A New Guest Underground—the National Guard takes on the Subways
From within her West 4th Street Station booth, Brittany Smalls watches and observes as subway riders rush frantically to their underground transportation that takes them to their busy lives.
Through the clear screen of her small booth, Smalls has truly seen it all—from lost tourists, to people trying to keep up with the rat race of New York City to some defecating in public. “A person with a suit and a briefcase could do the same thing as a person who has on a hoodie in my terminal,” Smalls said.
Subway riders are used to seeing Smalls in her booth each day, but they have a new guest underground that may have shocked them—the National Guard.
For MTA employees like Smalls, who had been working for the transit authority for over seven years, the increased security measures were both a relief and a burden, in some cases even causing further issues. "It's good to know that we have extra protection down here," she said from within her station booth.
“But I feel like it’s just to make the public more comfortable. I don’t think they’re here when it’s needed most depending on the area, like here at night,” Smalls said. “It looks safe, yes. But it doesn’t matter if they had the entire army down here.”
The National Guard marks it presence in Subway stations at Penn Station (Courtesy of Associated Press)
According to Smalls, searching bags in the stations is nothing new, and knowing who to stop has always been an issue, but even more so now. “As for the stopping and frisking, there’s pros and cons to it. You know, now you’re judging people for how they look or what you may assume. I think a lot of the crime that happened out here is from EDPs (emotionally disturbed people). What do they look like? We don’t know. That leaves a lot of room for judgment of people based on different colors, races, different things,” she said.
Smalls believes that the only true solution to this problem is for everyone to take accountability for their actions and to be self aware.
For subway riders, the sight of armed police officers and National Guard troops patrolling the platforms and conducting bag checks is both reassuring and unsettling.
The “R” Train is a popular route for many NYU students (The NYU Review)
Samuel Manocherian, a frequent subway rider from his uptown apartment to his downtown office, said, “The National Guard should be used only in extreme situations. I don't think subways is one of them. The governor probably finds her decision an easy one, but the real decision would have been to change the bail law, restrict illegal immigration and give the NYPD the flexibility that was taken away by her and others.”
As the days turned into weeks, the initial unease felt by some subway riders seemed to fade. The sight of armed guards and bag checks became a familiar part of their daily commute, a reminder of the ever-present threat of violence in the city. And while some may have been upset about the inconvenience or the loss of privacy, many understood that it was a small price to pay for safety.
A young professional who relies on the subway to commute to work each day, said she felt a mix of emotions as she navigated her way through the turnstiles.
"It's definitely a bit nerve-wracking to see so many armed guards down here," said Maria Sanchez of Brooklyn. “But at the same time, with everything that's been happening lately, I guess it's good to know they're trying to keep us safe.”
Marielle Mamiye, a 21-year-old NYU student, said, “It honestly doesn’t affect me, I even feel safer and don’t see a problem with it.”
Smalls said that she is afraid herself in the subways both as a customer as well as a worker. People take their anger out on her when trains are running late and there are other issues with the system.
“There’s a lot of workers that when they get off work, they take the uniform off because they don’t want the public to know that they work for transit. As a worker, I feel equally as afraid because I’m a target,” Smalls said.
“I want to go home safe to my family too.”