NYC subway safety under scrutiny after string of violent incidents
Is NYC subway crime 'out of control'?
New York City has seen multiple violent attacks in the subway system over the last few days that have made headlines. In response, Mayor Eric Adams appears to be giving mixed messaging, claiming that criminals have been emboldended, while also insisting that the city is not out of control. FOX 5 NY's Linda Schmidt takes a closer look.
NEW YORK - Several high-profile violent attacks in New York City's subway system have hit the headlines in the last few days, but are things truly "out of control"?
"Bad guys no longer fear the police. They feel emboldened to do whatever they want," Mayor Eric Adams said on Tuesday during a press conference. Moments later, however, he seemed to contradict himself about the public's concern that crime is out of control.
"We hear this over and over again. The city's out of control. The city is out of control. The city is out of control. It's just not true," Adams said. "I know a city out of control because I visit some of them in this country. This is not one of them."
"He constantly says two opposing things at the same time," said Nicole Gelinas, a Senior Fellow with the Manhattan Institute, a conservative think tank.
Adams says that every year he has been Mayor, crime has dropped in the subway system. But Gelinas claims the numbers show something different.
"We've had four subway murders this year so far, and it's only March. Between 1997 and 2019 we only had one or two subway murders a year," Gelinas said. "So, four this year shows things on the subway are still very much out of control."
On Monday, a man was shoved onto the subway tracks and killed at 125th Street and Lexington Avenue. Yesterday, a female NYPD officer was punched in the face at the same station trying to prevent riders from evading the fare.
Person killed after being shoved onto subway tracks, hit by train in East Harlem
The victim was reportedly struck by an oncoming train after being shoved onto the tracks in East Harlem.
Riders who spoke to FOX 5 NY expressed their safety concerns.
"Right now it's worried about getting pushed over the train or getting stabbed for no apparent reason. Things like that and that's coming from the homeless people or people with mental health issues," one rider said.
"Two days ago I was sitting and one homeless, a young guy, he jumped onto me. I said what are you doing," another said.
Gelinas says the city's homeless and mental health crisis could be handled more productively and the city should put more pressure on hospitals.
"If the person says 'I'm fine I want to go home,' you can say if you want to go home you're going to be charged with this crime, and you're going to be sitting in Rikers. So, you can be in Rikers or you can be in the hospital, but it's not a choice to go home. They're not using this as a lever. They're not coordinating between the criminal justice system and the hospitals," Gelinas said.
Gelinas also says the periodic surge of NYPD officers into the subway is a short-term solution that is paid for with overtime.
"He needs to find room in his budget to hire more transit police officers. People who want to do the job of transit policing. People who aren't just taken for the day from the rest of the NYPD, and probably hire a good 300, 500 transit police officers," Gelinas said.