Those workers who left New York during the pandemic and began working remotely... They are not coming back. I would think Hochul and Adams would have figured that out. Further, lax punishment of criminals - if indeed there is any punishment at all - has made the subways unsafe and more people are avoiding them.
Have you seen the pics of the bag checks being conducted?
Looks to be operating the same way the TSA does.
Pick the people the LEAST likely to be a threat to the public to pick on.