Send in the Guards?

New York Governor Kathy Hochul is defending her decision to call in the National Guard to help curb NYC subway crime.

Staff Sergeant Guarhoo, Specialist Robert Hunt, and Specialist Jakub Jakubowski, all members of Joint Task Force Empire Shield ramped up operations at the 33rd Street PATH Station on September 20, 2016, following the recent bombings in Manhattan and New Jersey. (Photo: The National Guard — US Air National Guard / Staff Sergeant Christopher S Muncy)

“I guess it’s ok, as long as it’s equitable,” one New Yorker told news cameras this week. “It has to be equitable.”

“I think it’s a heavy-handed approach to a problem that doesn’t exist,” another told the news crew.

The question was over the presence of National Guard troops to secure New York City’s subway system. And reactions were decidedly mixed.

“National Guard, state troopers, MTA police deployed in New York City subways,” announced ABC 7 Eyewitness News on March 8, 2024. “New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has ordered hundreds of National Guard members, MTA police, and state police to the subway system after a series of recent high-profile crimes.”

Media outlet reactions to the shocking news were also mixed.

“New York’s showy crackdown on subway crime is the wrong approach,” opined Errol Louis for CNN on Thursday.

“After several high-profile violent attacks, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has declared war on crime in the city’s subway system,” complained Louis. “But she may be fighting the wrong battle with the wrong weapons in a situation that needs a scalpel, not a sword.”