Felony crimes on the New York City subway system have escalated by 40 percent so far this year compared to 2021, including robberies, rape, murder and other violent crimes.
At least 1,917 felony crimes were reported from January to October, according to the New York Post. Last year, 1,367 felony crimes were reported during the same time period. The October tally saw 210 felonies. Before that, September saw 198 felonies.
October’s numbers reportedly showed three murders, two burglaries, 51 robberies, 46 felony assaults and 108 grand larcenies. The Post previously reported that killings on the subway have spiked to the highest annual levels in 25 years.
Other crimes have continued, such as people being pushed onto the subway tracks. Last week, a 38-year-old woman was allegedly pushed off the train platform after a dispute with two other women. As the two women ran away, a good Samaritan intervened and helped the victim off the tracks and onto the train platform.
Last Tuesday, two stabbings occurred within minutes of each other at different stations in the subway system. A man was reportedly stabbed on a train in Manhattan as he tried to defend himself against a robber. Less than 30 minutes later, a 28-year-old woman was slashed in the face by a man who then attacked a 29-year-old man who intervened to defend her. According to the Post, the attack left a “gruesome” blood scene on the platform.
In another incident, a 34-year-old man on a subway train was reportedly stabbed twice by a robber who approached the man and asked for a cigarette. As the victim tried to give him a cigarette, the man reportedly tried to steal his cash and stabbed him in the torso. When the train approached the next station, the men fell out of the doors onto the platform and continued to fight. The victim was stabbed a second time in the shoulder. The robber eventually stole his backpack and the cash and the victim went to the hospital.
“It used to be ‘I know if I don’t go to this neighborhood, I will be safe,’ but today you don’t have that,” Professor Maria Haberfeld from CUNY’s John Jay College of Criminal Justice told the Post.
“You can take the subway anywhere at any time of day, in broad daylight, and there is no guarantee of safety,” she added.
Earlier this year, Democratic New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) said that the city has turned into a “laughing stock” due to its rampant crime.
“Anything goes in the city of New York,” he stated at an event in March. “The most important city on the globe has become the laughing stock of the globe.”
“The dysfunctionality of our city has cascaded throughout the entire country,” he added.
Previously, Adams said in an interview with ABC News that he felt “unsafe” taking the city’s subway on his first day in office.
“On day one, I took the subway system, I felt unsafe. I saw homeless everywhere. People were yelling on the trains. There was a feeling of disorder. So as we deal with the crime problem, we also have to deal with the fact people feel unsafe," Adams said in the interview, adding that he was going to make crime a priority.
“We’re going to drive down crime and we’re going to make sure New Yorkers feel safe in our subway system, and they don’t feel that way now. I don’t feel that way when I take the train every day or when I’m moving throughout our transportation system," Adams added.
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