NYPD cops received more than $150 million in overtime for their increased subway patrols this year – a move that may have paid off, as the latest data shows an overall downturn in felony crime, despite an increase in ridership in 2023.
The extra dough is a massive increase from the $4 million the department spent on overtime for cops patrolling the city’s underground in 2022, according to data obtained by Gothamist.
So far this year, 2,194 felony crimes have been reported in the transit system – about a 2 percent decline from the 2,245 reported at this point in 2022, the latest NYPD data obtained by The Post shows.
“This heavy police presence has to be a factor in lowering crime,” one Manhattan cop told The Post Friday. “Only the dumbest or the most desperate would commit a crime in front of a cop.”
Murders on the rails are down from 10 to 5, rapes declined from 11 to 4, robberies dropped from 582 to 521 and grand larcenies have stayed even at 1,096, according to the statistics, updated on Sunday, Dec. 17.
However, burglaries have risen from 7 to 14 and felony assaults ticked up nearly 3 percent, from 539 to 554 so far this year.
Misdemeanor assaults also rose by about 19 percent and petit larcenies have spiked by nearly 27 percent.
But those increases come as subway ridership has rocketed to 1.1 billion commuters so far this year, compared to 976 million last year — meaning that the system’s overall per capita crime rate has plunged 14 percent in 2023 compared to last year.
Uniformed cops have ramped up their presence – and their overtime hours – in the subway system since Mayor Adams and Gov. Hochul rolled out their subway safety plan last year, following a slew of high-profile attacks on the rails.
The plan was also meant to manage the homeless population living in stations and trains.
As part of the initiative – dubbed Cops, Cameras and Care – the state has reimbursed the city for about $62 million of the $151 million it doled out, Joshua Florsheim, the executive director of the Management and Budget Analysis Section of the NYPD, told Gothamist.
“We know there is more work to be done, and will continue to make investments to ensure every New Yorker can ride safely,” John Lindsay, spokesman for Hochul, said in a Friday statement.
MTA Chief of External Relations John McCarthy also touted the downturn in crime – which he says has helped to attract more commuters.
“Safer subways means more riders, and both the ridership and crime stats demonstrate a dramatic recovery in 2023,” he said.
However, one police source questioned Friday whether the NYPD’s ramped-up presence in the system will really help in the long run.
“Cops can stand in subways all day like turnstile scarecrows but if they’re not empowered or supported to enforce the law nothing is going to change,” the source said.
Another law enforcement source questioned whether the millions in extra overtime were well spent, telling The Post it would have been better to have just prioritized more dangerous stations and train lines.
“Instead of flooding the subway with patrol officers on forced overtime, the department has to focus on the stations and lines with persistent crime and disorder,” the source said.
Riders, meanwhile, aren’t convinced yet and want to see more police presence.
A November MTA ridership survey revealed that more than 60% of straphangers say they would like to see more cops in the system – while roughly 30% say they’re seeing the right amount of cops, and a mere 10% believe there are too many officers.
Stephen Yang
One woman, Rosa, who only gave her first name, told The Post Friday that she doesn’t feel safe riding the subways.
“A couple of months ago, I was waiting for the train at Broadway-Junction, [where] a young guy, 20-21, came up to me and said, ‘I can smack your face,’” said Rosa, a 50-year-old home care attendant who lives in Brooklyn.
She said the stranger sat down next to her on the train – and followed her when she got off at her station on Flushing Avenue.
“I stopped at the stairs to let him go, and he went down,” Rosa said. “I see there was a girl on the corner [near the subway]. He grabbed her hair and pushed her down, then ran away. He wanted to do that to me.”
“There were no cops at all. It was 2 in the afternoon. The only thing I see the cops doing is [looking] on their phones.”
Commuter Sarah Cora, 23, an engineer who lives in Manhattan, said she thinks the influx of officers in the subway system isn’t being deployed to the main problem areas.
“All I really see them doing is standing by the turnstiles,” Cora said. “It’s a lot of money for just standing around. The people not paying for the subway aren’t the problem. I see [cops] by the turnstiles, not on the trains, where things happen,” she continued.
“They’re supposed to be protecting the people, not making sure the MTA gets their $2.90.”
Jimmy Hogan, 60, a UPS delivery man who lives in Manhattan, shared similar sentiments.
“I haven’t seen an influx of police to justify such a jump in overtime,” Hogan said.
“If I do [see police on the subway] they’re all together standing, not doing anything. I’ve seen people jump turnstiles right in front of them, and they don’t do anything. Their hands are tied.”
Hizzoner touted the city’s measures to improve subway safety in a statement to The Post Friday night.
“From the very beginning of our administration, we knew that making sure people were safe and felt safe in our subway system was critical to our city’s recovery,” Adams said.
“We deployed more officers underground, put them back on the trains instead of just the platforms, and gave them the support they needed — and the results speak for themselves: Crime is down, jobs are up, and New Yorkers are feeling the difference.”
He also thanked Hochul and the MTA for “their partnership in delivering this progress and their commitment to building on it in 2024.”
