NYPD officers have begun patrolling city subway lines solo, Mayor Eric Adams said Tuesday — crowing that he conducted the work himself years ago when he was a young transit cop.
“For many years we had a version of what was called single patrol — I did it as a police officer,” Hizzoner said at an unrelated press conference in Brooklyn. “I wouldn’t have anyone do a job that I wouldn’t do.”
Adams said the solo patrols began Monday night.
“We’re all looking, ‘How do we better utilize our resources?’ ” the mayor said. “Yesterday on the subway system, it was clear that passengers who stopped us, spoke with us, they said, ‘We want to see that blue uniform. … We feel better, and we feel as though the police are present.’”
Adams said only certain stations would get single patrols, depending on the need.
Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell said the new safety plan will lead to better policing.
“We’ll cover more ground by patrolling more subway cars per tour,” she said. “An increased police presence leads to a safer ride for customers and MTA personnel alike.
“The Transit Patrol Plan will be intelligence-driven, adaptable to shifting crime trends and based on real-time crime conditions in the transit system,” Sewell added.
Adams said the MTA and NYPD also plan to create a new campaign to teach riders to be safe.
The mayor said while he was out on the subway Monday night he saw “women passengers in isolated areas standing alone.
“That is just unsafe,” he said. “So we must play a role of educating passengers how to be partners in safety.”
He mentioned the incident of a young model who was savagely assaulted on a dark subway platform last year.
The single-patrol plan has drawn criticism from Patrick Lynch, the president of the Police Benevolent Association, the city’s largest police union, who says it will put officers and riders at risk.
