NYU retracts study on MTA worker violence over data compromise

November 12, 2024 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

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CITYWIDE — NYU OFFICIALLY retracted a study released earlier this year that asserted, based on faulty data, that 89% of MTA front-line workers had experienced harassment or physical assault during the pandemic, according to a statement from NYU. The original study purported to have surveyed 1,300 workers. NYU stated that following the study’s publication, researchers working with the data discovered that several responses came from outside the NYC area, and subsequently found that the survey, intended only for transit workers, had been shared with the public on social media. The researchers have now declared the data compromised.

The MTA at the time strongly disputed the study’s findings, saying that its own internal data showed that just 11% of workers have reported such incidents since 2021. The agency also said the study, which was conducted with the aid of the Transit Workers Union, used “flawed methodology to attack the NYPD and stir panic.”

In a statement sent after the retraction, the MTA hailed the outcome, writing, “Unfortunately, this report portrayed an issue, which the MTA takes seriously, way out of proportion.”

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