New York City’s subway system has been extremely violent recently. During 2024 the NYPD reported 10 murders in the subway which is tied for the highest rates since 1997. In the past month there have been a number of notable attacks.
Recent attacks:
In December, a homeless woman named Debrina Kawam was set on fire while sleeping on the F train.
On New Years Eve in 2024 a 45 year old named Joseph Lynskey was seriously injured after being pushed onto the train tracks from behind unexpectedly
Then on New Year’s Day, a passenger was stabbed on a train at 14th street in chelsea. On January 2nd an MTA cleaner was also stabbed at the Pelham Parkway station in the Bronx. Police got the suspect for both attacks.
Public’s Opinion:
For many commuters, incidents like these have become an unfortunate reality of the subway. Charity Dawson, a commuter from Prospect park saying, “I’ve just always had a sense of caution around it all. People are pushed on the tracks and all these things, and for the whole 20 years I’ve lived here people have been stabbed”
Even as crime numbers occasionally decline, the perception of danger remains. Many riders say they simply don’t feel safe underground.
What is being done:
The recent violence has made the vigilante watchdog group, the Guardian Angels resume patrols in the subways for the first time since 2020.
Kathy Hochul the Governor of New York sent over 1,000 National Guard troops into the transit system to combat concerns over subway safety. In addition to that Mayor Eric Adams sent 1,000 NYPD cops into the transit system as well.
NYPD is also reassigning an additional 200 officers to specialty train patrols aboard subways. Also they will be deploying 50 cops to the most dangerous stations across the city.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is also addressing safety concerns. Over the next five years, the agency plans to install platform barriers at 100 stations to prevent track related incidents.