NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) – Subway crime has spiked more than 20% in the first weeks of 2024, police said, as a number of frightening attacks have made headlines in recent days.
According to the NYPD, reported crime in the subway system is up 22.6% so far this year, compared to the same period in 2023.
Early Tuesday morning, an unruly passenger on a southbound 4 train tossed an unknown liquid on an MTA conductor at the 167th Street station in the Concourse section, police said.
The conductor became disoriented and had to be checked out at a hospital, according to police. The attacker remained at large Tuesday.
It's not the only transit assault to startle riders as of late. Two unprovoked attacks happened just a block a part at subway stations in Long Island City last week.
On Thursday, a Brazilian tourist had his neck slashed unprovoked at the Queens Plaza station. Then on Saturday, a man was hit multiple times in the head with a metal pipe in another attack.
Both victims were hospitalized in stable condition, but random assaults like these are why rider Angel Rodriguez said he keeps his head on a swivel when he rides the train.
"I'm always on point, and I'm ready for whatever comes," Rodriguez said. "And every day I've gotta watch my back."
Rodriguez said it's "just ridiculous what's going on."
"Some lady pulled a knife on me not so long ago at the train station," he said.
Last Wednesday, a group of eight people stabbed a teen boy at the Coney Island Terminal. A day before that, a bottle-wielding woman bashed a subway cellist over the head as the victim was performing at the 34th Street–Herald Square station during the Tuesday evening rush. And last Monday, a bystander was killed and five people were wounded in a mass shooting at the Mount Eden Avenue station in the Bronx.
The NYPD acknowledged that safety and the perception of safety weigh on riders' minds. They said upwards of 1,000 additional officers a day are patrolling the transit system.
Police also touted to a rise in arrests and summonses, and they said the type of subway crime fueling the uptick is grand larceny.
Not everyone has qualms about taking the subway. Brazilian tourist Peter Castro said Monday that he recently rode the rails while carrying a newly purchased PlayStation 5.
"I found the subway overall, the subway system, very organized, very safe," Castro said. "I just bought this PS5, and I just walked in. Nobody minded me. I just minded my business. Nobody messed with me."