facts to support it, but just common sense and experience from doing this a long time, I'd say yes," Kemper answered.
The NYPD also praised the expansion of cameras in the system, but transit authorities said it will be a multi-year process to install one on every train car.
The MTA also said it's working with district attorneys to expand the use of transit bans, so those who harm customers are kept off the transit system -- not just those who harm employees.
FLASHBACK: MTA to begin pilot program featuring platform doors at 3 New York City subway stations
The hearing also addressed the pilot program to install platform screen doors to prevent tragedies like the Times Square pushing death of commuter Michelle Go in the future.
The MTA said it has dedicated $175 million to that program and it expects to start the process of choosing a vendor in the next few weeks.
It will go at the Third Avenue L train stop and others that the agency considers high-volume stations, adding part of the holdup is finding stations that will go with the size and weight of the doors, as well as integrating it with the signaling system.
Anyone with information about the latest slashing is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). You can also submit a tip via their website or via DM on Twitter, @NYPDTips. All calls are kept confidential.
