New York City is investigating yet another subway attack Wednesday -- one that left a good Samaritan stabbed twice as the morning rush got underway. It comes days after city and state leaders rolled out a new transit safety plan intended to reassure riders amid an escalating series of violent crimes in the system.
Police say the victim in the latest case was on a southbound No. 4 train approaching the Brooklyn Bridge station at Chambers Street in lower Manhattan around 6 a.m. when he tried to intervene in a fight between two women. It's not clear what they argued about, but the good Samaritan was stabbed once in the neck and in the arm, the NYPD says.
He was taken to a hospital and is expected to survive. Both women fled the station. Authorities say the suspected knife-wielder was thought to be in her 20s. She was wearing green shorts and had short black hair, they added.
The MTA said 4 and 5 trains were running with delays because of the investigation. Check real-time transit updates from all your key commute sources here.
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The latest attack comes after Mayor Eric Adams and Gov. Kathy Hochul unveiled a new plan to curb subway violence -- targeted or otherwise -- in a bid to assuage public concerns as the struggling MTA looks to continue its slow-churning pandemic rebound.
Over the weekend, the Democrats said they planned to greenlight more than a thousand overtime shifts every day designed specifically to increase the number of uniformed officers on patrol on platforms and trains. Funding for additional 1,200 shifts would account for 10,000 more patrol hours each day. Their weekend announcement also called for two new in-patient psychiatric facilities to aid people experiencing serious mental health issues.
Hochul said part of the plan includes MTA police focusing resources on stations linked to the four major commuter rail hubs -- Penn Station, Grand Central, Atlantic Terminal, and Jamaica Station -- a move, in turn, that allows NYPD officers to increase coverage across the system. Subway riders Monday may also have noticed announcements at certain stations reminding them that police are available in the area if they need to report a crime or concern.
"Cops, Cameras, Care," as Hochul called the series of initiatives, includes expanded mental health training previously given to New York State Police and first responders in crisis intervention. The state training will now be provided to police and other city first responders specifically involved in the transport of people needing psychiatric evaluation.
The electeds acknowledged the perception of violence plaguing public transit. City leaders say there has been a drop in crime, but the nine homicides within the MTA this year has created a boiling over of frustration they said must be addressed head-on.
"We must address both the perception and reality of safety, and the expanded partnership we are announcing today with Governor Hochul will do just that, while building off the successes of our Subway Safety Plan. The bottom line is that riders will see more officers in the system, and so will those thinking of breaking the law," Adams said.
Sending scores of additional officers into the transit system is a method already in the mayor's toolkit. His subway safety plan announced earlier in the year deployed additional cops after the start of his administration.
Adams said 40% of transit murders were committed by people with severe mental health problems. So the next step is addressing mental health.
The state has promised 50 new inpatient beds — under a new plan to essentially — have people committed.
The two new psychiatric facilities, the first of which is scheduled to be open by Nov. 1, will each hold 25 inpatient units. The second is expected to open early in 2023.
The state's Office of Mental Health will oversee the treatment program designed to aid people 18 and older who are experiencing homelessness and have severe mental illnesses, Hochul explained.
Within the new OMH assignment, a step-down program will be established to help patients transition to independent geared living settings.
The installation of security cameras is among the plan's top priorities -- the governor expects at least 750 to be installed inside subway cars every month; the entire fleet should be done by late 2024. Already, the governor noted, more than 200 cameras have been added to cars since her announcement last month.
Critics were quick to blast the plan, with Police Benevolent Association President Pat Lynch calling it "unsustainable."
"Our city must immediately boost pay and improve working conditions in order to recruit and retain enough police officers. That is the only way to provide real safety in the subway, rather than the illusion of ‘omnipresence,'" Lynch said.
Also, mental health advocates worry the plan overreaches and won’t solve the problem without a huge commitment to supportive housing.
