Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
One Week In, the Searches Continue
By
Garth Johnston
Published Jul 30, 2005
Modified Mar 7, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Garth Johnston
Published Jul 30, 2005
Modified Mar 7, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
In the eight days since it started randomly checking the NYPD has gone through thousands of bags in subway, bus and commuter train stations across the city. And the results have been negligible, which is a good thing according to the NYPD. The Times reports that in it's first week of operation the bag searches have led to one arrest for possession of illegal fireworks, no legal challenges and minimal resistance (those T-shirts don't count).
But despite all of the initial hoopla, some people are growing skeptical of the effectiveness of the searches on a system as large as ours. After seeming to be everywhere on Monday and Tuesday those little check tables appear to have become more scarce as the week progressed. By Friday even Gothamist was a little surprised by how rarely we saw them in our shleps around town (maybe we just pick the good subway entrances?). But that might be more about our travel habits then anything else as the NYPD is very adamant that not only have they not scaled back the searches, but that they will not anytime soon. The cost of this increased protection? Between $1.3 and $1.9 million in overtime a week.
So, after our first week, what have your experiences with the searches been? Good, bad, non-existant? Have they affected your commute?
Photograph by Robert Caplin for The New York Times.
Tagged
bus
By Friday
gothamist
new york
new york times
News: NYC
nypd
people
Robert Caplin
subway
t-shirts
the city
The New York
the new york times
the times
train
travel
your commute
Garth Johnston
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Mayor Mamdani attends Oct. 7 vigil amid protests in Union Square
Protesters continued chanting, singing and yelling throughout the ceremony, and some people booed the mayor.
By
Giulia Heyward
Published Oct 7, 2026 at 7:33 p.m. ET
Modified Oct 7, 2026 at 9:00 p.m. ET
Queens pharmacy owner charged in alleged $31M Medicaid drugs fraud
The accused allegedly used the proceeds of the scheme to fund construction and real estate purchases.
By
Caroline Lewis
News
Queens pharmacy owner charged in alleged $31M Medicaid drugs fraud
The accused allegedly used the proceeds of the scheme to fund construction and real estate purchases.
By
Caroline Lewis
NJ probe finds about 1,100 more problematic voter registrations
By
Mike Hayes
Man convicted of scamming NYC renters out of $100K sentenced to 2-4 years in prison
By
Catalina Gonella
MTA moves ahead with $1.1B plan to put modern fare gates at 150 subway stations
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .