Janice R. Andrews
It is expected that Governor Kathy Hochul will announce measures for increased law police presence in the subway system in response to a string of violent incidents over the weekend.
Authorities from law enforcement are actively searching for the individual who attacked a 64-year-old man at Penn Station brutally and without cause. On Sunday at around 5 p.m., the victim was viciously kicked in the back, resulting in his fall onto the A/C/E line tracks. Thankfully, he received assistance returning to the platform, and after suffering injuries to his knee and back, his condition is said to be stable.
Jhan Khan, the victim’s wife, attested to his slow recuperation and emphasized his concern after the tragedy. The victim, a postal worker, apparently had no prior altercation and was on his way home from work.
Authorities have released CCTV footage to help in the investigation, but the culprit is still at large.
Governor Hochul is about to make an announcement on more funding to fight crimes involving transport after meeting with Mayor Adams and the Chief of transport for the NYPD. Plans call for increasing police presence in metro stations, equipping all vehicles with cameras by the end of the year, and allocating funds to handle mental health crises—a major factor in train occurrences, according to Hochul.
A 17-year-old lady was assaulted on the mezzanine level of the A/C line at 168th Street following the attack on the 64-year-old man, raising additional worries about commuter safety.
Alarming figures show that there has been a 13.1% increase in significant crimes registered on the transit system, which is reflected in the jump in subway violence. Grand larcenies have increased by 17.8%, while felonies assaults have increased by 15.5%. Nonetheless, there has been a minor decline in robberies, and authorities are apprehending more people for possessing firearms on subways.
In spite of these initiatives, fare evasion continues to be a major problem and accounts for the majority of arrests—67.2% of all arrests.
In an effort to regain public trust and protect commuter safety in the face of growing worries about violence in the subway system, Governor Hochul is anticipated to publicly announce the increase in police presence in the system on Wednesday.
