'Here's Fascist R2D2!': NYPD Robot Will Patrol Times Square Subway

NEW YORK CITY — New Yorkers who despise Times Square soon could have another reason to avoid it: a police robot in its subway station.

Mayor Eric Adams continued his at-times literal embrace of drone and robot technology Friday by announcing that a robocop will patrol Times Square subway station for two months.

A Knightscope K5 security robot — which looks like the spawn of a metallic egg and a trashcan — stood alongside Adams as he touted the potential benefits of putting New Yorkers under its digital eye.

"Eventually this will be part of the fabric of our subway system," he said.

But, as Adams himself noted, not all New Yorkers will be stoked about robots invading aspects of their daily lives, such as subway commutes.

Council Member Chi Ossé, in a tweet, mocked Adams' seemingly enthusiasm for technology over human beings.

"Here's fascist R2D2!" Ossé tweeted mockingly.

Mayor Adams: we need to make cuts to every agency because of the migrants!

Also Mayor Adams: here’s fascist R2D2! https://t.co/rn0mgFaJVf
— Chi Ossé (@OsseChi) September 22, 2023

The pilot program will run for two months in Times Square subway station, during which time the robocop will run between midnight and 6 a.m. alongside a flesh-and-blood cop at all times, officials said.

Adams said the robot will be "trained" to map out the station during the first two weeks. The robot will only move around the main station area and not the platform, he said.

"It will record video that can be reviewed in case of an emergency or a crime," he said. It will not record audio and it will not use facial recognition.

"However, the K5 does have a button that connects you immediately to a live person that New Yorkers can utilize 24/7 with questions, concerns or to report an incident, if needed."

Concerns over privacy have dogged the city's faltering efforts to add robots and drones to its agencies.

A police robot "dog" spotted at NYCHA homes in Manhattan during 2021 quickly drew howls from city dwellers and politicians who called it "creepy" and "invasive."

The outcry prompted the project to be scrapped, but Adams later readopted those "Digidogs" for the NYPD and FDNY, to advocates' chagrin. They've argued the robot rollout violates the city's Police Oversight of Surveillance Technology Act and called on city watchdogs to keep the drones on a short leash.

Meanwhile, Adams' electronic enthusiasm knew no bounds, as shown when he praised the fire department's robot dog even after it awkwardly fell over in a garage collapse.

But being under near-constant surveillance is already something straphangers who enter the MTA's subways know, as New York City Transit President Richard Davey pointed out. He's fond of comparing it to being inside a Las Vegas casino.

"Unlike a robot in Las Vegas, this won’t be serving drinks, but it will keep you safe," he said about the robot.

The Knightscope robots are more akin to mobile surveillance machines than security guards, as reported by The Verge in 2019. Indeed, Curbed compared LeFrak City tenants' thoughts about their Knightscope K5 to "really just a slow-moving Ring camera."

And they're not exactly super-intelligent robot overlords in the making: one drowned itself in a fountain.

"We were promised flying cars, instead we got suicidal robots," one person tweeted.

Adams' promise that the robot won't be on subway platforms could also be prudent, given that another K5 knocked down a toddler in a mall.

Police officials acknowledged the robocop's and subways' video surveillance won't necessarily keep future subway robocops safe from future vandalism, but it will guarantee that robot-targeting miscreants will be caught.

"If someone damages the robot, they will pay for it," he said.

The robot is being leased for $9 an hour, for which New York City only pays when it's being operated, Adams said.

"This is below minimum wage, no bathroom breaks, no meal breaks," he said. "This is a good investment."