The head of the city’s transit system claimed Monday that the boost in cops on subways is already combating crime underground — with arrests nearly doubling in the past week alone.
“The level of police presence in our system has dramatically increased’’ since Mayor Eric Adams and Gov. Kathy Hochul announced last week that 1,200 cops a day would be added to the system, said MTA CEO Janno Lieber at a press conference at Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan.
“There are already indications of significant progress,” Lieber insisted.
Arrests were nearly double, or up 95%, to 214 last week compared to the same period last year, when there were 110 arrests, the MTA chief said. He did not say what the busts were for.
Quality-of-life summonses also soared 118%, to 2,298, compared to the same week in 2021, when there were 1,056 written, the agency said.
For fare evasion, summonses jumped 81.4%, with 1,522 written last week compared to 839 for the same week last year, the MTA said.
Lieber showed a photo of a just-confiscated gun as proof of small arrests leading to bigger cases.
“One incident over the weekend, our [MTA] cops captured, apprehended somebody with a gun in Grand Central,” he said. “There was a tussle going on adjacent to the station, MTA cops intervened, and lo and behold, they got an assailant who had a gun, loaded .40-caliber firearm, on him, significant, a big gun.’’
Lieber took a swipe at former Mayor Bill de Blasio when asked why City Hall’s anti-crime tactics in the subways should work now when they’ve been tried before.
“No. 1, cops in the system,” he said of the 1,200 extra forces. “This is what I asked for from Day 1. And the prior City Hall administration did not respond.
“And this administration did respond. Cops on platforms. Cops on trains.”
Adams has claimed that the subways are safe and that the media is to blame for creating a false “perception” of danger.
His comments come even as major crimes underground have soared so far this year compared to the same period in 2021.
Additional reporting by Nolan Hicks
Read the full article here
