After a Violence escalates in the New York City subway In the past few weeks, New York Governor Kathy Hochul said security cameras had been installed in “every subway car” in the city, which she said would help police fight back and “solve crimes faster.”
This comes amid a wave of violent crime incidents in New York City's subway system, including a homeless woman being burned alive by an illegal immigrant and… A man is pushed in front of an approaching subway.
It also follows high profile The trial of former Marine Daniel Pennywho was charged but later acquitted of murder due to his actions in defending subway passengers from a mentally ill homeless man named Jordan Neely.
Hochul, a Democrat, touted her deployment of 1,000 National Guard members to patrol the New York City subways, saying: “Public safety is my top priority.” She also claimed credit for directing the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) to install cameras in subway cars, which she said has now been completed.
Kathy Hochul on Wednesday announced new plans to address rising crime in New York City's subways. (Getty Images)
“The recent rise in violent crime in our public transportation system cannot continue, and we need to address this crisis head-on,” she said. “The MTA has directed that security cameras be installed on every subway car, and now that the project is complete, these cameras are helping police solve crimes faster.”
Hochul went on to stress that “many of these horrific incidents involved people with serious, untreated mental illnesses,” which she said were “the result of a failure to treat people living on the streets and disconnected from our mental health.” care system.”
She blamed weak state laws and “nearly half a century of disinvestment in mental health care and supportive housing,” which she said “directly contributed to the crisis we see on our streets and subways.”
HOCHUL deploys hundreds of National Guard members to the New York City subway system
Police investigate the Coney Island-Stilwell Avenue station in Brooklyn after a woman on a subway car was set on fire and died in New York, on December 22, 2024. Police believe the woman was asleep on the train when she was approached by a man. And they set it on fire. She was pronounced dead at the scene. (Kyle Mazza/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Hochul said she would introduce legislation to change New York's laws governing involuntary commitment to dangerous objects Mentally unstable individuals To improve the process by which courts can order certain individuals to participate in outpatient assisted treatment.
“We cannot fully address this issue without making changes to state law,” she said. “Currently, hospitals can commit suicide to individuals whose mental illness puts themselves or others at risk of serious harm, and this legislation will expand that definition to ensure more people get the care they need.”
Despite these commitments, Hochul is criticized for not being stronger in protecting New Yorkers who travel on the subway.
“The governor is all talk and no action,” said Curtis Sliwa, activist and founder of the movement. “Guardian angels” The citizen law enforcement group is known for patrolling and providing assistance to subway riders.
Guardian Angels founder criticizes New York City policies after setting woman on fire
Members of the Guardian Angels participate in a safety patrol at a subway station to prevent crime on June 11, 2021, in New York, New York. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Sliwa told Fox News Digital that Hochul should “use her power” and call out individuals in the state Legislature who refuse to support legislation to place emotionally disturbed people in state psychiatric hospitals.
“She should tell them that she will not sign any of their initiatives into law until they support her subway initiative,” Sliwa said.
He also claimed that the MTA further incentivized violent crime by allowing fare evasion “to explode to the point where 30% of subway riders don't pay their fare.”
“The ruler must regain control over who enters the system and who leaves it,” he said. “Without controlling who comes, all of the governor's other initiatives will result in more tax dollars being spent with little, if any, results. Everything changes when you restrict who comes to the subway.”
Police are investigating the Coney Island-Stilwell Avenue station in Brooklyn after a woman on a subway car was set on fire and died in New York on December 22, 2024. Police believe the woman was sleeping on the train when a man approached and hit her. Set fire to it. She was pronounced dead at the scene. (Kyle Mazza/Anadolu via Getty Images)
New York Assemblyman Joe BorelliMeanwhile, the Republican blamed Democrats for soft-crime policies that led to more violence in New York.
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“Successive Democratic governors have closed mental health facilities and weakened the very system you now say we need,” Borrelli told Fox News Digital. “What we really need to do is look at the bail reform and ‘raise the age’ laws that her party put into effect in 2019 and see how the trajectory of criminal behavior has increased since then.”
