NYC subway system body scanners coming soon: Here’s when to expect them

Body scanners coming to subway system

Body scanners will soon be coming to the subway system. Mayor Adams says they conducted thousands of tests and are ready to proceed. FOX 5 NY's Morgan McKay takes a closer look at when we could start seeing them.

NEW YORK CITY - Body scanners, which are meant to detect weapons, will soon be coming to the NYC subway system.

Here's when to expect them

New York City Mayor Eric Adams says they conducted thousands of tests and are now ready to move forward. The scanners could be installed at select subway turnstiles as soon as later this week or next week.

"They did thousands of tests, thousands to gauge the success of it," Adams said. "We're extremely impressed with the outcome."

NYC to test gun detecting body scanners in subways

New York City is now turning to new technology in an effort to cut down on crime -- new scanners that would look for guns at subway turnstiles.

The Adams administration submitted an impact report back in March, which kicked off a 90-day waiting period, and now they are ready to launch a pilot program by installing the scanners at certain subway stations. Officials won't confirm which stations just yet, but say they will give people the heads-up.

"We're not going to wake up one day and see evolved at the turnstile," Adams said. "We're going to lay out exactly what methodologies we're going to use."

Subway crime down?

The body scanners come as city officials say subway crime has dropped 7.8% year to date. According to officials, it’s due in part to an infusion of extra police that flooded into the subway system.

MTA officials added they are also halfway to their goal of installing cameras on every subway train by the end of the year.

However, the subway system is still struggling with signal and power outages. MTA Chair Janno Lieber says a power outage in Lower Manhattan on Tuesday night was not due to the heat, but rather "this is because the infrastructure is so damn old."

Lieber was a major proponent of congestion pricing, which would have generated about $15 billion so the MTA could make much needed improvements. However, NY Gov. Kathy Hochul blocked it from being implemented at the 11th hour, leaving a major deficit in the MTA's budget.

The NYPD says another deterrent to crime on the subway has been the National Guard assisting police with random bag searches. Hochul’s office says that so far, the National Guard has been conducting around 110 subway support missions per day.