Weapon metal detectors to come to New York City subways

NEW YORK (PIX11) -- Taking the subway in New York City may start feeling more like going through TSA.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced Wednesday that the city will be expanding its weapon detection systems in the subways. It came amid a briefing touting that transit crime was down almost 8% from this time last year. 

The mayor did not specify exactly when and where the metal detectors would be showing up in the subways, only that they will be coming in the next few days. The decision came after the city rolled out testing of the Evolv scanning system earlier this year, following a string of subway crimes. 

“These scanners will create significant inconvenience, adding congestion and delays to an already overburdened system,” said activists from The Legal Aid Society.

The organization continued to push back on the mayor’s initiative saying, “They are an unjustified invasion of privacy, and put people’s lives - particularly…people of color - at risk from the panic that an inevitable false alarm would induce.”

Adams emphasized that the city would outline rules and regulations for the metal detectors before commuters begin seeing them in the subways.