Governor Hochul and Mayor Adams Announce Significant Progress on Subway and Transit Public Safety Initiatives

 

Major Subway Crime Down 16 Percent Since Cops, Cameras and Care Initiative Announced in October, Compared to Same Time Period in Prior Year

Crime Rate on Subway Returning to Pre-Pandemic Levels

Second Lowest Level of Transit Crime in Any January Since 1993

650 Unhoused New Yorkers Connected with Critical Intervention Services

 Governor Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams today announced new data that shows significant progress on subway and transit public safety initiatives introduced last year. Last October, the Governor and Mayor announced that the NYPD and the MTAPD would surge officer presence on platforms while expanding capacity at the New York State Office of Mental Health to support unhoused individuals who are sheltering in the subway system and those who are suffering from severe mental illness. Additionally, Governor Hochul announced that teams deployed after April 2022 have helped more than 650 unhoused high-needs New Yorkers connect with critical intervention services.   

"My number one priority as Governor is keeping New Yorkers safe, whether on the streets, in their homes, in their schools, or on the subway, and we will do whatever it takes to make our subways safer for riders," Governor Hochul said. "Our Cops, Cameras, and Care initiative has cracked down on subway crime, helped those in need, and continues to attract riders back to the subway system. We have worked closely with the Mayor and the NYPD and we will continue to do whatever is needed to make New Yorkers safe on the subway."    

New York City Mayor Eric Adams said, "A year ago, Governor Hochul and I stood in the subways with a real plan to make sure that people were safe and felt safe on our subways. Now, crime is going down, ridership is going up, and New Yorkers are feeling confident in their system. We have a long way to go, but this is the partnership we need to improve the subway system that is the lifeblood of our city, and we're going to continue to move in the right direction."

Significant Decreases in Subway Crime    

Since the initiatives announced last October, major crime in the subway system is down 16 percent, compared to the same time period during the prior year. Additionally, the crime rate on subways is returning to pre-pandemic levels. In 2019, the rate of crime was 1.5 crimes per million riders. In 2022, the rate of crime was 2.3 per million riders, so far in 2023, the ridership adjusted rate is only 1.7 per million riders. Transit murders decreased from four to two. Further, this January has seen the lowest level of transit crime compared to any January since 1993, when this data was first collected. Transit shootings are down 14 percent, and there has been a notable decrease in robberies, down 30 percent. Overall arrests have increased 43.4 percent since October 2022 and Transit Adjudication Bureau summonses have increased by 84.8 percent.   

Customers Returning to the Subway System   

On December 27, 2022 MTA announced that ridership had surpassed 1 billion, as riders continued to return to the subway and through October 2022, subway ridership is up 38.6 percent over the same period in 2021. The MTA customer satisfaction survey conducted in December 2022 also demonstrated an 18 percent increase in riders feeling "safer" or "much safer" on the trains or in the stations, the largest single-month increase seen since the start of the surveys in Spring 2022.    

Unhoused Individuals Connected with Critical Intervention and Mental Health Resources  Governor Hochul is embracing a multifaceted approach to addressing the mental health crisis and its impact on public safety on New York City. This includes efforts to greatly expand the continuum of care, offer incentives to bolster the mental health care workforce, and to coax healthcare facilities into bringing back in-patient psychiatric beds that were taken offline during the COVID-19 pandemic.  

There are now 10 teams of specially trained mental health practitioners - known as Safe Options Support teams -working with emergency shelters, outreach providers, supportive housing facilitates in New York City to transition the estimated 3,900 individuals living on the street or in the subway system into a stable living environment. These teams have already enrolled 650 individuals into Critical Time Intervention services, an evidence-based practice that helps connect vulnerable individuals to housing and services during difficult times of transition in their lives.   

The state also is providing $10 million to establish two Transition to Home units in New York City to offer psychiatric center-based inpatient treatment for individuals with serious mental health issues who are experiencing homelessness. The first unit was established at the Manhattan Psychiatric Center in November and now offers 20 beds, with an additional five beds set to come online in the coming weeks, and a second 25-bed unit anticipated to come online sometime this winter.  

As part of the Cops, Cameras, and Care initiative, Governor Hochul directed the establishment of a 60-bed transitional program for individuals that need extra care between hospitalization and housing. Utilizing $7.2 million in state funding, the Community Residential Step-Down programs will be established at four locations in New York City, and each include 15 units of transitional housing connected to wraparound, mobile services other supports necessary to help individuals transition into successful community living and permanent housing. 

The state is conducting training for law enforcement and first responders on best practices for engaging individuals with serious mental illness who are experiencing homelessness. This training includes fundamental crisis intervention skills and the best practices for engaging the street population experiencing mental health illness. 

Governor Hochul also increased the Medicaid fee-for-service rates to bring more inpatient psychiatric beds back online. New York State has provided $27.5 million, which is expected to be matched by the federal government for a total of $55 million to increase these rates, which are retroactive to April 1, 2022. 

Additionally, the state's $9 million Community Mental Health Loan Repayment Program is providing loan repayments of up to $120,000 for psychiatrists and up to $30,000 for psychiatric nurse practitioners over a three-year period. This program is projected to serve roughly 180 psychiatrists and 180 psychiatric nurse practitioners.  

In her State of the State address, Governor Hochul committed to adding 1,000 inpatient psychiatric beds, replacing more than half of the beds that have been lost since 2014. Creating 3,500 new housing units for New Yorkers with mental illness. Expanding mental health services for school-aged children. Improving the admissions and discharge planning requirements for hospitals and creating 50 new Critical Intervention Time Intervention Care Coordination's Teams to provide wrap-around services for discharged patients.  

Additionally, Governor Hochul will advance legislation to close gaps in coverage for behavioral health services and prohibit insurers from denying necessary mental health services for both children and adults. These investments and initiatives will realign the state's approach toward mental health aimed at transforming all parts of the mental health care continuum - from prevention to treatment to recovery.