Despite patrols by the NYPD, the National Guard and even the crime-fighting Guardian Angels, the Big Apple's subway system has been hit by a fifth straight day of violence as traffic crime spikes. It is being said.
The horrific arson death of a New Jersey straphanger on a Brooklyn F train on December 22nd left five people stabbed and slashed and a 45-year-old straphanger thrown under a Manhattan subway train. It was just the beginning of the latest underground crime spree. From Sunday.
For some city politicians, it's reached breaking point.
“Despite the governor of New York’s foolish statements, New Yorkers do not feel safe on the subways. [Kathy] Hochul is erupting,” City Councilwoman Joanna Arriola (R-Queens) said Thursday. “We need to prioritize public safety over empty political rhetoric, especially now that the City of Albany is forcing more people to take public transit thanks to its latest congestion toll tax. Even more so.
“More security is great for optics, but what we really need to do is take the NYPD out of the hands and get them back to work,” Arriola said.
City Councilman Robert Holden (D-Queens) also criticized the Albany lawmaker. — and at City Hall.
“Every day we face being stabbed, pushed onto the tracks, or worse, burned alive,” Kathy Hochul said. “We're making the subway safer.” “Crime is going down,'' he said. “New Yorkers are tired of being gassed, and even more tired of being assaulted.
“We need a complete overhaul of our city and state leadership. They don’t care about you!
Last year, the city of Hochul ordered more than 1,000 National Guard troops into its transit system in response to growing concerns about subway safety, and Mayor Eric Adams similarly ordered 1,000 NYPD officers underground to “rapidly deploy.” ”, the mayor's representative announced last week.
But the violence has only escalated, starting with the stomach-churning arson death of 57-year-old Toms River resident Debrina Khawam at the Stillwell Avenue Coney Island station, where the suspects were undocumented immigrants. Sebastian Zapeta Khalil is currently in custody. First degree murder.
In the latest attack, an MTA employee in the Bronx was stabbed early Thursday morning while on his way to work at the Pelham Parkway station, but his assailant was still at large.
Four other straphangers have been cut off in a row since Sunday. — A 52-year-old man was stabbed in the arm with a knife at the Myrtle Wyckoff L station. A 48-year-old man was slashed in the neck at the West 50th Street and 8th Avenue station in Manhattan. And the remaining two on New Year's Day.
In those incidents, a 30-year-old man cut his arm in an altercation with another straphanger at the 110th Street/Cathedral Parkway station, and a 31-year-old man was stabbed in the back at 14th Street. Just 15 minutes later I was at the station.
But the most shocking car accident of the week happened on Tuesday. Music programmer Joseph Lynskey, 45, was thrown into the path of Manhattan's Route 1. –Miraculously, he survives.
Just hours later, NYPD arrested Kamel Hawkins, 23, near Columbus Circle and charged him with attempted murder and assault in the horrific attack that was captured on video.
Overall, police statistics show there were 48 serious assaults on city transit in the 28 days ending Sunday, a 40% increase compared to the same period in 2023.
In response to the escalation in violence, the city's vigilante group, Guardian Angels, announced it would resume patrolling the subway for the first time since 2020.
The Angels, founded in 1979 by former mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa, announced it would deploy three officers 24 hours a day to troubled stations to stamp out crime.
But so far, nothing has eased the fears of New Yorkers riding the train.
“This is a simple cause-and-effect scenario, and common sense and appropriate action are all that is needed,” said City Councilwoman Inna Vernikov (R-Brooklyn). “Unfortunately, the current government lacks a wealth of common sense.
“Until those in power begin to understand pattern recognition and legislate accordingly, the violence will not stop,” she says. “And the reality is that these crimes are committed by illegal immigrants and mentally ill people with criminal records.”
City Councilman Joe Borrelli (R-Staten Island) added, “If we just went back to arresting and prosecuting bad guys, we probably wouldn't need all the public safety kabuki theaters.”
Hochul's office and city hall officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
