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5/10/2021
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and Transport Workers Union Local 100 last week called on the New York City Police Department (NYPD) to deploy additional officers and mental health resources to the transit system following recent attacks on employees in the subways.
One such attack was on New York City Transit (NYCT) conductor Gerard Sykes, who was slashed in the face last week in what witnesses said was an unprovoked attack while riding the train. Felony assaults in the subway system from January to March are up 47% compared to three years ago (119 in 2021 compared to 81 in 2018).
“This tragic incident underlines once again the critical need for an increased and engaged police presence in our system at this pivotal moment in the city’s history,” MTA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Patrick Foye said in a press release. “People need to be safe, and they need to feel safe, while riding the subways, buses and commuter rails — period. Or they won’t come back to transit, which means not coming back to NYC.”
The NYPD announced the next day it was deploying auxiliary officers to the city's 20 busiest subway stations, which NYCT Interim President Sarah Feinberg said was appreciated.
"We know our employees and customers agree: 87% of riders say that seeing a visible [police] presence in our system is very important to them. The addition of these officers is a good step forward, but make no mistake more needs to be done to ensure the system comes back, and in turn the city comes back," Feinberg said in a prepared statement. "We know that in order for more and more people to return to mass transit they need to feel safe. That’s why we continue to call on the city to add additional full-time police officers and mental health resources to the subway system immediately.”