I'm tired of the tiptoeing around the problem of fare-beating. As anyone who rides regularly knows (and sees) it continues to increase on both the subways and buses. Nearly two years ago the Manhattan D.A. said it was a waste of time to prosecute fare-beaters; is it any surprise that it's become rampant? Take a look - all kinds of people do it now. And if it is still predominantly an underclass issue, deal with that separately. But I worry about a growing sense of lack of control and respect for the law. Unless something is done to deal with it, it will continue to get worse. (Plus, there's something to be said for the "broken windows" philosophy.) The police can certainly be made to behave in a more acceptable manner, but for me that does not mean ignoring fare-beating.
232
@EdNY Excellent points. It's also very important to the subway system to have fares paid -- because that's the money that is going toward, among other things, paying for the improvements to the system. People who are caught evading paying fares should be appropriately punished through fines or jail time if they are recidivists.
54
@Dave D
The annual cost of the 500 new police is about $65M (the total is projected for four years). The MTA has cited a lost revenue figure of about $200M annually, I think - I wonder if that assumes that anyone not paying a fare would pay it otherwise - I'm not sure you would not have some who would choose not to ride at all. In any case, even if you reduce the projection, the expense would appear to produce better than a revenue-neutral result.
17
@EdNY
Queens went through a heated primary for a new DA this year. Many candidates said they were not going to prosecute turnstile jumpers, and it remains to be seen what the new Queens DA, Melinda Katz, will do about that come Jan.1.
11
Maybe the cops who congregate together in stations, chit chatting and checking their phones could actually do some work.
20
This is why government at all levels drives the citizenry crazy. The NYC subway needs substantial service improvements not greater security. But all levels of government involved agreed to do just the opposite. This country is not functioning in the 21st century as it did in the 20th. In my view Osama bin Laden is the cause. 9/11 has driven everybody crazy.
1
Wow, am I reading this editorial correctly ?
Is this the first time in the long history of the NYT that they are against more policing in the subways ?
Who knows maybe in the future they will advocate for illegal aliens to get driver licenses?
25
There have been 3 rapes and dozens of other sexual assaults on the subway in just the last year.
This is where the Left emboldens Trump and his supporters. The mere presence of police deters crime and saves lives. The Left needs to value human life and safety over this shameful virtue signaling.
44
Well, what about all the black and Hispanic men and women who pay their fares and obey the law? Are they of no consequence, or even worse, are they chumps for paying?
20
I would love The NY Times to publish how many people on their "Editorial Board" actually use the subway on a regular basis.
How many NY Timers have served in the Military or has family in the Military when they post an article about Plebes at the Army Navy Game passing the time with the "circle game" for the 6+ hours that they are on Duty before the game ever starts.
25
Don’t do it!” one protester shouted at board members, while being led out of the room. “Stop brutalizing our black and brown neighbors!”
By brutalizing, I assume the protestor is referring to legitimate arrests for criminal behavior. The corollary here is that we should not arrest black and brown boys because.......they are black or brown. Which in turn means that black and brown boys should be given a pass and allowed to commit so called minor crimes. Do not minimize minor crimes. They frighten, traumatize and anger innocent riders especially when these kids seem to behave with impunity and gloat about their ability to avoid punishment.
53
To clarify my last post. Having the odds of being the victim of a serious crime in the MTA's system according to the NYPD is 5-6 PER DAY! (5.6 Million riders per day).
The NYPD should set goals at making someones chances of being a victim one in ten million, or even a hundred million.
I know that when it bleeds it leads (or ledes), but you sometimes have to wonder whose side the editorial board is on.
12
Define “over-policing.” If you break the law, you face the consequences. Skin color doesn’t exempt you.
Sounds like the Times editorial board consulted the Fieldston School before publishing this.
25
The Nytimes doesn’t see robbery, people urinating next to you, turnstile jumpers as criminals. I wonder if the same things were happening next to their UES/UWS coops they would be saying he same thing?
33
It’s absurd to suggest that safety should be sacrificed to service. The MTA and city government is, in reality, making the subway patron less safe, particularly women. Why do I say this? Last week I found myself on a number 1 train which prominently displayed an ad with a women sitting on a toilet seat in knee-high black leather boots and naked up to her crotch. The byline was “do you phone and throne? Sanitize your phone with PhoneSoap.” I kid you not. I took a picture and posted on Instagram. I would upload it here if it were possible. It is provocative at best. Consider a woman riding the 1 train late at night with a few rowdy men. She is trapped in a car and no chance of escape. Do you think she feels safe? Do you think she’s concerned more about getting to where she is going on time or whether there may be a police man/woman in her car or at least on the train somewhere patrolling it? How about the the rider waiting for a subway late at night when a half crazed distraught person enters the station and starts screaming about killing someone. Is he/she thinking, at that point, “this service sucks” or “please let there be a cop down here somewhere.” Everyone can live with being late and having to wait more than expected. No one can,I’ve without their lives.
19
Cut back on social services for the citizens and increase the police/military presence to deal with the results.
4
Can someone explain to me why they keep installing new computer screens for advertising but refuse to actually fix the trains?? I am so sick of the MTA.
15
Using subways and other public transportation in almost any city outside of the US reminds one how different we have become. We're unruly, impolite, inconsiderate, loud and noisy. It's not just that the infrastructure is decaying, we're rapidly decaying as a society.
17
The editorial slant for awhile now has been to slowly brainwash its readers into a racial perspective on every issue, and it's encouraging to see for the most part that NY Times readers aren't buying it. Those of us who take the subway - and walk the streets - have eyes to see. It was out of control criminality in the 70s that led to over policing; maybe, just maybe the city can get it right before we end up there, and crack down in an appropriate way now. Can the focus not be on the race of the perpetrator?
41
Oh NY Police won’t help with crime.
I had a possible homeless guy attack me and kicking me in the subway. For no reason.
I told a police officer who seemed annoyed that he’d have to get off his phone. He threatened me then basically saying if he were to find the guy in the station I would have to ride in his car with the guy to the police station to file a report and then I’d have to go to court to testify. Was I willing to do that?
I’m like “I just told you someone attacked me. I don’t want other riders to also get attacked.”
NYPD harasses kids and minorities and they don’t want to be bothered with actual crime.
10
I believe that the appropriate solution to this is for the NYPD to withdraw 500 officers from patrolling the subway and MTA facilities.
2
Get the homeless off the subway! I would gladly pay more for my daily ride if I was guaranteed a safe ride and didn't have to deal with the stench and cars completely overtaken by the homeless. It is unacceptable!!
28
When the Times editorial board starts taking the subway on a daily basis we can do with less police, until then up the numbers—I want to be safe. Even Eric Adams feels we need more police.
19
It is pretty obvious that most of the editors don't have to ride the subway on a daily basis. For most New Yorkers, this is not a theoretical problem. Also, perhaps when turnstile jumpers are not 90% black or Hispanic the arrest records will not be so lopsided. Until then, thank you to New York's finest for helping keep the subways safe.
34
"Adding hundreds of officers to the transit system without good cause could also lead to the sort of over-policing of black and Hispanic boys and men that the city has seen before. Already, between October 2017 and June 2019, black and Hispanic people made up more than 90 percent of those arrested on charges of fare evasion."
Comment
To paraphrase Tacitus: "They stand the law on its head and they call it "over-policing"--exactly the kind of dizzying imbecility that helped drive many Obama voters to Trump, and will again do so.
25
It’s not about better service or more police; it’s about more police combined with more homeless services. At rush hour these days have the seats are taken up with vagrants in smelly filthy clothes sleeping in welcome warmth. There has to be a vigorous policy of relocating these folks to somewhere else that’s warm and let the rest of us get to work and school
12
In view of the editorial boards opinion on theft, I'll start grabbing a Sunday Times not pay, and save $6. I much prefer paper rather staring at a screen.
29
Ah - love to see the true colors of liberal consumers of the NYT when the rubber hits the road. Those who call for evermore tax increases in order that we may 'eradicate' whatever externality crops up after said policies were implemented in the first place. I find it curious that the author immediately gloms to "over-policing of black and brown boys" as the reason fare-beating arrests are up 90%. Perhaps black and brown fare-beating also increased by 90%?
This is not criminalization of poverty - we all walk by banks everyday which we choose not to rob. There is a serious lack of personal responsibility within certain cultures. Fix that and you fix nearly everything.
30
Here's an idea to help restore pride in our subways, long one of the world's most deeply penetrating and potentially efficient systems - if it is maintained. Many stations on older lines, and some on newer ones, are classically beautiful with their tiled walls, now hidden under the grime of "deferred maintenance " or simple neglect. How about organizing "friends of" groups of volunteers to help clean and refresh stations that need "a little more love"? This would build community as well as increase pride in something most of us depend on. It can be done; get permission from the TA and just do it. It's a fact of human nature; people will respect something that they're proud of.
7
The city has a long history of policing poverty and this move is the latest incarnation of a police tactic that unfairly targets minorities and the poor. While funding would certainly be better spent repairing MTA infrastructure issues (and one might ask if the MTA board’s compensation has something to do with their perennial lack of money), the more pressing concern here is the high-risk situation being created between an increasingly over-policed public and overzealous police officers. And as we saw with stop-and-frisk, these situations invariably lead to excessive and often lethal use of force by the police.
The police cannot fix the MTA. A more appropriate and effective response to some of the issues raised by riders would be to expand the city’s social safety net programs and increase social services (more affordable housing, increased shelter hours, and more rehabilitation programs). Yet still another option would be for riders to demand financial transparency by those at the top of the MTA.
4
Oh please! The subways are miserable not only because we have failed to address the homeless from a systemic perspective, but also because general chaos, disorder, misbehavior, and unpleasantness is accentuated in a very small space.
I'm not asking for roughing anyone up.
I am asking for the presence of officers who make people sit up and not occupy full benches and leap across turnstiles like gazelles! Citing the fact that serious crime statistics are basically flat, ignores the low level nuisance issues magnified in a small space: fare evasion, homeless folks occupying entire benches, and obnoxious anti-social behavior that in a subway car or station are three-hundred percent worse
29
My son lives in Williamsburg, Brooklyn and he has to ride the infamous L train. When was a kid in 1970 I lived up in the Bronx and my trains were the IRT (then) 4 and 6 and the (then) IND D train, both were good and IND was great.. so from what I have been on in Brooklyn into the city is the same train(s) they look that bad, there are cops everywhere though which could have helped me when I was a teen. The stairs are now perpendicular and I've had 2 hip replacements and balance is terrible when climbing up them and the I'm sure they haven't been cleaned since 1970, it's disgusting, my son loves the city, loves Brooklyn and to him it's all fine because he knows nothing else but the city subways are a barrier for the elderly, disabled, the trains are erratic and again I have to say walking down one of these perpendicular stairways is highly dangerous because of paper on the stairs, slip sliding down to your death type of scenarios pop into my head. I am always so sick of needing more first responders because all we do in America is worship at the church of cops, firemen and EMTs etc.. I remember the time when these people did a public service and we did not bow to the people in uniform they were just like me and you. Gone are those days unfortunately.
5
Although I live in Connecticut I ride the subways often and think The Times is wrong. Jumping turnstiles, vending without a license (and ignoring repeated warnings), sleeping recumbent on crowded cars is wrong and a crime. The "its only a minor misdemeanor" approach is misguided liberal nonsense. Everyone should be held to the same standard of behavior regardless of race. Being a person of color is no excuse for illegal and or rude behavior.
35
Free riders, literally and figuratively, wreck social systems. It doesn't matter whether it is a student along for a ride on a group project, a slacker at your office, or people jumping turnstyles or performing hip-hop too loud music no one else wants to hear be uptown Lexington Avenue local.
29
I disagree with this editorial. I can think of several times within the last year or two when I felt unsafe in the subways. Now that I think about it, I've written those off in my own mind as just part of living in NYC. But it doesn't have to be that way.
Also, just because these situations didn't become statistics doesn't mean they didn't happen. Not all crimes are reported, and not all scary situations necessarily rise to the level of criminality. I remember clearly, one night a guy who was drunk and high got on my face while I was sitting down, preventing me from getting up. I had to do everything to appease him so he would leave me alone. I was in a very vulnerable position.
Or that other time when two women got into it on the N at Queensboro Plaza during the morning commute. There was screaming and hair pulling and who knows what else. I went to one of the emergency call points and NOBODY picked up. There were no police on the platform, either. The apparent assailant got away on the train and the apparent victim was left sobbing and unhelped on the platform.
21
This is obvious to everyone and the budget going to the MTA for more police officers in the subway is just a windfall It does nothing to protect the subway. I do respect the police but I don’t respect the fact that they often stand around in groups wherever they are supposed to be patrolling. It’s probably for protection because it can be dangerous out there but adding 500 more people to stand around in groups will do nothing to make our subways work better.
8
Crime statistics tend to mean little to the people actually suffering from the crime.
Serious crime down 4% is little consolation to the people not included in the "down 4%".
The same for the rest of the statistics which as commentors have pointed out do not seem to relate to misdemeanors.
14
Twisted priorities - an intolerable situation.
How can people hold the officials who made this decision accountable?
3
We need both police and better services! Good grief! The New York Subway System is over 100 years old! It's falling apart! Sets of new trains to replace aging wrecks are never enough to undo the damage done by antiquated tracks, signals, stations, maintenance and architecture that comes from the beginning of the 20th century. It's a catastrophe waiting to happen.
The NYC subways need rebuilt and reimagined from the top to the bottom. When was the last batch of young engineers and designers of rail systems hired by NYC? Who goes to college to study urban rail systems? No one!
The NYC rail system cannot be sustained by piece-meal replacements of cars and tracks. A totally new system needs to be designed, engineered, financed, built and commissioned into operation. And this needs to happen now. Further more it needs to be done in conjunction with new bridges, tunnels and modern roadways across the City!
The Editorial Board of the NYT is right! We need, desperately need better service and a few police too.
I'm a New York City native, born and raised in the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens too. I love NY! I can't stand the subways. I remember our mother taking my young sister and I on the subways from the South Bronx at 138th Street to Manhattan and then on to Brooklyn at Prospect Park to Flatbush Ave. It was safe, fast and in those days, the early 1950s, it was good. More than 70 years have passed and I wouldn't make that trip today with young kids, alone, ever!
11
Absolutely. I will point out 1 statistic. I moved to Manhattan in April of 1988. The murder rate in New York City was close to 2000 people a years. Today, it is less than 1/4 of that. My point is, 1 policeman equals an additional offer for each mile of the entire system, and that is only for his normal work period: 8 hours a day, times 5 days a week. This is a drop in the bucket as far as any real deterrence. As the headline suggests, more trains means faster service. Of course, maintenance and repair of a system over a century old is the largest expense, and the rightly. I completely agree.
1
According to the MTA they lose $300M a year on fare evasion. The city has a program for people who need help called Fair Fares (with 45,000 people already enrolled). The city also pay for all K12 students who need metro cards in full (having recently done away with the partial fare they charged some students). The introduction of the Metro Card means that the average fare paid by New Yorkers has actually gone done over the years (while costs have gone up) All are excellent programs.
The issues of police abusing their power is very real. The cost of fare evasion is equally real. The enhanced police force could be used, in part, to educate people.
With real and affordable solutions in place those that need help can get it and those that don't need it need to paid their part for this resource that we all share.
6
While I agree with the opinion that New York City's subways are in need of repairs that could significantly improve the service and frequency of trains running, I disagree with the way crime data is being used in this analysis.
The reality is that most of the issues that necessitate having more policing of the subway stations and cars as deterrents are never actually reported as crimes.
Governor Cuomo is correct in saying that this is a quality of life issue, which is somewhat more difficult to quantify than traditional violent crime statistics. While I now infrequently ride the subway, I have noticed that almost every time I ride, regardless of what car, subway line or time of day, I encounter panhandlers, riders playing loud music or performing aerobic acts for money, and sometimes aggressive riders exhibiting mental health issues.
The problem is that I do what everyone else does and I ignore them or continue reading and go about my day. I certainly don't report them, nor can riders ever seem to find a police officer in a subway station to alert them about what is going on.
Eventually I just stopped taking the subway. I'm fortunate enough to be able to walk to work, but that means that the MTA is losing revenue from riders like me who pay for a subway pass. A monthly unlimited MetroCard is now $127 a month or $1,524 per year. Multiply that lost revenue off of other fed up riders and it's clear the MTA could be using those funds to make a lot of repairs.
18
Fare beaters cost the MTA 200 million a year. And then they raise the fare on those of us who pay to make up for these fare beaters.
Fare beaters who are in possession of iphones, tattoos, expensive sneakers, cigarettes and vapes can afford to pay their fare.
38
The New York Times has editorialized repeatedly against asking people to pay their fares. Only polite, decent citizens should have to pay; jerks ride free.
17
Under De Blasio crime in the subways has increased because when you instruct the police to turn a bling eye to fare evasion, and all manner of so-called "low level crimes" in the subway and bus system, you have created and cultivated a perception of lawlessness, which has now become a reality.
Why? Well, if you can walk onto MTA subways and buses without paying the fare, sleep across multiple seats on the subway, smoke dope on the subway, play loud music on the subway, “surf" on subway cars, pull the emergency brake for fun, why not assault bus drivers that dare to challenge fare dodgers, or passengers that dare to ask you to move your bag so they can sit down.
The public and NYPD should not not tolerate criminality and anti-social behavior on our public transportation system. Period. Behaviors that are not just against the law, but are an assault on the fundamental tenants of a living in a safe and open society.
If these behaviors are driven by a larger issue of class and racism, then let’s have that debate, but not while under duress.
32
I have been very disappointed by the Byford reign. Right from the beginning, there was a renewed emphasis on policing the subway. I see this pro-police culture every day in increased signs on the trains warning against fare evasion and other transit "crimes." There is something very disturbing about this emphasis on arresting people because they don't have $2.75.
For now, I'll continue to hold the door open for others after I pass through with my stroller (that I carry up & down 6 flights of stairs daily, usually with the help of other New Yorkers). I'll continue to use my monthly $127 pass to swipe others through. These are my small acts of defiance until things start to change.
23
@Gabrielle
The only thing you are "defying" is basic law and order.
50
@Gabrielle
What exactly would you like changed?
You must know so let's hear it. Nothing vague but specifics.
Otherwise you're just part of the problem.
24
Oh, pish. They have the fare. As with everything else -- tossing the candy wrappers, unzipping and urinating into apartment building shrubbery, yelling -- they're just sticking it to the rest of us.
Aren't we tired of feral behavior and then getting rebuked for our middle-class values?
48
NY Times editorial writers should leave their ivory towers and ride the E train between Manhattan and Queens. There are literally homeless people in each car, many of whom babble to themselves and walk around aimlessly. As long as the subways are a de facto homeless shelter, we need more police to protect riders from the sense of menace that the homeless often provide.
36
I agree with so many others on this issue. Usually I agree with the NYT on issues, but on this issue you're just wrong. Day after day I watch people jumping turnstiles and taking many seats on the subways to sleep while commuters have to stand or maneuver around these folks, all after they've paid for their trips.
NYC is a liberal city, and that's one of the reasons I have loved calling it home for 30 years, but that doesn't mean it has to be a lawless city. We can help people who need help, and still enforce laws. Both can be done. If people can't afford to pay for the subway there are plenty of city and social agencies that can help them with a free metrocard. But suggesting that we should look the other way while people regularly beat fares is a slap in the face to hard working New Yorkers who pay each day for this subway system that so badly needs people to pay their share to pay for the system they want to have. Hire the officers...it will help us all.
157
Is the NYT ok with tens of millions of dollars lost every YEAR
To fare beaters? They barely mention it.
When i lived in NYC for over 40 years, It always bugged me when i would witness a person hopping the turnstile while i put in my token and later Metrocard.
17
I've lived in New York 30 years, but it's only in the last couple years that I've seen such frequent illegal, disorderly behavior. I see fare beating every subway trip. I also see people walking into restricted areas at the end of subway platforms, into the tunnels. Smoking on platforms. Standing between moving subway cars and urinating. Eating on subway trains, then throwing the garbage under the seats...
I believe this would only increase and become normalized if the police presence wasn't being stepped up. It's unfortunate, but it seems necessary. Whoever wrote this editorial must either never take the subway, or just isn't paying attention.
22
@Michael Or they just can’t see the truth through their cloud of bias.
6
The subways need better service AND more police.
15
A family of four would need to shell up to 500$ for 4 unlimited metro cards a month. The majority of riders do not go on multiple rides a day and over the month. The weekly and monthly cards are simply overpriced for many riders and families. The additional police force is a waste of capital unless you will have them guard the entrances and keep away the homeless and the beggars.
2
We should not have to pick one or the other, subway service vs. safety--we should have both. You can trot out all the crime statistics you want. There is no getting around the gestalt of our current subway. It has become a literal cesspool of vagrants, often aggressive panhandlers and farebeaters.
Where is the law-abiding taxpayer's rights to be able to get to and from their destination without feeling like they have to hold their breath, literally and figuratively? Why, dear NYT Editorial Board, must you continually romanticize urban decay and the erosion of our public spaces?
23
How does the editorial board at the NYT trivialize three murders and rapes as just statistics in big city, yet other crimes which are completely random or targeted at on a small few in a city of millions garner the demand for justice?
When the NYT uses such an unbalanced scale to measure how much reporting goes into certain issues, It becomes nothing more than a political mouthpiece rather than a fair arbiter of what's going on. It should be that the things that have the most impact on the general public get the most reporting and scrutiny from the press.
Having a 1 in a million chance of being a victim of a serious crime in the NYC Subway system is unacceptably high odds when that is possibly 5-6 of my neighbors, family or friends. So maybe 500 more police in the MTA's system is not such a bad thing, even if the NYT thinks that removal of Churro vendors matter more than a million NYC school kids who may take the subway each year or the millions who use it to get to work each day.
12
"Already, between October 2017 and June 2019, black and Hispanic people made up more than 90 percent of those arrested on charges of fare evasion."
In other words, we should only enforce the law when the racial split of arrests doesn't cause discomfort to white liberals?
27
Increased police presence IS better service, per se.
The increased police presence will pay for itself in terms of safety and cutting down on fare-beating. Hardly a day goes by when I don't see someone jumping a turnstile, squeezing in at a turnstile that's been moved backwards, or people sneaking in through the auxiliary gates.
I don't want to hear that these are poor people. Nonsense. The fare is $2.75, a lot less than cigarettes, vapes, tattoos, cellphones and booze, all items that I see these degenrates using.
The other day while I was entering the l 34th Street station I just saw at least 6 people, all with full Christmas shopping bags skip the turnstile and sneak in using the swinging doors. Poor little, disadvantaged, minimum-wage Christmas shoppers!
I am a white white-guy. I have been stopped and frisked around the subway at least three times by police. I was wanded, had my pockets and briefcase searched, and had my stuff swabbed. Know what? I didn't care. If this is what we need to do to curtail crime and cut out post-9/11 terrorism and keep us safe then so be it.
20
Disorder is everywhere in the subway, and it is obvious to any subway commuter that more police are long overdue.
26
I think the New York Times should write a story that breaks down how much money is being spent within the MTA and where specifically it is being spent. As the years go by we continue to hear that the organization is having financial troubles and one wonders why that is.
7
I know this article pertains to NYC, but here in Chicago we have the same issues. Chicago needs many more cops on trains and platforms. The CTA is a "wild west" experience. Poor service, and within minutes of every ride, one can see laws being broken, harassment, etc. No accountability for lawbreakers. Need more cops.
17
Well I guess we know the NYTimes’ EB doesn’t take the subway.
They should be ashamed for discouraging the presence of more police.
The decrease in civility among subway riders is alarming.
30
"James O’Neill noted that the chance of being the victim of a serious crime in the subway is about one in a million.".....
What does that even mean? Neither this article or the article by Mr. O'Neill (linked) defines what serious crime is or gives any actual numbers (total crimes) to even wrap our minds around. Serious crime, petit crime, harassment, unreported crimes? My wife and my niece have been victims of crime so that's two in a million right there. The NYT is becoming increasingly out of touch.
15
"The hiring of these officers is not just a misuse of funds. It’s a blow to the fragile public trust that officials had finally earned in their promising efforts to turn around New York’s subway system."
This statement is a joke, right? You really are kidding, aren't you. Do you really believe this to be a misuse of funds, and that crime is down? What world are you living in?
Just because our elected officials have changed what they classify to be a crime, and, deemed low level crimes like smoking pot or fare evasion "non crimes" does not mean this is true.
Keep in mind, when considering this, that our illustrious Mayor has decided, rather than incarcerate those that commit crimes, he is going to give them Metrocards and Mets tickets to those who show up in court. And, you really believe crime is down? (Keep dreaming!) Or, that the definition of a crime has been altered to enhance favorable statistics?
As they say: wake up and smell the coffee!
26
This editorial is mistaken. The subway needs both more police and more service. If the subway 'feels' unsafe, New York suffers massively, ridership will decrease, money woes will worsen, and a downward spiral begins. Perhaps you are too young to remember what the subway used to be like in the early nineties. New Yorkers are incredibly pragmatic when it comes to the basics - and the city needs to do whatever is necessary to make the subway safe, pleasant and efficient.
15
Unfortunately this seems to be a very New York solution to almost every problem—just throw cops at it. Not from the city, but every time I visit I’m struck by what a hyper capitalist police state it has become.
4
@Andrew
Yeah, 9/11 kinda changed a lot of things for us forever. We don’t even see all of the good undercover work.
Poverty should not be an excuse to do the crime, but it is increasingly used as an excuse by some of our elected officials. Safe travel for the public should be assured, not a politically incorrect choice.
14
@Andrew You did not witness September 11 as we did. You also don’t ride the subway daily as we do.
6
If you multiplied the pop of your home town to match that of New York, I wonder what the size of your police force would be.
2
Not sure police are there to focus on the fare beating. The subway system is a target for those who would like to harm a lot of people with one blow. So additional police presence is okay. Public transportation should be free and safe.
3
For those that don’t get out much, the NYC subway system is a national disgrace.
Dirty, filthy, urine soaked, old, dilapidated and generally ugly, it is an apt symbol of a Democratic controlled city.
13
And it got that way under Republican control....
6
Cuomo is sucking up to the PBA Union. I travel for business and visit numerous cities throughout the United States. The NYC subway and the LIRR are simply the worst in the US.
I've been using both since 1984 and only two things have changed:
1. The service levels have declined
2. The cost has gone up (dramatically)
If nothing has changed inn35 years, nothing will ever change. I've stopped complaining because nothing will ever get done.
6
I have never forgotten the time when I was accused of jumping a turnstile and not paying the fare.
I was a black male in my early thirties. It was in the 1980s in Brooklyn where I lived at the time, so long ago that the system required tokens (an item that would completely mystify today's younger subway riders). As soon as I deposited the token and entered the subway platform, a white transit police officer immediately confronted me and stated that I didn't pay.
I was shocked and felt insulted, because I was also employed with no arrest record and I had plenty of money. I was morally outraged because I had never stolen any service or thing in my life. I told him strongly, right away, that yes, I definitely did pay! But I didn't make a scene or act in a hostile or threatening manner.
However, another factor was present. I was accompanied by a close Latino friend whose fare I had also paid. He vouched for me. The police officer had not known that we were together. Suddenly there was a witness to support me. The officer backed down only because of my friend.
I wasn't arrested.
6
New York subways do need more police. I haven’t felt safe there in the past several years. Anyone who is against more police anywhere is against law and order. I have sympathy for victims, not criminals.
19
If I get to work without being harassed or threatened on the subway I consider it a good day. Even if crime is down, so is quality of life during a subway ride. Often, almost daily, the stench is unbearable. Passengers flee from the stench and crowd nearby cars. Sometimes I run to escape the erratic behavior of an insane individual into the next car only to find two crazies in that car. And, then there are the groups of young thugs who find it entertaining to bully and frighten others, blocking doorways, tripping passengers as they exit. Myself and others have switched using the nearest subway station, because it has turned into an open toilet. And, then there are the gropers. So I welcome an increased police presence.
32
The entire climate of the city of NY is out of control. Starting with the misguided lunacy of De Blasio, the racial climate of NYC is a negative, damaged, and dangerous one. The level of crime in NYC has increased since his mayoral terms began. And this is because he stopped aggressive enforcement. Giuliani and Bloomberg looked at safety first, and created a climate of normalcy in the city. Now it is a climate of dangerous hostility. The subway is merely another place where the out-of-control hoodlums have control.
26
As police state NYC tightens it's grip and endless money flows to our protectors, they proclaim "protect and serve"
What a shame maybe we should give Lady Liberty back to France.
The French have been in the streets protesting injustice for one year while Americans get fatter and fatter and deeper in debt.
1
Just another investment in the police state that this nation has become all in the name of security. Time for people to take back the power. Jury nullification Everybody walks until the political hacks get the message. Don’t mess with the liberties the constitution provides
1
The increased number of cops makes me nervous, like maybe a crime was just committed, or they’re looking for someone.
2
If crime is down it's largely because the police have simply stopped enforcing the law either by "decriminalizing" crimes or by simply refusing to prosecute more serious crimes as personified by the pathetic Eric Gonzalez, the DA of Brooklyn, who refuses to prosecute numerous gun crimes.
Additionally just a couple of months ago subway crime was up, so I find this sudden report of a "drop" suspicious though perhaps it has to do with cherry picking what constitutes "serious crime."
We're tired of people like this freak getting away with repeat subway crimes that endanger us all: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/04/nyregion/nyc-brake-bandit-subway-surfing.html?searchResultPosition=26
We're tired of being told that assault isn't a serious crime. The guy who bludgeoned four homeless people to death in Chinatown, first demonstrated his violent proclivities by attacking an Italian tourist on the subway, but our feckless city DA's let him go until he literally piled up bodies.
And on Jan 1 when the state's ridiculous new law that prevents the police from holding just about anyone goes into effect, we'll absolutely need those cops. Among the supposedly, "non-violent" offenders who will be released are perpetrators of domestic violence and robbery. Because hey, clearly being charged with a crime that includes the word, "violence" is still non-violent and good news for Tessa Major - her robbers, who killed her when she fought back, were "non-violent." Stop defending criminals, NYT>
31
@Jon P
I think the new police hires are related to the new laws effective Jan. 1, 2020.
2
Myopic... NYC’s problems have become deeper than just better subway service and more cops. I regularly see people sleeping on the trains during morning rush hour on the relatively brand new Q line. A few weeks ago there were two people asleep in the train car- I actually took a picture but can’t include in a comment. How did the subway system get to this crisis point in the first place? How did the people sleeping on the subway cars get there in the first place? Address those things! Nothing will ever be effectively solved otherwise, only covered up. The hard working and high tax paying people of New York City deserve better than that.
P.S. five to seven minutes between trains at rush hour in Manhattan is absurd!
10
@KANYC
The subway sleepers are chronic homeless, mostly with mental illness or drug addiction. The shelters they can go to are not safe, including the risk having their personal effects stolen.
They are sleeping on the subway trains because in bad weather, especially the cold, it is the safest place for them. In winter they usually choose the lines that are underground for most of the route which means there is a homeless person or two on every car overnight and beyond.
Creating some sort of safe and supported housing is very expensive and might even encourage more people from other places to move to NYC. NYC government for generations has tried to fix this, but it isn't as easy as it sounds.
BTW, take a ride on the new Los Angeles Metro. The homeless are also sleeping on the trains.
5
Addicted and mentally ill people should be in well-run institutions where they can be put on and kept on meds that might relieve them of their inner demons.
Liberal psychiatrists and politicians have a funny definition of freedom.
Freedom to be trapped in sick minds.
3
On just one weekday I encountered: an incoherent women crouching over her dropped needles (Penn Station), A man passed out cold on the steps leading down to 59th St Columbus Circle, a group of boys jumping turn styles at 190 A stop in full view of the MTA worker in the booth.
Yeah we need some supervision in our subways as well as improved service.
27
You cannot ride the subway without being subject to panhandlers of varying degrees of sanity. A savy New Yorker knows that a near empty car on a crowded train means there's a homeless person in there who smells so bad you wonder if you can endure it till the next stop so you can run to the next car...which of course is jam packed because of all the other riders who have done the same.
The attitude that there are other more pressing needs than basic quality-of-life and rule of law, or that there's nothing to be done, or that it is somehow cruel to enforce the law, is what ushered in Rudy Giuliani when he promised to stop the "squeegy men." As we can rely less and less on common decency, when what is right becomes what he can get away with (you know who I mean) we look to the rule of law with a jaundiced eye of hope.
14
I strongly disagree with this editorial. I understand and deeply empathize with the issue of policing communities of color. Racism, police brutality, and innocent lives lost are unacceptable. That being said, police can and do have a beneficial effect - one that is certainly needed on the subway. I also fully understand that the expense of the subway is often too high for many. The city should do much more to subsidize those costs.
At the end of the day however, if I or anyone twice a day stole from the grocery store around the corner I would be arrested. If I took the M&M's from Duane Reade, I would be arrested. People need to pay for what everyone else is paying for or face the consequences. It really is that simple.
As for policing, the cost perhaps outweighs the gain vis-a-vis fare evasion, but from an anecdotal perspective the "grit" of the subway has gotten much worse, even as service has gotten somewhat better. Here are some instances: at my station there is a burnt out wall because a homeless person pushed his cart on the tracks causing a fire, last week I saw an individual grabbing women and yelling at them in the Times Square passageway, last winter a man pulled a knife on the subway car and began muttering "prophecies" to himself. In each case no police were around. More police presence will deter these actions (and ultimately hopefully help get these mentally ill people the aid they need). Oh and I'd take better service, too.
105
@Ben It should also be noted that NYC already does a LOT to subsidize subway fares. The elderly, students, and the disabled are already eligible for discounted or free Metro Cards and the very poor have the Fair Fares program (which costs as much per year as the additional cops) that offers half price Metro Cards.
And given the plethora of social services and programs for the poor in New York and our $15/hr minimum wage, I don't think it's unreasonable to expect everyone, even the poor, to contribute a few bucks to a service that's a vital artery of our city.
29
“The law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal bread.”
5
@Ben "At the end of the day however, if I or anyone twice a day stole from the grocery store around the corner I would be arrested. If I took the M&M's from Duane Reade, I would be arrested. "
Ben, unfortunately, this will change too. Our illustrious Mayor has decided rather than arrest and incarcerate these people, starting in the new year, he is going to give them tickets for the Mets at Citifield, and, free metrocards.
17
As someone who has lived in NYC close to eight years, I take the subway daily like most people, and occasionally struggle, especially with going up & down the too narrow subway stairs — as I do have a physical disability, a mild case of Cerebral Palsy but I can walk on my own — which can be invisible to the naked eye and so always need to take my time. I thought the MTA voted on/was working to make ALL (or the majority of) stations more accessible to people, especially those with disabilities (but perfectly fully-able bodied people would benefit greatly too) but yet I have seen very little commitment! Why hire more transit police when subway crime is DOWN? I am fine with delays, etc., but to spend MORE MONEY on Police and renege on a promise to make stations more physically accessible is unconscionable!
8
I have so little faith in the MTA's ability to spend money wisely that I am inclined to agree to use extra funds for more police. At least we can be reasonably sure there'll be some benefit.
And by the way, why isn't the MTA's well-earned reputation as a rat hole for funding regulary addressed, as it should be, for instance, in this very editorial?
10
What is the benefit you see to added police presence, if there is already so little crime?
1
When trains are packed (due to poor service) people get frustrated and angry with each other. These frustrations are compounded when brought back to their communities and families. While some people may feel safer with having more cops visibly present, improving service would be a much better investment for the greater good.
3
Trains are delayed, over-crowded, or broken. Platforms are over-crowded, sometimes dangerously so (ever try making your way at Union Square, along its narrow platform, just to find a spot to stand and wait?!), and those of us with mobility issues find it even more challenging. These are the most pressing problems, along with the broken trains signals sending it all to a screeching halt.
8
I'm from Los Angeles but come to New York regularly, and I love the subway. I'm rarely inconvenienced; I don't feel unsafe. Now and then it's dirty. I'm regularly offended by people jumping the turnstiles and sneaking in the exits. They're usually young, and they don't appear poor. I get the same feeling when I see someone paint-spraying a wall or shoplifting.
13
Can anyone in this town think in non-binary terms. New York's subway needs better service, but I'm sorry, it also needs more cops.
39
@brian :"Can anyone in this town think in non-binary terms."
No. In fact very few in this country can or will think in non-binary terms. In the words of a great NYC musician and philosopher:
"It's either the best or it's the worst
and since I don't have to choose
I guess I won't..."
7
Has anyone ever seen the annual report of the MTA. I'd love to know where all the money really goes.
12
I agree with the writer, we don't need more police, we need more TRAINS. Wait times are long, particularly at night and on weekends. Put that money into fixing the signals faster. 8 and 10 minute wait times for a train in the middle of the day are pathetic.
Also more trains would relieve massive overcrowding, not only at rush hour but mid day.
46
@Bocheball How about both??? Ever ride the trains outside of Manhattan? Not only are there huge service issues, but there are huge safety issues. People in Manhattan seem to forget that there are people in the boroughs who are in two fare zones (extend the subways!!!!) and that many of the stations in Queens (J line anyone?) are dilapidated and sometimes unsafe.
17
Thank you— YES. I travel eight stops to work at 6:30 in the morning and regularly wait over 20 combined minutes for the two lines I take.
6
Just one anec dote from one New Yorker, but here it is:
I was pushing my kids in a stroller and at the Atlantic-Pacific stop I asked the station agent if there was an elevator on the platform, (since I had trouble carrying both kids and the stroller up a few sets of stairs at the last station, where the elevator was out of service). She was so oddly aggressive in response and yelled at me there was not an elevator there. She added, as if mystified, "Man, how could that be?"
A cop overheard the exchange and said, "There actually is an elevator. I'll guide you to it."
I thought about writing a complaint about her to the MTA but let it go thinking she might be going through something.
In retrospect, what I should have done was written to the precinct to say how much I truly appreciated the cop.
184
I also had an MTA worker yell at me when the card machine ate my subway card with $20 on it. I was only asking what I should do to get a refund and he was in the booth where they are supposed to help even. He physically turned his body away after yelling to go back to his phone game and ignored the 3 other people at the window also asking questions. At least 10 people jumped the turnstile during this. Sadly, I did file a complaint and never heard back despite 3 attempts. I even described the incident when I filled out the paperwork for my refund. Not only did I get no response for the refund after a few tries, I never got my money back. I wrote my local rep and also the mayor's office and still nothing. The police are a very welcome addition to the chaos. They are polite and helpful.
54
@TlalocBrooklyn
The MTA workers have gotten weird not that they don't actually have to interact with people.
5
It's been years since I heard anyone personally complain about subway crime. What I hear regularly, at least a few times a week, are complaints about extended delays, old equipment, and dirty stations.
What's also frustrating is that this seems more a Cuomo power play rather than something to help NYC commuters.
53
@stephen beck
The majority of rolling stock is highly functional. I can't remember the last time I was on a train that had to be taken out of service for mechanical reasons, or with inoperative doors. This used to be much more prevalent.
The bulk of the "dirty stations" problem, as far as I see it, is the result of thoughtless riders who have little respect for others.
And yes, the system has to cease to be a political football. But it's not just Albany - it's DC as well. (And it wouldn't hurt to have the revenue from farebeaters.)
11
@EdNY
What does the federal government have to do with it? NYC already gets way more than its fair share of the 5% the federal taxpayer contributes to transportation nationwide.
2
@ebmem
That isn't true. New York City and California's federal mass transit funds are unfairly capped, and the government expends vast sums subsidizing roads that are of less benefit to urban areas.
Remember too that New York City is a net tax donor state to the federal government. It is robbed of tax revenues to subsidize the state, and the state is robbed of tax revenues to subsidize the more rural red states to the tune of thousands of dollars *per person* per year. Those states receive massive amounts of pork, while New Yorkers have their tax revenues robbed and are left with absurdly high taxes and crumbling transportation services.
43
My in-laws in their 60s were attacked in the subway. The fought back and got back eye and stitches to show for it. A bystander caught it on video.
However, the police refused to file a report. There's the reason that crime is low. The police apparently have been instructed no to file reports so there is no record of a crime.
63
@Grace That is exactly right. NYC’s “low” crime rates are now low because criminals are not being arrested or prosecuted for crimes that would have been handled that way in recent years.
I’m sorry about what happened to your in-laws. I wish more people would speak about crimes in the subway that have happened to them or their families and friends.
23
@Grace
" A bystander caught it on video. "
Another NY "hero"
7
As a daily, and often nightly, rider, I couldn't disagree more. Over the past several years, I've noticed feeling less and less safe, and have experienced more and more intimidating encounters with other riders. I welcome more police. It's about time.
213
I agree with Dana. I am a life long New Yorker and I no longer feel safe on the subway. During rush hour some stations turn into a literal free for all as riders surge through open exit doors without paying - in front of a manned booth! I have never seen this behavior before in my life. It is unnerving and scary. More crazy people, threatening people, unstable homeless people - It is a situation that is out of control and I welcome more police. Don’t expect drivers and booth attendants to put their lives on the line. Buses should not move unless everyone pays their fare.
33
@Dana
Do you "feel" less safe because you are less safe, or is it something in YOUR head?
4
I’m not sure how many of the NYT Editorial Board ride the subways on a regular basis. If they do it would be hard for them to miss, the fare beaters, the homeless, the panhandlers, the unruly youths and illegal food vendors.
While some Midtown stations have been cosmetically cleaned up the above problems persist. When you ride to the other boroughs the stations aren’t so nice.
The MTA has been mismanaged for years and Mike Bloomberg had 12 years to address the fiscal and physical issues. He took his short ride surrounded by security.
The Governor also has had many opportunities to address the MTA problems and now he wants to add more Police.
I feel that the NYPD Officers are already being vilified for following orders issued by the Governor and the Mayor too.
13
Obviously the editorial board doesn’t ride the subway, or ignores the multitude of problems that abound. I can’t count the times I’ve wished there was an officer aboard my train to deter crime or just poor behavior. It shouldn’t come down to a citizen having to risk their lives to intervene on behalf of a stranger. That’s great that we’ll do it, but I usually don’t plan on fighting crime on my ride home.
45
When I take the C train I often see cars that date back to the 70ties. It was promised to us years ago that they would be replaced by 2014. They are wobbly, screechy and uncomfortable.
2
We need both better service and more police, but those police need to be better trained not only in enforcement procedures, but in how to defuse bad situations and how to show empathy.
4
@JF If by "showing empathy" you are suggesting police look the other way if someone is evading the fare or otherwise breaking the law, no thank you. The fact that there are now organized, anti-cop protests where the protestors are outraged that fare-evasion is being cracked down on is absolutely ridiculous. The utter lawlessness at play is astounding. New York City is sliding back to the dark days of the 1970's and early '80's. The New York Times calling for less law enforcement down below is yet another sign of liberalism run amok.
15
Accusations of "over-policing" are nonsense: If a group is more likely to jump the turnstiles, its members are more likely to be arrested, and if a woman is hawking churros, she is violating the rules and should be arrested too; the subways are not the place to do that.
While more service would of course be welcome, the constant stream of beggars, "musicians," addicts, and peddlers is one of the worst aspects of riding the subway, and a failure to enforce the law only leads to more misbehavior as people conclude that they can get away with it.
The graffiti plague, subway crime -- we have seen the effectiveness of the broken window approach. The way to control these offenses is not to tolerate them, but to enforce the law rigorously. Once people realize that they are likely to be penalized, the misbehavior will stop, and money can be directed elsewhere.
133
@Josh Hill
The Board complains that: "black and Hispanic people made up more than 90 percent of those arrested on charges of fare evasion, " citing it as evidence of racial bias.
I bet that "black and Hispanic people" make more than 90% of fare evaders.
99
@Kai Said Kai, helpfully providing the clearest possible evidence of racial bias.
4
@Wayne Salazar
Let's place cameras over every turnstile. I will be VERY happy to retract my hypothesis (which is based on my observation).
23
The unfortunate souls who make the subways and the subway stations their homes should be under the care of the City, State, and Federal governments, not the subway riders. The Police don't want them and actually encourage them to be there unless they are bothering someone. It's unacceptable that on my token for the subways to be their refuge. We pay taxes to help people, not criminalize them, but it's criminal for the MTA to spend money on "quality of life" matters while ignoring the rest of the ridership. They are miss allocating our token money and not serving the greater good.
17
2 issues here being conflated: Safety and service. Safety is worse bc more people cannot afford to live in this city-for-the-rich; they try to beat fares, live in the cars and stations,etc. But service is poor from lack of planning and $. There is NO reason other than cheapness and bad management why we are so far behind other large cities when it comes to proper maintenance and future planning for mass transit. One sick example- Bloomberg’s selfish run for President. Just imagine what his millions $ could have done for the system.
2
How is your subway today different from your father or grand father's subway. Compare that to someone living in say London or China?
Nothing will change until the MTA spends say 1-2% of its budget on R&D - rather than pay raises, or more police. No organization - especially a protected monopoly, can keep up with the times expecting its vendors to do its R&D in order to offer it cheaper, more efficient, solutions.
How about lighter trains that use less energy? How about squeezing more trains on the lines during rush hours? How about more efficient construction. The whole operation is stuck in the past.
Demand modernity from your MTA!
8
This, from a NY Times article dated February 4, 2019.
“ . Subway leaders are also worried about a rise in fare evasion — a problem they say drains more than $200 million in revenue from the system each year.”
The article also states that even though subway crime is way down, it’s starting to “creep up” again.
Must we wait until it actually gets back to the crime level of the “bad old days” or might it actually be prudent to nip it in the bud and stop the trend now.
And, collecting some of that $200 million a year lost to fare beaters might actually pay for the extra cops!
The Times really should read it’s own newspaper sometimes before writing an editorial!
42
@SAH Love it! So true! Fare beaters cost those of us who pay our fare.
8
Aggressive panhandling and crime affect the safety of us all while massive fare evasion mocks us and steals from taxpayer coffers.
How exactly does NYT Board think that increased investment will disincentivize those who are breaking the law?
35
You'd think that whoever penned this editorial would know that any right thinking person would respond, "Actually, they need BOTH!"
Too many New Yorkers have been knocked around - boxing style - by the still awful unreliability problem.... But many are "knocked out" [i.e., they've given up on mass transit] by the homeless bedding down in stations or in cars, the stream of mendicants, the clearly different-and-proud-of-it teens forcing the rest of us to listen to X-Rated music, etc.
What ARE tje tens of thousands of cops down there doing? ANDY - "There's a delay due to police activity" is opaque. Was it a pick-pocket? Was it someone harassing a female passenger?
We don't need a detailed report, but when THAT is what is making us 10 or 30 minutes late for a meeting, can you blame us for thinking that this is simply bad judgment on his part.
In fact, those actions would be criminal in other circumstances - we're being denyied service - thousands of us! Yes, some small crimes - jumping turnstyles, say - are simply MORE likely to happen during rush hours, but is there no one with a brain working in "law enforcement" - someone who realizes that the "remedy" is objectively far worse than the infraction?
The photo actually shows a cop on a train. I, who ride the subways almost every day, have a hard time remembering when I last saw one of those. Phones could be put to good use summoning a "flying squad" to address the things/people who are helping Uber and killing mass transit!
8
@edTow AGREE with all your points. I was going home on the 1 line last night just after midnight and I've never seen a high concentration of homeless people on the subway in my 15 years in the city! The subway represents DeBlasio's failed policies regarding homelessness, quality of life in NYC, and failure to improve subway service (yeah, I know he doesn't control the MTA, but let's not pretend he doesn't have influence).
I have also NEVER seen a cop on the train
14
The governors thinking is so dumbed down it's like a stereotype from a 70s crime drama. He has no idea how we live in the city,
2
The churros lady was given multiple citations and opportunities to leave the station. If someone died from food poisoning from eating her churros people would be complaining why was she allowed to continue selling churros dispite so many citations.
33
goodies and baddies an age old earthly dilemma...
Under Mayor DeBlasio, the subways are worse than ever; filthier, late, broken down, flooded and overrun with rats with us down there packed in like sardines. The police don't seem to do anything except hang around with each other in groups of 3 or 4 on the platforms and text or play video on their cell phones. Meanwhile in the trains, panhandlers are everywhere, mentally ill people are raging, and homeless sleeping in their own filth in the stations and in the trains.
Are we spending $20.00 to catch a $2.75 fare beater trying to get out of the cold and rain?
Want to improve the subway? Put 500 social workers and mental health workers down there.
And if the conductors could get a lesson or two about customer service and stop screaming at the passengers about the subway doors, that would be a bonus!
50
Sharon, DiBlasio doesn’t control the subways; Cuomo does. Beyond that, they were far worse in the 70s and 80s and have been improving under the new MTA leadership. That said, having experienced more modern systems in many other countries, I agree that the subways still need to get much better.
7
@Sharon
"Are we spending $20.00 to catch a $2.75 fare beater trying to get out of the cold and rain?"
I'm sure that fare beater is not paying twice a day, five days a week, for a total of $110.00 a month and $1,320.00 for the year.
The MTA says it took a $215 million hit from fare evasion in 2018, and has projected an even bigger loss this year.
$2.75 may sound trivial but $215,000,000.00 is not.
23
@Sharon
Excellent point. Clerks in department stores are not allowed to bring their cells onto the sales floor, but cops may use them while on duty. Why? So they can circumvent official communication channels? Or to allow them to NOT pay attention to what they are supposed to be doing?
10
The Times can quote all the statistics it wants--but anyone who has ever ridden the NYC subways on a regular basis (I rode them for 35 years) has experienced at least once--crime, harassment or miscreant behavior that would have been deterred by a cop on patrol. Don't tell poor people riding to or from work in the lonely hours of the morning that having a cop in their car isn't a comfort.
Don't tell the huge number of tourists fumbling with maps and their English and worrying about getting lost--that having cops around is a comfort.
Yes, the subways are desperately in need of more reliable service. That is painfully obvious but takes many months,if not years , as we know, just from the example of L line repairs now underway.
By opposing safety (which is largely a matter of how it is perceived) and better service this opinion piece misses the essential point entirely: reliable , safe and clean subways drive the economic engine of the city ,bolster real estate values, attract tourism and talent and fight climate change more than any other investment that the State and City can make.
26
This editorial is so clearly out of touch. The train systems have become defacto homeless shelters. Police might not be the -best- solution, but something definitely must be done to fix the situation and protect other riders.
Ride the F train any night or morning and you will have a hard time finding a car without at least one man sleeping across a bench. Even during the day, homeless riders can often be found inebriated or agitated, sometimes shouting to themselves or confronting other passengers. Often their odor or hygiene will be nauseating - in recent weeks I have seen men with festering wounds and soiled clothing wander through crowded aisles.
Other riders are forced to avoid aggravating the aggressive ones, avoid contact with the filthy ones, and to crowd wherever space is not being used for sleeping. Women, children, and the elderly are left to feel particularly vulnerable.
The individuals I'm describing are not in any means representative of ALL homeless people - many of whom are well-adjusted, earnest, but down-on-their luck individuals and families - but they are a substantial presence. Likewise, I don't lack sympathy for the homeless - unstable or otherwise - but the solution to one humanitarian crisis is not to saddle the city's transit systems with a function they're not suited for.
58
"Black and Hispanic people made up more than 90% of those arrested on charges of fare evasion".
What is the percentage of" fare evaders" who are black and hispanic?
The Editorial Board treats "the police" as the problem while almost all Americans are thankful for their presence.
57
If riders don’t pay their fare, you won’t have a subway system—period.
30
If we get more cops, great. But hopefully they will actually do some work. Case in point: I got off the F train last Saturday at 18th av in Brooklyn, two cops were downstairs huddled around the radiators candy crushing on their phones, not enforcing fare evasion or actively policing in any way.
And by the way, I've noticed a huge uptick in homeless in South Brooklyn/Coney Island area trains in just the past few years. We need police helping them get out of subway stations and into safer areas where they can get the help they need.
19
When you factor in pensions it is going to cost way more than 250 million. These folks got 20 years of service and out contracts. Why not just put more NYPD on the job?
2
It's sort of amazing that in this age of instant information and rapid public reaction, there's so little genuine accountability from public agencies and institutions. It's like watching an unskilled magician who does not care if you believe the joke, because they're the owner's nephew.
2
All things considered, it's not a terrible idea. But if they're gonna have all those extra cops, the MTA or maybe the Mayor's office should send 'secret shoppers' out into the system to interact anonymously with this new police presence. Just to ask for directions, that sort of thing. Let's see if they're helpful, or if 'lost on the subway while black' is a problem. Unhelpful ones should be given a different beat.
3
Improving subway passenger safety and deterring crime through increased numbers of police will cost millions of dollars.
This is truly chump change in comparison to the billions it will take to improve the subway's system and service.
7
We definitely need the extra police. The homeless problem in the subway has exploded over the past year. Right now you see zero police presence on the subways. I’m all for increasing the number of officers. Why should the homeless be given a free pass to harass New Yorkers?
47
@N
Police are crime fighters who are lethally armed. They are not at all the right solution to the homeless problem.
3
@Celeste how else are you going to get homeless people off the train? in case you haven't realized, police also pull people over for speeding and don't need to kill them to accomplish that
10
Subway service has been improved. Back in the 20th Century, there was no real time notice of arrivals. Ask any Boomer what it was like in the wee hours, after a night of revelry in the Big Apple. The wait fort a train was excruciating. Then that faint rumble, can it be? Painful time lapses before the certainty, "Yes, here's the train home!" As the train enters the station, something peculiar is afoot, as it doesn't seem to slow down. You're right, it's just passing through, it’s out of service, a sign on every car, “NO PASSENGERS". Back to the bench carrying the sting of false hope with you. Time passes unevenly, until that sound again, shaking one’s core with anticipation, soon this night will be over. Alas, it is a train in service, heading in the wrong direction. One’s faith is as empty as the station this 2 AM. Trapped underground you brood, "I paid 50 cents for this?”, but wait, there is that sound again, or is it the murmur of my heart, resounding of thoughts of rescue? Yes, heading in my direction...the work train, with workers riding on the outside, engineer caps all. Is this how people get when thoughts of vandalism arise in their inebriated brains? One shudders uncontrollably, or is it really the rumbling of the train arriving, finally, and with it the promise of freedom, homeward bound, the brute ordeal forgotten by the camaraderie of other like-minded riders, fellow New Yorkers, willing to to bear the brunt of living in the Greatest City in the World!
7
More cops, please. I can't be the only one who has noticed an increase in aggressive begging and smoking on the trains and platforms. I work nights, so maybe I see more of it ... but the menace of the '70s and '80s is creeping back.
69
I can see at least some use for intensified policing of the 2/3 express platform at Penn Station to deal with the drum-banging noisy busker who's frequently there, the people sleeping on the benches and to deal with the on-the-train panhandlers that infest those lines.
7
Cuomo is all about optics. Consider NY's license plates and the rapidity with which the "Tappan Zee Bridge" signs disappeared. Is he still banking on Biden getting the nomination, then choosing Cuomo for vice president?
6
If you jump the turnstiles you should be held accountable and statistics regarding color are irrelevant. You break the rules, you have to pay.
But more importantly, the biggest problem that keeps the MTA and the NYC subway in it's third world status is the Transit Workers Union. This ridiculous union ruins it for the rest and sets back workers rights across the country as it can always be used as an example of unionization gone horribly wrong at the expense of the people. The state needs to find a way to disband the union and start over. The TWU as it's hands around the necks of the working class in NYC that need the subway to get to work but have to suffer through the effects of the worst subway system on the planet in the greatest city in the world.
13
@b d'amico some people just HATE transit workers.
3
@b d'amico yep, if we're curious about where all the money goes, it's due to the unions and consultants that suck the money pot dry.
2
This same headline could be written for public schools who need more resources for classroom teachers, more counseling and mental health support for students and improvements to their infrastructure but are using money to "harden" their schools and hire "good guys with guns" to guard their entry ways. Fear is driving decision making in our public sector and services are suffering as a result.
2
But how many officers are due to retire within the next five to ten years? I'm willing to bet a few hundred; staffing levels must be maintained. The 500 that the city intends to hire will also need to be trained by experienced officers.
2
Anecdotal, but my family members and I have all had disturbing experiences, one incident surely assault, on the trains, as well as witnessing behavior so vile and disgusting, it's hard to be believed. So I certainly welcome an increased police presence. In the meantime, I now take the bus as often as possible.
50
The timing of the new campaign against fare beating can hardly be coincidental. The MTA was being beat up left right and center for recurring periods of massive slowdowns. (I personally wonder if this was an intentional policy by disgruntled workers.) All of a sudden they have gone on full blast about how much money they are losing to fare evasion. But there can hardly be a sudden uptick.
Am I the only person who thinks it's highly ironic that the MTA has made decisions for years decentivizing fare collection -- the decimation of booth staff, the de-alarming of exit doors (preseumably because there is frequently no staff present to do anything about the farebeaters) -- and the trust system of payment known as SBS service introduced on many bus lines?
I have written to many MTA officials and local representatives regarding this issue, but have not had a single response,
And
How many times have we paid for fares and then had to find another means of transportation? If I was not averse to suing a public entity, I would look to initiating a class action suit against the MTA for service evasion!
8
@Dennis read the fine print. They are not liable. No refunds in most cases.
There's a tradeoff between alarming exit gates and inconveniencing those of the legitimate, fare-paying public who struggle getting luggage in and out of the stations. Tne narrow turnstiles are bad news if you're hauling a bag; they can't easily be avoided when entering, perhaps, but exiting is easier through a gate, and in the high-volume locations there are MTA staff monintoring the gates.
3
I remember 10+ years ago, when the rule of law meant something in the City, two men were approaching the turnstile at Port Authority, one clearly having arrived from out of town. This man started to jump the turnstile, and his friend stopped him saying “you can’t do then here anymore”. I wonder what other crimes his friend might have advised him were not acceptable back when we had a mayor instead of a social justice crusader in Gracie Mansion. Regardless, more cops in the subway is a good thing, as is pursuing those committing any crimes.
37
Yesterday I got a call from a telephone opinion survey about improving mass transit in the suburban Detroit region. This same question was discussed.
I we don't have much mass transit. Our problem is not that it is unsafe. Our problem is that we don't have much of it. What little we have is safe.
I got the impression that police and "safety" was a selling point to some voters. It is not a real concern of real administrators, it is just a way to sell the project and the tax to pay for it. "More police" sells better than "more buses."
Why? Well, for people who don't use the buses themselves, police are to keep in line the little people who do use buses, and of course such an underclass needs control, doesn't it? It is ugly. It is uglier that this seems to work, to drive policy, to get approval for tax expenditure.
I don't know that NY transit is the same as here. I do suspect that "more police" is a message that has multiple purposes.
5
@Mark Thomason EVERYONE in NYC takes the subway - the rich, the poor, it's not like any other city in the US where the rich opt out of public transport.
6
I always thought of the NYC subway as a subterranean cave where the uninitiated easily lose their way and even find it difficult to buy a ticket. Riding the subway in Paris or Osaka, Japan was far easier for me and more pleasant than it ever was in NY. Last time I used the subway in NY there was a sign that I had to walk several blocks to make a transfer to the train I wanted. I gave up and just walked the rest of the way to my destination. Anyway, if New Yorkers want better subway service, there are plenty of countries that provide good examples of that.
4
Subways and buses should be free. That would get more people out of their cars/ubers and so forth, freeing up our crowded streets. MTA service should be paid from our state and city taxes, which would go up but would be counterbalanced by our not paying transit fares. My guess: the average New Yorker would end up saving money.
Plus we would save on hiring police to catch fare beaters. How much do we pay per cop, including benefits such as uniforms and insurance? Somewhere around $90,000 per year? How many fare beaters at $2.75 per would a cop have to catch just to break even on his/her pay?
By paying fares, we create a problem,which we must pay again to solve. Get rid of the problem, and get rid of that extra expense. Put that saved money into further rehabbing our subways and buses. Mass transit should be free!
10
There is no such thing as free.
If by free you mean government, then you mean us, the taxpayers, because we fund government.
11
@Ikebana62
"If by free you mean government, then you mean us, the taxpayers, because we fund government."
YES. That is exactly the point. We pay for subway either way, through fares or through taxes.
Paying for the subway through taxes is the best option for many reasons.
First of all, as stated by the original poster, it is more economically efficient. There are huge costs incurred collecting fares and discouraging fare-beaters. How much do you think one turnstile costs to purchase and maintain? How many workers are involved in running the fare system?
Next, the subway benefits all New Yorkers, even those who do not ride the trains. All NYers benefit from less traffic and a more mobile workforce. In fact, those who benefit the most from the subway have never ridden it: Wealthy property owners receive much added value on their holdings based on the proximity of the subway.
1
@Ikebana62 Agree completely. I think the term should be put out of use; to the unthoughtful, it gives the impression of cost-free, which certainly almost nothing is.
But fare evasion on subways and buses is costing the MTA hundreds of millions of dollars. So if the added police presence greatly reduces that figure, it logically follows there’s more money to improve service and make repairs etc. etc. The argument that since subway crime is not increasing, the MTA should not therefore increase police presence is absurd. Why in the world should the MTA not always strive to lower the number of crimes committed? (And why do I get the impression that those individuals who authored this editorial, never even ride the subway themselves?)
85
@David R the cost of fare-enforcement will blow away what little the city is able to earn back.
This is a policy of punishment, and has nothing to do with making the subways better or safer.
1
@Jerome S.
Punishment can serve as a deterrent to those who believe there are no consequences to fare beating, leading, one hopes, to a decrease in its incidence.
9
@Jerome S. I would imagine that 100% of the violent crime committed on subways is committed by people who have not paid the fare. Law-abiding subway riders want to feel safe, and more police will help them feel safe. You list yourself from Connecticut, so you most likely aren't an everyday subway rider, if you even ride it at all. Read all the comments to this editorial, The NY Times, and you, are out of touch with reality. Regardless, being poor is not a license to steal.
12
Citing the reduction in crime is not enough. It has been dropping for years throughout the city; the subway is just part of the trend.
It is the quality of the subway ride that has nosedived because of endless mariachi bands and their ilk, acrobatic "showtime," begging, a rider populace with no cell phone manners, and littering throughout. In my 35+ years of riding the subway I have never seen a cop give a single citation to anyone for these all too prevalent infractions. On the few occasions when I took someone to task for littering or blaring the cell phone, they were horrified that I would even bring this up.
Lastly, there's the issue of how the police are deployed. I usually see them in groups having conversations among themselves, the content of which often suggests they are largely disinterested in what's going on around them.
How about spreading out, using a few undercover cops and giving tickets in full view of other riders? (Let's stop with the warnings; this is New York - very few give heed to them.) It's a different story when one has to write out a check and maybe miss half a day's work to sort out a citation.
59
@James McLoughlin I used to see cops giving tickets to people with dogs (3x WF). No more.
2
"endless mariachi bands and their ilk, acrobatic "showtime," begging"
Right on. Exactly those things; they should be stopped cold.
5
AND
That's the word this author should be looking for. Absolutely more services, but I'm sorry, more police are needed too. As a minority myself, it is a poor excuse to use racial bias as a reason for not hiring more police. Yes, there's a fear based on reality there, but frankly, that fear is not served well at all by scapegoating all police in what becomes it's own prejudice.
Hardly a blow to trust and more a reinforcement of it. A dead on perfect use of funds. The only argument that is valid here is that much more money needs to be spent on the MTA to make it a better functioning system, one that reflect the greatest city in the world. A city that is safe also, because of a proper police presence.
This article is, pardon me, wrong headed in its attempt to address police and the purpose they serve.
47
The videos of New York City police violently arresting subway riders who didn’t pay their toll was harrowing.
One man who was shoved by an officer turned and began a fist fight with the officer and was ganged up on and thrown to the ground.
Another man with his hands up in surrender in a subway car was violently thrown to the floor by several officers.
There is no mutual respect between the city police and citizens.
Is this an example of law and order in New York City?
11
In this case, better service means safer system. If I have to worry about that 10% increase in getting robbed year after year, we are not safe. Cops are needed to protect innocent commuters. Don’t try to decouple the two.
46
I totally agree that the subway needs more police officers. 2 points though: 1. Those officers also need to get off their cell phones (and all NYPD officers on the streets and in their cars while blocking the traffic) And second, more video cameras would reduce the need of hundreds of officers. In London if one jumps over the gate, at the entrance or exit, they will be stopped by the police very soon.
43
IF all the NYC busses and subways were free
--the TA would save on repair and maintenance of turnstiles, the whole fare system (armored trucks to collect the cash, guard with gune, etc.)
--NYC could save on enforcement & trial & maybe jailtime (very costly)
--traffic (very slow, costly & also polluting) would be reduced as many would find the free transit a big lure
Yes some police overtime could be saved too.
Compare: certain highways, tolled when built with pledge "just until paid off" yet now the tolls remain and pay for the toll collectors
Zero-sum game?
7
@Mike
The fares paid cover less than half the cost of operating NYC mass transit and contributes nothing to capital or capital repair.
People using the bridges are already paying for road and bridge maintenance through auto registration and fuel taxes. The reason bridges in NY are still tolled is to subsidize mass transit.
They should double the fares and hire more police to prosecute turnstile jumpers.
Or riders of mass transit could become honest and pay their fares.
3
@ebmem
Road and highway construction and maintenance are heavily subsidized by government. In addition, cars hog a very valuable commodity, the limited roads that have access to the city.
It costs more to build and maintain a subway tunnel and run subway service than it does to build a road. Since it is the subway and commuter railroads that make the streets even marginally drivable, and since drives hog a disproportionate share of space, it makes perfect sense that they should contribute to mass transit; indeed, an economically fair allocation of resources would charge drivers more than they currently pay.
4
We need more police AND better service. It’s not an either/or choice.
You’re equating spending $250 million more to keep riders safe to a 15-percent improved service? Really? I’ll take better safety any day. Sounds like you just don’t want more police presence in the subway.
We also need infrastructure upgrades, not just better service. The MTA has announced its largest investment in accessibility in the city’s transit history: $5.2 billion for 70 subway stations that will receive ADA accessibility upgrades, which I hope will mean elevators for the disabled, elderly and younger stroller-pushers.
Queens desperately needs more accessible stations, and more police presence on our trains and subway stations. Come across the East River and see for yourselves.
55
An editorial from persons who must not use public transportation on a daily basis. The idea of the poor being persecuted for not paying their fare is a joke. It is mostly people who are emboldened by knowing they will not be held responsible for not paying their fare.
The people, the "working poor" who are responsible enough to get up every day to go job with low pay under underwhelming circumstances will pay their fare.
Persons entering the NYC subway system jumping the turnstiles or going through an emergency exit need to be held accountable for their unlawfulness. I have seen enough capable persons better dressed than I evade a fare. Why? Because they can do it with impunity!
This idea that enforcing the rules of public transportation systems and penalizing fare evaders is a "misuse of funds" is a joke. Not enforcing fare evasion is a slap in the face to those who pay their fare daily to go work!
133
@sumosid Easy for you to say. Some people simply don’t have enough money to afford the fares on a monthly basis. Why can’t the MTA use all the surplus from the unused fares especially from tourists and from regular metro cards to fund a discounted program for young riders from financially poor communities?! Has there been any audit to account for that loose money? Every 30 cents count here. As for the well dressed like me going through an emergency gate, it is always because the turnstile card swipe is not working and there is no station agent to address the problem. Do you expect people to walk to another station few blocks away each and every time? Many of these agents should get out of their booth and go inspect the vending machines and the turnstiles. The MTA and it’s agents are the problem here.
2
@Hisham Oumlil How do you know it's easy for me to say?!? I often struggle to pay for my commute which includes travelling via NJ Transit and the MTA - almost $20 a day! Do the math and see how much it costs me to commute each month but I will never use that as an excuse to not pay my fare.
And the MTA has a program, "Fair Fares", for low-income commuters and unsurprisingly, it is not well executed. If you need to enter the system via an emergency gate because the MTA cannot properly maintain the turnstiles, that is understandable but maybe you should use the $2.75 that you "saved" that time and in the future,use it to treat a poor rider to a trip on the subway.
12
Sumosid, for most liberals the root cause of all aberrant behavior is poverty.
But it's true only for some people.
The same progressives will tell you that the root cause of Donald Trump's perfidy is too much money.
Me, I think that a combination of bad upbringing and bad family DNA is responsible.
3
It’s probably a good time to hire officers for policing the transit system. It would free up NYPD officers who are already doing so and since the crime is low would be under less pressure while they learn the job.
4
Very unfortunate that the NYT fails to grasp the issues here.
Violent crime is not the issue. The issue is erosion of public respect for a public institution. And the displacement of deeper economic issues. The shibboleths of liberalism prevent much of this from being honestly discussed.
On many subway trains during rush hour people can't get on their train because space is taken up by people sleeping on the seats. Not a statistical myth, I see it every morning. Nobody blames the sleepers, but people do blame the subway system.
Worse, in many areas of the city, nobody pays bus fare. Nobody. Drivers are told not to say anything, because drivers do get hit, stabbed, etc. Local politicians, including AOC, alas, say any enforcement of fare evasion in such situations is racist.
Not to mention the people who fall on the tracks, the people who start fights on crowded cars, and so on.
The NYPD are simply not trained or culturally inclined to deal with these issues. Show me one NYPD recruit who wants to enforce bus fares!
There is now a sort of organized coalition that claims fare and behavior enforcement on public transportation "criminalizes poverty," as their benighted rally-cry puts it.
There is absolutely no better, subsidized support for poor people and working families in the nation than New York's public transit system.
Anyone who thinks fare evasion and other behavior-based erosions of service are somehow democratic should think again and do some math.
182
@Nelson Alexander,
Agreed.
I have never once seen anyone of any color jump the turnstile in a three piece suit nor a maids uniform. Never seen a 60 year old hurdle the bar.
I have seen homeless people (of all colors) use metro cards.
The people who I witness jump turnstiles or evade fares are specifically the type of person I was in the past. A young male aged 13-24 (any ethnicity). Not my problem though, I mind my own business. If the MTA wants to mind theirs, they should have additional NYPD.
Additionally, even though the NYPD is not a rescue organization (ESU aside), they assist FDNY/EMS for many underground emergencies. Having more coverage where reaching victims means climbing stairs and entering tunnels is not such a bad thing, nor is having incidents handled quickly to avoid system slowdowns.
31
@Nelson Alexander
The problems you cite are not caused by the NYCTA (MTA) - they are largely social issues that are a microcosm of what goes on in the street. A workable method of dealing with the homeless plus baseline enforcement of fare control would be a good start. (You'll never eliminate the occasional fighting or, unfortunately, passenger accidents. I don't blame the MTA for passenger behavior.) The political sideshow always brings me back to what I call "The Franklin Avenue Shuttle Argument" - maybe 30 years ago, the MTA was going to eliminate it and replace it with dedicated bus service. There was a local outcry that its continuation was vital to the community. The authority cited very low ridership statistics. Aha! claimed the community - most riders don't pay their fare (can't afford it) so they're not being counted in the revenue numbers. (P.S. The line was rebuilt.) A better example of the political realities (and social ones) you won't find.
8
@Nelson Alexander
Improving subway passenger safety and deterring crime through increased numbers of police will cost millions of dollars.
This is truly chump change in comparison to the billions it will take to improve the subway's system and service.
4
I disagree with your assessment. There is a great need for more police persons in the subway. There seem to be an increasing number of threatening incidents that take place in the subway especially when I ride it home from my office at night. We need a police presence to keep riders safe!
104
Maybe you all need to ride the trains beyond the island of Manhattan. I see police officers when I get into Manhattan, but I hardly ever see police officers riding on the trains in Queens, or on patrol in the stations. There has been an uptick in subway problems in my area and I welcome the additional police presence.
96
New York is grossly over populated and crowded. Rent is too high. State taxes are too high. Subway needs more upgrading, law and order is breaking apart, poverty is on the rise, drug addiction is getting to be out of control and tensions are rising. When a doctoral student I had mentored moved to New York from the midwest, I did not tell him what he should do but did tell him that he will find life in NY to be challenging in more ways than one.
He found it difficult to make ends meet and in a year he changed 6 jobs. His daughter was harassed on her way back from school and he was subject to police brutality because he could not show his identification while he was jogging unarmed. He then got fed up of NY and moved to Boston and started working at Harvard Medical School. Within months the stress of living in NY followed him to Boston and was found dead. He was too young to die. But there is a lesson for those who want to consider whether the difficulties of living in NY are worthwhile for what the city offers or accept another position in the vast land of opportunity.
9