NYC Subway, Transit Crime Spikes Amid Adams' Tough Talk: Data

NEW YORK CITY — Growing concerns about subway safety have predominated Mayor Eric Adams' time in office literally from day one.

Adams, a former transit cop, dialed 911 to report an assault he witnessed while he rode the train to City Hall on Jan. 1.

Since then, he pledged more cops will ride the subways, dealt with the high-profile murder of straphanger Michelle Go and admitted even he felt unsafe in the system.

"We're going to drive down crime and we're going to make sure New Yorkers feel safe in our subway system, and they don't feel that way now," he said Jan. 18. "I don't feel that way when I take the train every day, or when I'm moving throughout our transportation system."

Though Adams has been outspoken about the crimes, the MTA is not the mayor's responsibility and is overseen by the state.

The "disorder" in the subways and city's transit system— as Adams repeatedly puts it — isn't necessarily a spate of fluke incidents.

In fact, transit crime has grown 65 percent since Adams took office compared this point last year, according to NYPD crime statistics.

Cops logged 96 transit crimes in the first two weeks this year, data shows.

They recorded 58 such crimes during the span in 2021, according to data.

Most individual transit crimes this year — 42, to be precise — were grand larcenies, data shows.

But violent crimes — robberies, felonious assaults and murder — overall accounted for 53 incidents across the city's transit system, according to data.

The death of Michelle Go, who authorities say was shoved in front of train at 42nd Street station — has seen a man with mental health issues arrested.

The convergence of mental health and public safety, especially on the subways, became a major issue during the mayoral campaign. Adams, as a Black man and a former cop, tried to thread the needle between a tough-on-crime approach and a more holistic strategy focused on social services.

He returned to that honey-and-vinegar dichotomy in a joint appearance with Gov. Kathy Hochul on Jan. 6. They announced the city will flood the subways with cops, who will be "omnipresent" for riders' peace of mind but not engage unless they see a crime in progress.

Cops will in turn help direct new outreach teams to homeless people in the subway system.

"This truly is a humanitarian crisis," Hochul said. "It's hard for people to walk past someone in need of help on our city's sidewalks, whether they're coming to a subway station, a train station or just walking to work. And roughly 3,000 to 4,000 people, our fellow citizens, are homeless on the streets. These are the New Yorkers for whom the system has failed. And failure is not an option for us in government."

But a recent Gothamist report found that the new "Safe Options Support Teams" program hasn't embarked, despite promises by Hochul they'd start "immediately."

Crime isn't the only dangers New Yorkers face in city subways. Last week three New Yorkers were hit by trains in city subways. Commuter Nora Palka told Patch she's been on guard in the subways ever since she saw a man hit by a Q train in Brooklyn.

"Be present and look out for yourself and the people around you," Palka urged New Yorkers. "If you see somebody standing close to the track: say something.

"It could save somebody's life...Taking a little extra energy to make sure your fellow New Yorkers are okay."