MTA launches new campaign to crack down on hate crimes
NEW YORK - The MTA has launched an aggressive campaign to combat hate on mass transit.
Messages promoting kindness, respect and solidarity will appear on 7,000 digital screens across the agency’s bus, subway and railroad networks.
“This campaign is about creating a more inclusive community that is reflective of the kindness and respect that New Yorkers display for one another every day,” said Cathy Rinaldi, President of the Metro North Railroad.
The announcement comes just days after a transgender woman posted on twitter that she was attacked don the C train near West 155th Street in Harlem. Authorities say they have made an arrest in connection with that incident.
“We’re seeing normalization of anti-Semitic and other hateful assaults on other minority groups,” said Evan Bernstein, Regional Director of the NY-NJ Anti-Defamation League. “It’s a time where we need to see organizations as influential as the MTA stepping up and now taking the lead on pushing back against hate and bias.”
The MTA says that hate crimes on the LIRR are also slightly up, but down on the Metro-North.
The ads will be in place indefinitely, and each ends with the tagline “New York rides together.”