Big Apple public transport workers say they are starting to feel like easy targets.
The recent spike in violence on New York subways and bus routes – including the bloody attack on the A train that left two dead and two injured – has some MTA officials looking over their shoulders.
“The reality is that it’s always a risk,” said E-train operator Wayne Wong. “The NYCT says it cares, but it doesn’t care. They often say the police are on their way, but it’s not true and it’s a crapshoot.
“I can say that a lot of drug use has been and is happening and what sometimes looks like a lot of fraudulent teams gathering at various stations,” said Wong. “Train operators, drivers and janitors see a lot and it is better to hear us.”
The past two weeks have seen more than a dozen attacks on bandits and public transport workers from the Bronx to Queens, including an assault on an MTA bus driver who was hit by a 2 by 4 in Brooklyn last week.
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On Sunday, Rigoberto Lopez, 21, a troubled homeless man, was charged with murder for stabbing four people along metro line A, killing two.
According to MTA statistics, there have been 11 assaults on public transport workers since the beginning of January – and dozens of incidents with employees being harassed.
“I’m not going to say I’m scared – I’ve been around,” subway driver Andrew Diomede told the Post. “But I am very apprehensive. You never know what will happen.”
“At the moment, I’m not even in the system – I’m on hold for an attack,” he said. “This is the second time. I was hit on the head by a bottle 10 years ago.”
“Anything with violence doesn’t surprise me at all,” said Diomede. “This is nothing new. I mean, yes, two people were murdered. You just had a guy who took it to another level. But there is violence and aggression going on all the time.”
Another train operator complained that subway bums are constantly “in your face”.
“I was spat out during the height of the pandemic,” said the official. “Recently, I had a guy yelling in my car: ‘I’m going to kill everyone!’ I called and they just said: ‘Signal en route’, which means they won’t even call the police, but I must use the horn to signal the police and hope they come. Nobody came. Fortunately, he left. “
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The MTA responded to the spike in attacks late Sunday in an open letter to Mayor Bill de Blasio and NYPD commissioner Dermot Shea requesting that 1,500 additional police officers be sent to the transit system – triple the number Shea promised on Saturday.
“We believe that the 500 additional police officers you have agreed to dedicate to the subway system are an important first step,” said MTA President Pat Foye and Interim Transit President Sarah Feinberg in the joint letter on Sunday.
“We believe more is needed, however, we are writing today to request that 1,000 more NYPD officers be assigned to the Transit Bureau to patrol subways and buses immediately,” the letter said.
MTA officials said on Monday that they had received no response.
In an email on Sunday, City Hall spokesman Avery Cohen said the 500 promised police officers “will work side by side with the thousands of police and community agents who already do this work in our communities and subways every day.”
Officials at the Transit Workers Union Site 100 said they had long sought additional police officers on the subways as well – and were at least grateful for the promised 500 police officers in Shea.
“Nobody feels safe on the subway,” union president Tony Utano said in a statement. “We have systematically called on the Mayor of Blasio to put more policemen on the subway. He finally responded. It is a good step. But it must be a long-standing task, not a quick flash in the pan.”
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“We need uniformed, clearly visible police in all police stations,” said Utano. “They need to be seen on platforms and trains regularly.”