B-Roll, Video, Audio, Photos & Rush Transcript: Governor Hochul Launches First Open Gangway Train Into Service and Announces 1,000 Subway Cars Now Have Cameras

Earlier today, Governor Kathy Hochul announced the rollout of R211T open gangway subway cars on the C line, running between Washington Heights and East New York, and marked significant progress towards increasing cameras throughout the system, with 1,000 subway cars now equipped with cameras. The unveiling was followed by an inaugural ride with Governor Hochul, Metropolitan Transportation Authority leadership, and elected officials, starting at the 168 St AC1 station in Washington Heights, which serves as the C line’s terminal.

B-ROLL of the Inaugural Train Ride is available on YouTube here and in TV quality (h.264, mp4) format here.

VIDEO of the event is available on YouTube here and in TV quality (h.264, mp4) format here.

AUDIO of the Governor's remarks is available here.

PHOTOS of the event will be available on the Governor's Flickr page.

A rush transcript of the Governor's remarks is available below:

Good morning. Good morning. Come on closer everyone. First of all, to our MTA employees. I just met Frances who has worked here for 47 years, and I'm told there's someone else who has actually been here over 50 years. Where's that – right there. Take a bow,Frances. Bring out Frances. These are our heroes.Thank you. Thank you for being such dedicated public servants. So grateful.

Today we're going to witness the future of transportation in motion. We're going to take a ride. Last year, the first year since the pandemic, over 1.1 billion riders have had a great experience on the MTA, connected them to their jobs, their families, recreation, and sometimes on a weekend, that's Sunday brunch. The 6th line move more riders than the LIRR and Metro-North combine.

I have one thing to say, the subway is roaring back. And I thank the thousands of workers who persevered during the toughest days, the dark days of the pandemic, who are still here on the job every single day. So, let's give a round applause to our entire MTA workforce. Thank you, so grateful for all of you.

And today, many of our riders are going to have a chance to experience what they call the open gangway car. Now, what's that? You don't know it because this will be the first time ever these cars have been deployed in North America. Now, if you travel across the pond, you go to Europe, you go to London, you're going to see this experience or feel this. But we've never done this before in North America. So, as that place of firsts, you're seeing another first right here in New York.

And so, I want to recognize some of the individuals who are here, who've made this happen, who are so dedicated to improving the service, the quality of the experience for our riders. Starting with MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber, thank you for being that transformational force that we have needed for such a long time. I'm grateful to you and your leadership. NYPD Chief of Transit, Michael Kemper. Michael, thank you so much, Chief for all you do to make our subway safer, especially during some really challenging years, and working so closely with our MTA leadership to get the results we need.

Our MTA Chief Disability Officer. Quemuel Arroyo is here as well. Thank you. Thank you, appreciate all you do. Our Federal Transit Administrator Regional 2, Michael Culotta, Regional Administrator. Thank you, Michael. Thank you. Councilmember Carmen De La Rosa, whose district we're in. Thank you, Councilmember.

And also, our partners in Congress. We're represented here by Adriano Espaillat. I've been in this neighborhood many times. We were here down the block a little bit a while ago to announce the Public Theater. We had Lin-Manuel Miranda and his family to create something special. So, I was walking these blocks not that long ago with our Congressman.

Also, our leaders, Senator Gillibrand, and of course our Majority Leader, Chuck Schumer, who are very instrumental. And the Biden Administration, getting the money back here to make sure this happened.

So, this is the third year we're putting a real spotlight on our subways, making sure that they're safer, improved accessibility, and to give riders, as I said, a better experience. That's our job. And last year we halted the upward trend of crime. You saw it going up and up. People were too afraid to take the subway. That dynamic has changed dramatically. It is now down to – not only is it not going up, it's down 2.6 percent, and that's even 9 percent lower than we had just a few years ago in 2019.

Now, I talk about this because we've also seen a huge drop in the violent crimes, the ones that frighten people, murders on the subway, down 50 percent, arrests and summons, which mean the perpetrators are getting caught are also up 50 percent. So, violent crime is down, and people are reporting on our surveys that they're feeling better about the subway experience overall.

So, we want to make sure that the good feelings and that the good times keep rolling. And that's what we're doing by launching these new cars on the C train. Ifyou've not been on it, we're going to take a trip in a few minutes. You can actually move seamlessly from one car to the other. Think about that. You're not trapped. If you want to have a different experience, you can get up and move around. You don't get claustrophobic. If you see someone who looks more interesting to talk to somewhere else, just get up and wander around.

It also closes the dangerous gap where young people have been harmed and others have fallen through this gap and some loss of life because of the subway surfing, which has become popular. So, we're making sure that we're smart about our technologies, but also improving the experience. They're also more spacious, wider doors. Wheelchair accessibility is easier when there's more space to go in and out. It just makes sense, and so your commutes can be easier.

Also, these new cars have security cameras already built in. Why is that so important? First of all, it's called a security camera. It gives people a sense of security. Every car has at least two cameras that people know that when something's going on, it makes them uncomfortable, there's somebody aware of it. That's a great deterrent, but it also gives people that sense of comfort. The police can actually see what's going on and respond quicker.

So, we're not waiting just for these cars to come on. You heard me talk about cameras multiple times. I was with Mayor Adams on two different occasions.

Usually this time of year we talk about our initiatives for the upcoming year. We talked about our Cops, Camera and Care initiative we talked about - we got together in September of 2022 and I said, we need more cameras on the cars. And so, we stood there and said, that's our goal. We currently have 14,000 cameras throughout the system. Those are in the stations as well. We have 2,400 on subway cars.

Now 2,400 already, that's up from zero. We started with zero. Now we have 2,400 cameras and we have 3,000 more per quarter. We're installing 33 cameras a day. So, by the end of this year, because I said it had to be done sooner. Remember Janno? I was told a couple three years and before Janno got it done. So, we're going to have doubled the number of cameras in our transit system to nearly 30,000 on all new trains and also our existing trains.

Remember April 2022? I remember vividly when 29 people were shot on our train, and there was a problem because some of the cameras weren't functioning, not all the areas were able to be under surveillance of cameras. We said that's not acceptable. So, we change that dynamic to enhance the security and make sure that people are aware of them as well.

Also, we've had subway footage camera play a role in investigation of a shooting in Bed-Stuy, which two new Yorkers were injured. Again, the cameras can lead us to the perpetrator and make sure that they get the consequences they're supposed to and not get away with it.

We also helped joy riders be investigated on a train that was stolen in forest Hills not that long ago.

So, our cameras are making a difference, but not just on the criminal front. Many of our riders who are regulars have experienced seeing people who are homeless, who have mental health challenges, suffering from addiction, and we know that the subway trains become a refuge for them out from the elements. It's very common. So, this is why we want to make sure that we also continue focusing intensely on mental health services.

State investment in mental health is up exponentially up over forty-five percent up from $3.3 billion in 2022 to over $4.8 billion. And where's that money going? It's going into our subway trains as well. This is something that the mayor and I are very much committed to.

Across New York City, we're investing over $20 million in our SOS operations, our Safe Operation Supports. And what this is, if you've seen these individuals, they're so dedicated. They're wearing the purple jackets, it says SOS on the back.

I've walked their beats with them. I've seen them interact with people that have made a decision that they're unable to take care of themselves, that they're going to stay in the subways until someone with compassion and understanding and the training can help wrap around them and make them feel safe enough to go somewhere else.

We've been so successful. It's not a one day someone leaves and they come back the next day. We’re talking about the long term homeless are now finding places to find a different experience.

Our teams have had over 15,000 encounters with these individuals since they started. We launched this together. It's having a great success and we're really proud of that. The objective is to make sure that they end up in housing, and that's what we're focusing on as well.

So, bottom line is the subway keeps the city moving. I can't imagine this city without it, it would not be as vibrant. It would not be as fast paced. It would not be New York City. Our entire region's economy depends on it.

I want to say one more time: that's why initiatives like congestion pricing are so important. We have projects we want to fund, we want to finish the second avenue subway instead of talking about it for generations like has always happened. We want new ideas like the Interborough Express, because people are not coming into Manhattan every day. They're going from Queens to Brooklyn and vice versa. They deserve to have world-class transportation.

We want to make sure that we can properly fund our five-year capital plan and that hinges on the continuation of the plan to go forward with congestion pricing without further delays.

So, the future is just on the tracks. I'm looking forward to taking the ride and trying out this new experience. We're still in a trial period. We're going to be talking about what that's all about in the next couple minutes, and I'll have Janno address that as well.

I want to thank everyone for being here to witness this new chapter in the future of transportation in New York City. Thank you.