Restoring Law and Order in NYC

​

New York City is at a breaking point. Crime is at an all-time high, and too many New Yorkers—especially women, vulnerable individuals, and members of marginalized communities—live in fear. Anti-Semitic hate crimes, attacks on Asian Americans, and violence against individuals based on their appearance or beliefs have surged. The war on the safety of NYC women still continues as the city fails to remove and prevent criminals who sexually harass and assault women on a daily basis. New Yorkers all agree, change is essential and too many people are at risk just going to school or work. 

​

My plan includes: 

​

1. Hiring 7,000 New Police Officers

The NYPD is severely understaffed, and this has led to a dramatic rise in crime across the city. I will increase the NYPD’s force by 7,000 officers and ensure that they are deployed where they are needed most—walking the streets, patrolling subway stations, and protecting every borough, not just Manhattan. Governor Hochul and Mayor Adams have resorted to gaslighting you, saying "crime is a perception," I assure your public safety concerns will never be ignored or belittled. 

​

2. Deploy Emotional Support/Social Worker Task Forces to City Subway Stations

A major issue within our transit system is an increasing homeless and mentally ill population left to suffer on our trains and in stations. Without proper care, our most vulnerable citizens are often found roaming through our subways, placing themselves in harm’s way, or causing harm to bystanders. In addition, lax enforcement of illegal drug use causes many homeless to become more susceptible to drug abuse or overdose. 

 

In order to restore confidence within our transit system and to ensure the safety of all commuters, we must undertake a compassionate, comprehensive effort to relocate emotionally disturbed and homeless persons to care facilities and shelters. In addition to the deployment of NYPD Transit Bureau officers, I will direct the creation of task forces of certified social workers, health professionals and addiction specialists. 

 

Their objective will be two-fold:

1. Identify and help the homeless/mentally ill population out of the city’s transit system. 

2. Ensure individuals receive the care and assistance they require. 

​

The task forces will locate the homeless, emotionally disturbed and others residing in train stations to offer them assistance in finding shelter or medical care. Social workers trained in handling those with mental illnesses will assess the person’s medical state and will direct them to the proper agencies, which include the Department of Homeless Services, the Department of Health and the Department of Housing Preservation and Development. Each of these agencies will be streamlined into ensuring that all new applicants requesting medical care, temporary/permanent housing or financial benefits will be reviewed thoroughly and offered all assistance the agencies can provide. Officers teamed with city social workers will be tasked with removing those residing within subways and subway stations, and will also be tasked with removing all persons deemed to be a threat to those in their vicinity. 

 

Additionally, I would authorize the expansion of Kendra’s Law, a law essentially granting judges the power to involuntarily admit people into psychiatric health facilities and undergo treatment. “Involuntary outpatient commitment,” as defined by medical professionals, has resulted in major advantages for the taxpayer as well as general wellbeing of New York state residents. Several of those detailed benefits are as follows:

 

• Costs decreased by almost 50% in a study regarding a group of “frequently hospitalized patients” in a year-long outpatient program, dropping 13% the second year. 

• Individuals participating in mental health services as a result are 74% less likely to become homeless, 55% less likely to attempt to commit suicide and 48% less likely to fall into substance abuse.

​

As a result of former Governor Cuomo’s decision to temporarily eliminate the Certificate of Need application, which requires hospitals to be reviewed with regard to structural changes in beds or other aspects of their services, psychiatric beds were almost immediately eliminated as a method to maintain fiscal stability during the COVID-19 pandemic. I call on Governor Hochul to fully reinstate in full the requirement for a Certificate of Need application to ensure any and all psychiatric facilities, beds and equipment are set to be employed for those found within our subway system with medical and mental illnesses. Governor Hocul is in charge of the NYS Mental health facilities. Many of them remain empty because of former Governor Cuomo's heartless cuts. When Governor Cuomo came into office, there were around 30,000 beds. Cuomo cut them  down to 4,000 beds. We can't afford to lose more lives of innocent commuters because the system fails to remove dangerous people from public transportation hubs, and commit them to health care facilities. 

​

3. Ending the Cycle of Repeat Offenders

New York’s current bail reform laws have allowed violent repeat offenders to be released back onto the streets, only to commit more crimes. As Mayor, I will push for common-sense reforms to keep dangerous individuals off the streets and ensure that our justice system prioritizes the safety of law-abiding New Yorkers over criminals. This requires holding the District Attorneys accountable for releasing violent offenders who commit acts of violence again after release. We have seen far too many violent offenders commit crimes multiple times, yet the current laws allow for their release by current District Attorneys. 

 

4. ​Combat Fare Evasion in All NYC Subway Stations

It has been effectively proven that criminalizing fare evasion serves as a stepping stone for law enforcement to lessen the occurrence of more heinous crimes within train stations. As our stations continue to be devastated by a rising homeless population and criminal activities, the spotlight has turned to fare evasion as a root cause. Oftentimes, criminals and the emotionally disturbed are able to utilize subways and subway stations because they skip paying the fare. With a lax police presence throughout our city’s subway system, criminals permeate into the subways and are able to commit vicious crimes against daily commuters. It is imperative to our pursuit of decreasing subway violence that we enable our NYPD Transit Bureau to vigorously tackle fare evasion across our city's subway stations. 

 

Enforcing fare payment has proved fruitful in decreasing crime levels in our subway system in the past. Under then-Transit police Chief William Bratton in 1990, the NYPD enforced fare payment through a subway-policing program. As a result, the program found that one in seven riders who evaded the fare had outstanding arrest warrants for serious crimes. The transit bureau recorded a nearly 15% decrease in felony arrests in subway stations in 1991. A steady decreasing rate followed the next three decades in subway crimes, recording 2,500 felonies a year. However, under the disastrous policing guidelines issued by the Adams administration, transit officers are not deployed at turnstiles.  As a result, violent felonies persit. We must return control of the safety of our transit system back to the transit bureau of the NYPD.

As Mayor, I will call for a rapid deployment of all available transit officers to subway stations across the five boroughs. I will direct the NYPD to hire an additional 7,000 officers, including an additional 500 officers to our current evasion prevention force. These officers will also have mental health professionals in the stations to identify those in need of help, or those who may pose a risk to commuters. Officers will be tasked with enforcing fare payment through our turnstile mechanisms. They will also levy their presence to ensure all commuters pay the proper fare amount and detain scammers offering discounted MetroCard rides in exchange for cash. A strong presence in our subway system coupled with fare enforcement will not only lead to fare payment and a decrease in violent/non-violent crime, but it will also aid law enforcement in their pursuit to capture wanted criminals and illegal contraband. The NYPD noted that a significant number of fare-beaters had been carrying illegal firearms, knives and other weaponry. Fare evasion has marked itself as a major obstacle in our pursuit to dampen the increasing crime rate, and in order to tackle this, I am calling for citywide police deployments in all 472 MTA train stations.

​​

5. Protecting Women from attacks on Subways

Women and many marginalized groups have been disproportionately targeted in violent assaults, harassment, and hate crimes. As Mayor, I will ensure that law enforcement prioritizes these cases, implements harsher penalties for repeat offenders, and works to create safer streets, parks, and nightlife districts.

​

6. Cleaning Up NYC’s Shelters and Helping the Homeless

Violent offenders have increasingly used homeless shelters as a base to commit crimes, making these spaces unsafe for those truly in need. Homeless suffering from persistent mental health episodes do not belong in shelters, this is inhumane to both the offender and homeless seeking shelter who are victimized by others. We've been promised more mental health professionals in our subeays for years, but we hardly ever see any at work. I would also immediately assure more homeless shelters are opened for students and families in need of a safe place to stay. We can't let the system of shelter abuse continue in the city, its a humanitarian crisis and my opponents fail to prioritize this in their platforms. 

​

7. Direct communication with all NYPD Precincts

New York City has 78 police precincts, each facing unique but often overlapping crime challenges. Improving communication between these precincts, the district city council members, and the Mayor’s office is essential. Curtis Sliwa will work closely with his Deputy Mayor for Public Safety, city council members, community boards, and anti-violence groups to assess the specific needs of each precinct. This collaboration will help identify persistent crime areas and develop targeted strategies to address them. By evaluating which precincts require additional resources or support, Curtis will ensure that the city’s response is both proactive and effective. Furthermore, he will maintain direct communication with local communities to measure the impact of these efforts, ensuring they lead to real reductions in crime. Addressing issues such as illegal vendors, traffic congestion, and other quality-of-life concerns will also be a priority. Now is the time for stronger coordination and decisive action to bring real change to New York City’s streets.

​

8. Establish Commuter Assistance Booths and Emergency Calling Devices in All NYC Subway Stations

Nearly all 472 MTA subway stations in New York City are equipped with assistance booths located at the entrance of the station. However, commuters often find these booths empty, with no staff member or MTA employee to assist them. Stations with smaller commuter populations are much more short staffed, and as a result, the assistance booths are not routinely staffed to aid commuters with travel and fare information, station security and other requests. Without adequate staffing in all subway stations in New York City, we are leaving our commuters vulnerable to violence and crime while leaving them severely incapable of seeking help. 

 

To ensure the physical and emotional safety of all city commuters within our train stations, I plan on constructing state-of-the-art assistance booths in every station. Each booth would be supplied with emergency and medical equipment, including First Aid and Disaster Preparedness Kits. In addition to the new assistance booths, the MTA would then require every station to be staffed by at least one MTA employee in their respective booths. The booth workers would share shifts with multiple persons, ensuring that the booth is staff 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. Along with the deployment of Transit Bureau officers in every city subway station, this additional layer of security will strengthen our ability to prevent crime and violence while deterring massive fare evasion in our less populated stations. 

 

As an addition to routinely staffed assistance booths in every station, I will also call for an expansion in Help Point communication device installments throughout our city’s subway stations. Help Point devices hold two features:

 

• Emergency: Pressing the Emergency button calls the Assistance Booth to request aid for medical emergencies, reporting a crime or requesting aid to retrieve lost materials

• Information: Pressing the Information button allows a commuter to request information on train travel and other items either from an automated connection or with a transit representative. 

 

I plan on deploying an installment program aimed at installing at least one Help Point device in all 472 train stations by the year 2025. Using interdepartmental task forces within the Department of Transportation, the Metropolitan Transit Authority and the NYPD Transit Bureau, this installment project will be expedited with any and all resources to ensure that our commuters are able to clearly communicate with emergency workers and transit representatives. In addition to the Emergency and Information buttons, the Help Point device will also be equipped with a 911 button to directly contact medical emergency workers. This in turn will reduce the buffer time between emergency aid request and response.

 

​9. Securing NYC’s Nightlife

New Yorkers work hard and deserve to enjoy their city safely. Too many people, particularly women, are harassed or assaulted in bars, clubs, and entertainment districts. Curtis Sliwa will implement specialized NYPD patrols focused on nightlife safety and work with businesses to establish stronger security measures.

​

10. Protecting Pedestrians and Reducing Fatalities

Pedestrian deaths in NYC are unacceptably high, and we see lack of enforcement in some of our most dangerous city blocks. As Mayor, I would: 

• Expand and enhance crosswalk visibility and pedestrian signals to reduce accidents.

• Install more pedestrian islands and protected intersections to improve safety.

• Introduce stronger penalties for drivers who fail to stop for pedestrians in crosswalks.

​

11. Better Enforcement of Traffic Laws

New York City’s lack of traffic enforcement has led to chaos on the roads, leaving pedestrians at risk. As Mayor, I will:

• Increase NYPD traffic enforcement accountability to crack down on reckless driving, illegal parking, and failure to yield violations. We only see more enforcement of petty crimes like parking violations because the city needs money from fees. This takes attention away from enforcement of dangerous offenses that put lives at risk. 

• Hold drivers accountable for pedestrian injuries & fatalities due to reckless driving through stricter penalties and legal consequences.​

​

11. Reducing Gridlock and Improving Road Management

NYC’s streets are frequently blocked by double-parked vehicles, construction zones, and poor urban planning.

• Reform street and construction permitting to ensure that lanes are not unnecessarily blocked for long periods.

• Implement better traffic signal timing to reduce unnecessary congestion.

• Expand real-time traffic monitoring and coordination to improve vehicle flow throughout the city.

​

12. Holding City Agencies Accountable for Safer Streets

City agencies must take responsibility for making NYC’s roads safer. Thats why I will streamline City Agency communication to improve response time to traffic safety concerns. We even saw the current administration resort to cutting crossing guards to offset costs from the migrant crisis. This was a horrid disgrace, sparking outrage. I believe New Yorker deserves to feel safe going to school, work, or while exploring NYC. Thats why, as Mayor I will: ​

• Increase traffic safety officers and crossing guards throughout intersections to make your commute safer.

• Increase transparency and public input in road safety initiatives.

• Work closely with community boards, transit experts, and advocacy groups to develop practical solutions.

​

Curtis Sliwa has spent his life fighting for the safety of New Yorkers. As mayor, he will take bold action to enforce traffic laws, protect pedestrians and ensure that our streets are safe and efficient for everyone. New York City’s future depends on strong leadership. Curtis Sliwa is ready to take charge and make our streets safer for all.