NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber fired back at Sean Duffy on Tuesday after the U.S. transportation secretary once again made disparaging comments over the transit authority’s handling of subway crime.
“MTA giving USDOT the runaround when New York City grapples with a dramatic uptick in subway assaults is unacceptable. The innocent victims of these horrific crimes and the daily commuters who live in fear of violence deserve better,” Duffy said. “It’s time we restore order on New York’s transit systems—lives are at stake.”
He also called for the MTA to provide the Department of Transportation with the information it needs to “assess the gaps in their security strategy and safety protocols.” This request was formally made in a letter sent to Lieber by the DOT on Monday.
Lieber claims that the transit authority made all security information available to the DOT three months ago when it first asked for information regarding subway safety. He stated that the MTA sent forth 20 pages of information “on the good news that crime is down in every significant way.”
“We talked about all the MTA efforts, cameras and otherwise, more police presence, to get it done,” Lieber said. “I don’t get why Secretary Duffy continues to assail the NYPD, that’s his own problem, I don’t get it.”
According to NYPD data released in April, subway crime decreased to the second-lowest level in 27 years, including an 18.1% drop in major crime during the first quarter of 2025. There were also zero murders in the transit system during that period, the first time in seven years, police said.
The NYPD attributes the violent crime dip to a surge in police patrols on subway platforms and trains.
During an appearance on Fox News on Tuesday, Duffy said that these statistics are skewed by nonviolent crimes like theft, and the real issue is assault.
“If you include the pickpocketers in those stats, yes, pickpocketers might have gone down. But assaults have gone up, to your point Emily, by 66% since 2019. It’s dangerous to ride the subway in New York,” he said. “And again, if you’re Kathy Hochul the governor, or if you’re MTA, you don’t ride the subway. This is a war on middle Americans, working Americans, who have to ride the subway, and these people don’t want to seem to make it safe.”
The comments from Duffy come as New York City and state continue to feud with Washington over Manhattan’s congestion pricing toll, which went into effect on Jan. 5.
The DOT has insisted that the program must be shut down after revoking its approval, with Duffy providing several deadlines and threatening consequences if the toll continues. But after the MTA won an injunction at the end of May that states Duffy cannot threaten to withhold federal funding for future infrastructure projects, the program is still up and running.
On the six-month anniversary of congestion pricing Saturday, Hochul lauded the toll’s success, stating that traffic is down, businesses are thriving and it is on track to generate $500 million in revenue this year.
“Six months in, it’s clear: congestion pricing has been a huge success, making life in New York better,” the governor said. “In New York, we dare to do big things, and this program represents just that—traffic is down throughout the region, business is booming, transit ridership is up, and we are making historic upgrades to our transit system.”
Duffy slammed New York’s continued support of the toll during his appearance on Fox News and questioned its efficacy.
“When they say it’s working, it’s working because they’re raising money. That’s why they say it’s working. But congestion is horrible still in the city. That’s because they’re taking roads for buses and for cars and they’re making them bike lanes, so you take away lanes, you get more congestion,” he said. And then they complain about congestion. It’s just stupid liberals with stupid policies that impact the lives of New Yorkers.”
Despite the repeated attacks by Duffy, according to Lieber, things are looking good for the MTA and New Yorkers.
“The bottom line is, as we said yesterday, crime is way down, ridership is up, and congestion pricing is an amazing success,” he said. “Everybody recognizes it, eventually they’ll figure it out in Washington.”