Commuters report feeling unsafe after recent subway violence

December 24, 2024 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

The C Train: The scene of the brutal attack where Sean Lewis slashed a good Samaritan's face, leading to a seven-year prison sentence. Photo: GeneralPunger/Wikimedia Commons

The C Train. Photo: GeneralPunger/Wikimedia Commons

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CITYWIDE — COMMUTERS HAVE EXPRESSED FEARS OF BEING UNSAFE in the city’s transit system, which has seen double the homicides compared to last year, reports Gothamist. Last weekend, two deadly incidents in the subway system, including that of a woman being set on fire at the Stillwell Ave. station in Coney Island, have raised the number of homicides to 11 during 2024. And these were among several violent acts on the subway over the weekend — including a shooting and two punching attacks on elderly riders. NYPD Compstat data for Brooklyn Patrol South shows that over the past 28 days, overall crime in the transit system has doubled, compared to the same period in 2023. CompStat showed three subway crimes over the past week for Brooklyn South. Brooklyn North, by contrast, showed a 37.9 decrease in transit crime over the same November to December 28-day period this year compared to 2023, and a 57.1 decrease during the “week to date” (the third week of December) in comparing the two years.

NYPD said that transit crime was down by 15.8%, with 202 incidents reported last month compared to 240 in November of last year, according to a Spectrum News report from Dec. 3. The NYPD credited increased patrol on trains as a reason. However, in the case of last Sunday’s immolation crime in Coney Island, officers who were already aboard that F train when they detected smoke and found a woman on fire; were still not able to prevent the crime or save the victim’s life.