Federal Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy instructed the MTA that its federal funding might dangle within the steadiness if it didn’t get more durable on crime and homelessness within the New York Metropolis subway — even supposing main subway crimes are down 22% from this time final yr.
“The trend of violent crime, homelessness, and other threats to public safety on one of our nation’s most prominent metro systems is unacceptable,” Duffy mentioned in a press release launched Tuesday evening. “After years of soft-on-crime policies, our department is stepping in to restore order.”
However by the numbers, any lack of order appears to already be on the mend.
As of Monday, main subway crimes — murders, rapes, assaults, robberies, burglaries and grand larcenies — are down 21.9% from the place they had been this week in 2024, in keeping with information from the NYPD. Main crimes are additionally down 18.7% from 2019, the final yr earlier than the COVID-19 pandemic.
NYPD officers patrol platforms and prepare automobiles on the thirty sixth Avenue subway station in Manhattan. (AP Picture/John Minchillo)
In a Tuesday letter addressed to MTA chariman Janno Lieber, Duffy demanded reams of data from the transit company on assaults, fare evasion and subway browsing, in addition to the MTA’s efforts to curb these issues. The transportation secretary additionally instructed Lieber to supply an accounting of all MTA cash spent on security and fare enforcement on the subway system.
Duffy gave the MTA a March 31 deadline for the requested data, and mentioned federal funding might be on the road.
“I appreciate your prompt attention to this matter to avoid further consequences, up to and including redirecting or withholding funding,” Duffy wrote.
Practically the entire data requested by the feds, together with crime stats and funding breakdowns, is already made publicly obtainable by the MTA and NYPD.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. (AP Picture/Jacquelyn Martin)
John McCarthy, the MTA’s head of exterior relations, mentioned in a press release Wednesday that his company was already efficiently decreasing crime, and would share that data with the feds.
The MTA has beforehand mentioned it hopes to get $14 billion in federal funding towards its five-year, $68 billion capital plan, which funds giant scale tasks on the company’s subways, commuter rail traces, bus community and river crossings.
