NYPD officers board a subway car. | John Minchillo/AP Photo
NYPD brass rebuked comments by top transit leaders that crime is a major issue in the city's subway system, accusing them of “fear mongering.”
“It’s a disservice to New Yorkers to invent a narrative that crime is soaring in the subways when it’s simply not the case,” said NYPD Chief of Transit Kathleen O’Reilly at the MTA’s Wednesday board meeting.
Transit leaders have been sounding the alarm of subway crime for months, calling on the NYPD to add 1,500 cops to the system. Sarah Feinberg, interim president of New York City Transit, previously voiced concern over an “uptick generally in crime,” adding the MTA is “very anxious to make sure that we turn back as quickly as we can, particularly, as we're trying to welcome more people back to the city and more people back to the system.”
The fight mirrors an ongoing rhetorical battle between Mayor Bill de Blasio and Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who effectively controls the MTA and frequently criticizes the city's approach to crime.
But O’Reilly pushed back on the narrative that crime is soaring in the system, stating that crime is actually down 53 percent year-to-date and continues to drop as more riders return to the subway system. That figure includes serious crimes like robberies and grand larcenies, which are down by 31 and 54 percent, respectively.
“As daily ridership heads into millions once again, we are confident we have the necessary amount of officers deployed to keep riders safe,” O’Reilly said.
The NYPD added 500 more cops to the subway system after four people experiencing homelessness were recently stabbed — two fatally — on the A line. But MTA officials have continued to push for more officers.
Feinberg called the accusation of fear mongering “unfair,” stating the crime statistics don’t account for harassment and other minor crimes that make customers feel uncomfortable.
The MTA recently released a survey showing that more customers were concerned about crime and harassment than they were six months ago, with one-third reporting it was a reason they weren’t riding the subway system. However, working from home and the risk of contracting Covid-19 were cited as the main factors keeping customers from returning to the system.
MTA Chair Pat Foye and Feinberg both pointed to the survey results as key reasons to increase police presence, expressing concerns that the fear of crime could hurt efforts to win back riders who have avoided the subway during the pandemic.
“At a point where we want millions of people to return … we need to be able to convince people the system is safe, which it is, and they will be free from harassment,” Foye said.
“No one is saying crime is rampant and out of control on the subway,” Feinberg said. “What we’re saying is we have a huge number of customers who are concerned about it.”
But O’Reilly said the perception that riding the system is unsafe falls on the MTA.
“I think everybody — including everybody on the board and on this call — should be telling people that the subway system is safe,” she said. “This way we will sway away from that perception argument. That’s what we’re dealing with — we’re dealing with the perception that the subway is not safe. Everyday I ride the subway, the subway is safe.”
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NYPD calls on MTA to stop 'fear mongering' over subway crime - Politico
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