Hochul criticizes White House plan to withhold $34 million for transit security
Gov. Kathy Hochul, with MTA chief executive Janno Lieber and NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, speaks during a news conference in the situation room at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Manhattan headquarters Thursday.
Credit: Ed Quinn
The federal government’s plan to withhold $34 million in transit security funding from New York will make Long Island Rail Road riders less safe, Gov. Kathy Hochul said Thursday, as she joined local transportation and law enforcement leaders in criticizing the Trump administration for “defunding the police.”
Against the backdrop of hundreds of screens capturing surveillance camera footage of subway and LIRR stations, Hochul, at a news conference inside the situation room of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s lower Manhattan headquarters, blasted Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem for recently moving to “claw back” $34 million in federal transit security grant funds, which she said go to such measures as “police patrol, security cameras, canine units and cybersecurity measures” both on the subway and LIRR.
“They are defunding the police — full stop,” Hochul said. “This is a blatant attack on New York, simply because we elect Democrats; there's no other explanation.”
DHS officials did not respond to a request for comment.
The remarks came ahead of a scheduled court conference on a lawsuit filed last week by state Attorney General Letitia James against the federal government challenging the legality of the move to zero out New York’s transit security subsidy.
Hochul noted that Noem separately tried to eliminate $187 million in counterterrorism grants from the state, but President Donald Trump reinstated the funding after she made her case to him by phone.
“I need that help again,” said Hochul, who also called on Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-Bayport), chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, to “weigh in as well.”
“This affects his constituents, his riders on the Long Island Rail Road will now know that without these funds, their ride is not as safe as it should be,” Hochul said.
In a statement, Garbarino said he greatly appreciated "President Trump and his administration’s leadership in ensuring New York City, a top terror target in the world, is properly sourced to combat heightened threats. DHS’s Urban Area Security Initiative, the State Homeland Security Grant Program, and the Transit Security Grant Program all provide essential resources to protect the public. With the FIFA World Cup final being held in Newark, among other national events in the same area in the coming year, we know mass transit will be vital in getting people to and from the events. I will continue advocating to the White House for necessary resources, as partnerships between the federal government and state and local emergency management agencies are indispensable.”
MTA Chairman Janno Lieber noted that the effort to cut security funding for New York’s transit system comes as the Trump administration regularly criticizes the city’s subway system for being unsafe.
Lieber said federal funding has been instrumental in recent efforts to enhance safety on the subways, including through heightened police presence and the installation of cameras on every train car. He said subway crime fell 10% this past summer compared to last year and is down 30% over the last four weeks compared to the same period in 2024.
Alfonso Castillo has been reporting for Newsday since 1999 and covering the transportation beat since 2008. He grew up in the Bronx and Queens and now lives in Valley Stream with his wife and two sons.
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