Amid rising crime, New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) recently said crime in the city’s subway systems is “down.” Many New Yorkers believe that residents are terrified, given recent subway incidents across social media.
During a press briefing regarding growing crime at the New York Police Department’s (NYPD) headquarters, Adams said violent incidents in the city’s subway system decreased 24% in March 2024.
“We’re down. We’re down 24% in March,” the Democratic mayor said. “We’re down in February. Can we please stop saying we’re up in crime in our subway system? We are not.”
Eric Adams tells New Yorkers not to believe their own eyes:
“Can we please stop saying we're up in crime in our subway system? We are not! We’re down in crime in the subway system. Perception is playing into this. The perception can override this.”pic.twitter.com/U3byzfHTBa
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) April 4, 2024
One America News (OAN) reported that subway-related crimes in the Big Apple fell during the first months of 2024, and slightly decreased by 0.3% at the end of 2023. Such figures appear to differ from the reality.
The New York Post obtained data from the NYPD, showing that serious crimes in New York City’s subway system have grown under Adams’ tenure.
In January 2024, the department deployed 1,000 uniformed officers to patrol subway stations across the system to try and safeguard New Yorkers. A couple of months later, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) announced the deployment of nearly 1,000 state National Guard troops to tackle rising subway crime.
Despite this, Adams claimed that the city’s subway system is the safest it has ever been since he took office in January 2022.
“New Yorkers are safe on our subway system,” Adams said. “I’m down there talking to the passengers, communicating with them. And many of them keep saying over and over again as we move through the subway system, they say to me, ‘Eric, can people stop saying we unsafe down here?’ It’s the best subway system on the globe.”
Adams’ comments come after a man was fatally shoved in front of an oncoming train in Manhattan, New York. OAN noted that in three separate instances, three individuals were stabbed in attacks occurring in transit stations.
At a station in East Harlem, a female NYPD officer was punched in the face while stopping an individual trying to avoid paying the subway fare. Yet, Adams still maintains that the city is safe.
