Gov. Hochul deploys 1,000 National Guardsmen, state cops to carry out bag checks in NYC subways

Hundreds of National Guard troops began flooding city subways Wednesday as part of a crime-fighting plan suddenly unveiled by Gov. Kathy Hochul following a series of attacks underground.

The governor defended the major show of force — not seen since the aftermath of the 9/11 terror attacks — as an “even better” way to help New York City “solve this crisis.”

“These brazen heinous attacks on our subway system will not be tolerated,” Hochul declared from the MTA’s Transit Rail Control Center in Midtown, pointing to last week’s random slashing of a train conductor and other recent acts of violence.

In total, 750 National Guardsmen and 250 state and MTA cops will help the NYPD patrol “the city’s busiest transit stations” and check commuters’ bags, Hochul said – adding the initiative came after meetings with Mayor Eric Adams, MTA officials and the NYPD last week.

The announcement of her “five point plan” to combat transit crime came the day after Adams — who was noticeably absent from the gov’s press conference — had already revealed the NYPD would be enhancing bag checks and stepping up its presence in the system.

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Still, the governor pinned her deployment and wider safety crackdown on the brutal Feb. 26 slashing of an MTA conductor in Brooklyn and a 64-year-old postal worker being kicked onto the tracks at Penn Station over the weekend.

“No one heading to their job or to visit family or go to a doctor appointment should worry that the person sitting next to them possesses a deadly weapon,” she said. “They shouldn’t worry about whether someone’s going to brandish a knife or gun. That’s what we’re going to do with these checkpoints.”

In addition to the spate of high-profile attacks, the subway system clocked three murders between Jan. 14 and Feb. 23 — a tally that would have exceeded the annual homicide count for many of the years in the run-up to the pandemic.

While subway crime rates spiked 45% in January compared to the same month last year, Adams on Wednesday touted a double-digit drop – 15% — for February, which he tied, in part, to switching the NYPD on 12-hour patrols to boost coverage underground.

Overall, for the year, crime is up on the subways by 13%, according to the most recent NYPD statistics.

Critics suggested Hochul was showboating with a dramatic plan – with some calling it “off the cuff” and an “overreach” — and others insisting the “unprecedented” move to deploy hundreds of guardsmen was unnecessary.

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“We’ve had a very unfortunate spate of crimes and attacks in the subways as of late, but the data still shows that the perception is worse than the actual reality,” state Sen. John Liu (D-) told The Post.

“I can understand that the governor wants to look like she’s addressing this, but the efforts have to be more sustained and not just off the cuff.”

A National Guard source noted that the last time troops were sent down into the subway was roughly 20 years ago in the wake of the 9/11 attacks by then-Gov. George Pataki.

“The closest thing is Empire Shield, which started at 9/11,” the source said. “This isn’t a third world country, you have NYPD. They’re capable enough if the mayor would budget them right.”

Adams, who City Hall said was attending a funeral at the time of Hochul’s announcement, later issued a statement calling the governor’s plan a step in the “right direction.”

“As we continue to surge NYPD officers into the system, we have been in conversations with the governor’s team about identifying additional funding to support this and other efforts to ensure New Yorkers are safe and feel safe,” the statement said.

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Here’s what Hochul’s five-point plan entails:

• Influx of 1,000 National Guardsmen, state and MTA cops.
• Law to allow judges to ban transit assault perps from trains, buses.
• Install CCTV cameras in all train cars, conductor cabins.
• Better coordination between NYPD and district attorneys to thwart recidivists.
• $20 million to expand Subway Co-Response Outreach mental health teams.

The legislation Hochul on Wednesday said she would be introducing would allow judges to ban anyone who has been convicted of an assault in transit from riding the subways or buses.

It would amend an existing law passed in 2020 that bans pervs convicted of sexual assault on the subways, as well as those who have assaulted MTA workers, from public transport for three years.

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“Basically, if you assault someone on the subways, you won’t be on the subways,” Hochul said.

Under Hochul’s plan, the NYPD and DAs will be required to “create a new early warning system” for subway recidivists.

“We know who they are,” Hochul said of the repeat offenders.

“They’ll flag the criminal history at the time of arrest so it can be fully considered when decisions regarding charging and bail are made,” she added of law enforcement.

She also wants the MTA to install surveillance cameras directed toward conductor cabins to protect workers, and for every train car to be equipped with CCTV by the end of the year.

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Additionally, Hochul announced the $20 million cash injection to increase the number of Subway Co-Response Outreach (SCOUT) teams, which are led by mental health experts, throughout the system.

Straphangers were hopeful Hochul’s plan would be successful.

“It’s the best idea. It will make me feel a little bit safer, that’s for sure,” Trina Banks, 31, from Brownsville, Brooklyn, told The Post of the National Guard bag checks.

Joshua Denecke, of Levittown, Long Island, welcomed the bag checks but feared nothing would truly change without addressing the underlying root cause of subway crime — bail reform.

“Subway safety has improved a little bit but not enough,” the 38-year-old said.

“The only real way to make the subway safer is to make sure violent offenders go to jail and stay in jail, not be let out without bail,” he continued. “You can have an army of police and National Guard but if the same people are allowed to get away with crime over and over, all that policing won’t mean a thing.”

Additional reporting by Jack Morphet