Old Newsstand With A New Beat: Police Set Up Shop At West Fourth

By Jose Martinez, The City

Nov. 26, 2025

An old subway newsstand has been reinvented as an NYPD outpost on a platform at the West Fourth Street station in Manhattan.

Uniformed police officers and National Guard members are now stationed by the former newsstand on the northbound platform of the A, C, E lines at the underground complex that had the highest number of “track intrusion incidents” in the system in 2021. That’s when people trespassed 29 times onto the tracks there, according to MTA data.

“If the cops are going to be there for a purpose and not just pick and choose what crimes they’re going to fight, then I don’t see a problem with that,” said Carlos Jones, 60, of Brooklyn, who was commuting through the station Tuesday morning. “The feeling of being safe is a good one, too.”

The move to beef up the unformed presence in a space that once sold magazines and candy bars comes as major felonies in the subway have dropped by nearly 5% from last year, according to NYPD statistics. The chief of the Transit Bureau told the MTA board last week that “we’re on par to finish one of the strongest years in recorded history.”

Chief of Transit Joseph Gulotta told the board last week that some of the NYPD’s tactical changes — including putting more officers on platforms and on trains — are delivering positive changes in the subway system.

“Some of our change in deployment has helped tremendously, and we’ve seen a shift where some of our crime has moved from the platform [and] the train up to the mezzanine,” Gulotta said.

The head of the MTA said riders have responded positively to the NYPD’s efforts to cut crime in the subway.

“The rider surveys are telling us that people feel much safer on the system,” Janno Lieber, the MTA chairperson and CEO, said at the November board meeting. “They always want to see more cops.”

Assaults and harassment against transit workers have dropped, as well.

According to MTA data, there have been 421 instances of assault and harassment against transit workers since the start of 2025 — down from 539 over the same time period in 2024. While Transport Workers Union Local 100 leaders have repeatedly called for more police in stations and on platforms, a union spokesperson declined comment Tuesday.

The NYPD opened up a desk inside an old newsstand at the West 4th Street subway platform, Nov. 25, 2025. Credit: Alex Krales/THE CITY

At the West Fourth Street platform, the space inside the newsstand has been renovated with white subway tiles, a pair of NYPD shield logos, a metal bench and a desk-like area where officers can sit.

“As a female, it’s honestly more comforting to have some sort of authority to be here,” said Breana Ramos, 22, who uses the station daily. “Nowadays, there’s a lot of weirdos that come out at night.”

The NYPD declined to respond to questions from THE CITY about officer staffing or hours of operation at the former subway newsstand or address whether other out-of-use retail spots may soon also be used by police elsewhere in the system.

“It’s important that police be keeping an eye on people who are in the subway,” said Fernando Concepcion, 75, of The Bronx, who was waiting for a train at West Fourth Street on Tuesday morning. “It’s going to make a lot of riders feel safer.”

An MTA spokesperson declined to say how many of its subway platform retail spaces are not presently in use or whether others will potentially be used by the NYPD. In June, the transit authority said that it had leased 63 of 203 subway retail spaces, which also include spaces not on station platforms.

The head of the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA, Lisa Daglian, praised the attempt to make new use of a subway newsstand that even last year was still displaying pre-pandemic magazine covers.

“The MTA is continuing to find creative and active reuse for vacant spaces in the subway,” Daglian said. “In this case, it’s also further adding to public safety and a sense of security.”

This press release was produced by The City. The views expressed here are the author’s own.