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NYC 'no war zone': NYPD big
A high-ranking NYPD official on Thursday ripped Gov. Hochul’s decision to flood subway stations with hundreds of National Guardsmen — pointing out that New York City’s transit system is “not a war zone.”
Chief of Patrol John Chell was among critics who ripped Hochul’s move to suddenly deploy 750 National Guard troops and 250 state law enforcement to combat what she called a subway crime “crisis.”
“Transit crime is [down] 12% in the last 5 weeks because of extra cops deployed, a planned commitment by the NYPD and [Mayor Adams],” Chell wrote in a fiery post on X. “Our transit system is not a ‘war’ zone! Bag checks have been around since 2005.”
Former Police Commissioner Bernie Kerik noted that “the NYPD knows their job,” suggesting they don’t need state law enforcement’s help to conduct bag checks.
“Give them the tools and laws they need to do the job and we wouldn’t have this problem!” Kerik wrote on X. “This isn’t brain surgery. We’ve done this before, and we did it better than anyone in the country. It can be done with the right leadership!” He added: “Stop the theater!”
Hochul, a moderate Democrat, also came under fire from liberal lawmakers, who insisted her crimefighting plan was nothing more than a political stunt designed to stoke fear — and a waste of resources.
“Ham-fisted and authoritarian response to several terrible incidents (even as the crime rate is falling) that does nothing to foster real public safety but validates GOP propaganda about urban lawlessness in an election year,” Brooklyn Assemblywoman Emily Gallagher wrote on X. “In other words, a predictable move by this Governor.”
Councilman Bob Holden (D-Queens) penned a letter to the governor and the mayor calling for answers. “The scale and immediacy of the actions suggest that there might be more to the situation than has been shared with the public and elected officials,” he wrote in the letter obtained by The Post.
Hochul on Wednesday had touted the deployment as a way to help Gotham crack down on transit crime following a spate of violent attacks — including last week’s random slashing of an MTA conductor in Brooklyn and three murders between Jan. 14 and Feb. 23.
But critics charged the push to “militarize” the subway system — a show of force not seen since the aftermath of 9/11 — was heavyhanded and a knee-jerk reaction.
“There is zero evidence that conducting subway bag checks advances public safety,” Councilman Lincoln Restler (D-Brooklyn) tweeted. “Instead of wastefully deploying 750 National Guard troops, I wish the Governor did something helpful — like fund 750 safe haven shelter beds to move homeless people from the subways into housing.”
Brooklyn Assemblywoman Latrice Walker (D-Brownsville) and Councilwoman Shahana Hanif (D-Brooklyn) argued the emphasis on bag checks was a “veiled return to the stop-and-frisk era.”
While subway crime spiked 45% in January compared to the same month last year, Hizzoner on Tuesday touted a 15% drop for February. Overall, for the year, subway crime is up 13%, NYPD statistics show.
Hochul was on the defensive Thursday, telling Fox5 if straphangers didn’t want their bags searched they could simply “go home.”