Railing against the long guns
Kat bans deployed Guard’s rifles
Gov. Hochul banned the use of long guns by National Guardsmen she sent to check bags at Big Apple subway stations — as she continued to defend the controversial deployment.
The governor issued the ban on military-grade rifles “immediately after” 750 troops were deployed to the subway system, a spokesperson told The Post on Sunday.
After the deployment began last week, straphangers entering the subway were greeted by camouflaged and gun-toting soldiers at bag-search checkpoints in a sight reminiscent of the city after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
The move led to complaints that state leaders were militarizing the subway system, and NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell accused Hochul of treating the subways like a “war zone.”
“Stop the theater!” wrote former Police Commissioner Bernie Kerik in a post on X, adding that “the NYPD knows their job” and should be left to do it.
Under Hochul’s new directive, some guardsmen will still be armed with assault weapons at certain postings throughout the subway, but will not carry them at the actual bag checkpoints.
‘Heinous attacks’
Commuters voiced support Sunday afternoon for the National Guard presence — but said they wanted assault rifles left out.
“Overall, I do approve of the National Guard on the subway. We all know there is violent crime on the subway and it needs to be stopped,” Peter Luciano, 37, told The Post.
“But the guns are unnecessary. To me, it’s just a display. They have no intention of using them. It’s for fear. It’s excessive and unnecessary,” he said.
Troops first appeared in the subways on Wednesday to conduct random bag checks in a major show of force Hochul said would help solve the “crisis” of crime in the subways.
“These brazen heinous attacks on our subway system will not be tolerated,” the governor said.
“It is more of just a physical presence where you can see — if you’re feeling anxious and you feel safer when you see someone that could protect you if you need help. If you need help, someone is there,” she said in an interview on WBLS-FM Sunday.
Subway crime spiked 45% in January compared with the same month a year prior — but dropped 15% in February, which Mayor Adams credited to new NYPD patrols. Subway crime is up 13% overall for the year, according to NYPD data.
Hochul’s deployment of the National Guard is part of a larger fivepoint plan to make the subways safer, which includes:
▪ An influx of 1,000 National Guardsmen, state and MTA cops;
▪ A law to allow judges to ban transit assault perps from trains, buses;
▪ Installation of 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 mentalhealth teams.