NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- An MTA station agent who was attacked by two women at a Brooklyn station over the weekend said she’s afraid to return to work as police search for the fare-beaters who attacked her.
Marshalee Reid, 51, said she was thrown to the ground and beaten at the New Lots Avenue station in East New York on Saturday afternoon by two women who had a child with them.
“It’s a lot for me right now, because the girl was punching me in my face, armed with the keys that she had, and she also had a pocketknife,” Reid said.
Reid was on-duty around 1:15 p.m. and helping a senior customer at the station when one woman jumped the turnstile and another with a child asked if she could pass through the gate without paying the fare. Reid said she couldn’t, prompting the attack.
She was beaten with fists and a set of keys, leaving her with bruising throughout her body.
“They jumped me, they assaulted me,” she said. “The pain is terrible.”
Reid, who underwent brain surgery last year, said she’s afraid for her health and to return to work.
“They also threatened me, they said someone might kill me,” she said. “So, yes, I fear.”
The NYPD released images of the suspects they’re searching for in the attack.
In a statement, NYC Transit President Demetrius Crichlow vowed to seek maximum justice for the perpetrators.
“The attack on a transit worker at New Lots Avenue was outrageous and another example of how fare evaders are often the perpetrators of assaults,” Crichlow said. “This station agent deserved to leave work the way she arrived, and when the NYPD catches the suspects—which they will—we will be at the courthouse to insist that maximum justice is delivered for our colleague.”
TWU Local 100 President John Chiarello said such attacks happen every day in the system. He wants to meet with MTA Chairman and CEO Janno Leiber.
“We need more police presence, and that’s something we can work on together,” Chiarello said.
The MTA said the New Lots cameras were working as designed, but the union said they don’t have them in the area where the agent was assaulted.