The MTA has done a number of things on their quest to make the NYC subway system safer–like swapping out old bulbs for bright LED lights, subjecting riders to mandatory bag checks (or at least floating that idea around), installing AI firearm-detecting metal detectors in some stations, and even employing the National Guard to man some stations.
Back in January 2024, the MTA also installed brand new platform barriers at the first of four subway stations in NYC, and, amid a string of violent incidents in the NYC subways, lawmakers are now calling for more.
Manhattan Assembly Member Tony Simone, representative of the West Side, stated that being more people are planning to take the subway amid NYC’s new congestion pricing plan taking effect, more safety measures should be implemented in the system.
Simone’s suggestion is to install platform screen doors on all platforms and system-wide gates within five years. A spokesperson for the Assembly member said the barriers don’t even have to be “overly fancy and expensive,”–Simone added that there are many options for barriers, including one that uses ropes. He stated:
We need to ensure that the money goes to the priorities of New Yorkers and the biggest priority of New Yorkers, including mine is safety.
Simone is pushing for the MTA to use the money generated from congestion pricing to cover the cost of safety improvements within the subway system. The following 14 subway stations–a majority of which service the L train–currently have platform barriers:
- 191 St (1)
- Clark Street (2,3)
- Morgan Avenue (L)
- Fifth Avenue (7)
- First Avenue (L)
- Grand Street (L)
- Dekalb Avenue (L)
- Halsey Street (L)
- Bushwick Ave.-Aberdeen St. (L)
- Myrtle-Wyckoff Ave. (L)
- Graham Avenue (L)
- Jefferson Avenue (L)
- Bedford (L)
- Flushing-Main Street (7)
Simone stated:
No one in our city should feel unsafe walking our streets or getting on the subway. These fears are valid and are the result of us living through a national increase in crime that must be addressed so that everyone can feel safe once again.
Simone is preparing a bill to mandate the safety barriers.