Politics

NY Transit Leader Urges Officials To Ban Subway Attackers, Sex Offenders From Trains

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UPDATE: This piece has been updated to reflect a response from the New York Metropolitan Transit Authority.

New York Metropolitan Transit Authority Chair Janno Lieber issued letters to district attorneys within the transit system and state-level judges Monday asking that some criminals be barred from it.

Lieber called for prohibiting people convicted of sex offenses committed within the system or assaulting its workers from accessing transit facilities, under law enacted in 2020, according to letters obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation. Judges have not yet used their power to exclude such individuals from public transit for up to three years, according to the New York Daily News.

“We are aware of no cases in which courts have actually used the ban authority created by the Legislature,” Lieber wrote. “That is so despite a steady stream of disturbing, high-profile crimes in the transit system.”

🚨WANTED for RECKLESS ENDANGERMENT: On 10/15/22 at approx. 11:50 AM, inside the E 149 St & Southern Blvd subway station, the suspect, unprovoked, pushed a 26-year-old male onto the train tracks as the “6” train was arriving. Any info? DM @NYPDTips, or call 800-577-TIPS. pic.twitter.com/R9ADlxEHdV

— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) October 16, 2022

There were dozens of sex crime and felony assault complaints within MTA jurisdiction in September, according to New York Police Department data. Multiple people have been pushed onto New York City subway tracks recently.

“The current statute is plainly too narrow,” Lieber wrote. “For example, there is no good reason why rider-on-worker assaults are ban-eligible while rider-on-rider assaults are not.”

Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced a plan Saturday to establish 1,200 new overtime police shifts daily for subway stations and trains, as well as work toward growing New York State Office of Mental Health training for New York City first responders. They also announced a new task force to focus on public transit crime.