Hundreds of NYPD officers will start patrolling overnight trains next week, Gov. Kathy Hochul said Thursday – finally detailing her much-anticipated subway safety surge.
“Monday, you’ll start to see the overnight presence on the trains,” she said, wearing a windbreaker in a Grand Central Station news conference.
Two officers will patrol each of the roughly 150 overnight trains when the effort reaches its full strength, Hochul said.
Hochul first announced the plan to put cops on every overnight train during her “State of the State” address Tuesday, but offered few substantive details, including about timing, manpower and cost, leaving straphangers and cops alike puzzled.
Her news conference in Grand Central outlined many specifics, though she couldn’t say exactly when the full 300 officers will be on every train from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. as promised.
The governor said the state will spend $77 million on the anticipated six-month deployment.
Another 750 officers will be posted in platforms and stations, she said.
The surge will not affect the duties of 2,500 already assigned to transit, the governor said.
“This is not diverting existing law enforcement,” Hochul said.