New York City Mayor Eric Adams and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, both Democrats, have announced a joint task force to address a recent surge in crime on the city’s public transit system.
On Saturday, Adams and Hochul “announced expanded initiatives to keep New York City subways safe and address transit crime,” according to a press release. “The initiatives include a significant investment from the state’s public emergency fund and a commitment to work with the city on a dedicated revenue source to support additional police presence in the subway system.” (RELATED: NYC Council Member Says Subway Violence Is ‘One-In-A-Million’ Event Despite Alleged Attack Occurring Days Earlier)
Two subway riders were knocked onto subway tracks in New York City in separate incidents over the weekend. In the first instance, an unidentified suspect pushed a 32-year-old male onto tracks in Brooklyn on Friday. The incident was caught on video, and the victim was not struck by a train but was physically injured, according to NYC police. In the second incident, a 62-year-old man was punched in the back of the head onto the subway tracks in an unprovoked assault Sunday. A 21-year-old suspect was arrested, CNN reports.
This is the dangerous reality of life in Kathy Hochul’s New York pic.twitter.com/fYkLL0GCdV
— Lee Zeldin (@leezeldin) October 23, 2022
The Metropolitan Transit Authority will increase overtime officer shifts by 1,200 per day and provide psychiatric centers to deal with mental health crises.
“My number one priority as governor is keeping New Yorkers safe in the streets, in their homes, in their schools, and on the subway, and we will do whatever it takes to make our subways safer for riders,” Governor Hochul said in the press release.
Crime in New York’s subway system is up by 41% as of Oct. 17, with 1,813 incidents occurring so far this year, according to CNN.
Republican state Rep. Lee Zeldin, the GOP nominee for New York governor, tweeted that such incidents have become a “dangerous reality of life in Kathy Hochul’s New York.” Zeldin has overtaken Hochul in some polls by focusing heavily on rising crime rates, but continues to trail the incumbent in polling averages.