NEW YORK — Gov. Andrew Cuomo has announced a plan to add 500 police officers to Metropolitan Transportation Authority subway stations and bus routes in an effort to stem fare evasion and transit violence.
In a Monday press conference, Cuomo said 200 New York police officers, 200 MTA officers, and 100 bridge and tunnels officers would be reassigned to the effort, the New York Post reported. Fare evasion cost the MTA an estimated $240 million between March 2018 and March 2019.
Police will be sent to 50 subway stations and 50 bus routes. Some MTA officers will be moved from transit hubs to outlying stations where fare evasion and violence are worse, with state police filling in at sites such as Penn Station and Grand Central. The NYPD contingent will include new hires and reassigned officers, with some officers being taken off desk duty to offset the loss of beat cops. The bridge and tunnel officers can be reassigned because of automatic tolling, Cuomo said.
