By Craig McCarthy NEW YORK POST
A high-ranking NYPD official on Thursday ripped Gov. Kathy 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 the chorus of critics who lashed out over the governor’s move to suddenly deploy 750 National Guard troops and 250 state law enforcement to combat what she described as 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 Eric Adams],” Chell wrote in a fiery post on X.
“Our transit system is not a ‘war’ zone!” the chief added. “Bag checks have been around since 2005.”
The NYPD’s patrol chief and a slew of lefty Big Apple lawmakers on Thursday ripped Gov. Kathy Hochul’s push to flood the city’s subway stations with hundreds of National Guardsmen.James Messerschmidt
Former Police Commissioner Bernie Kerik noted that “the NYPD knows their job” — suggesting they don’t need the state law enforcement help to conduct bag checks in the transit system.
“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 and lefty advocacy groups, who insisted her crime-fighting plan was nothing more than a political stunt designed to stoke fear — and a “dangerous” waste of resources that could just lead to a surge in stop-and-frisk.
“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.
A number of troops were already helping the NYPD with bag checks at Manhattan’s Grand Central station just hours after Hochul’s announcement.AFP via Getty Images
“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 for what he saw as a sudden and senseless move.
“These enhanced security initiatives’ timing and abrupt nature have prompted me to consider potential underlying reasons,” the councilman wrote in the letter, obtained by The Post.
“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.”
Hochul on Wednesday had touted the deployment as a way to help Gotham crackdown on transit crime following a spate of violent attacks — including last week’s random slashing of an MTA conductor in Brooklyn.
But critics charged claimed the push to “militarize” the subway system — a major show of force not seen since the aftermath of the 9/11 terror attacks — was heavy-handed, with Chell and others pointing out transit crime was down last month after Mayor Eric Adams boosted police patrols.