MTA agent shares her story following brutal assault in subway station
LOWER MANHATTAN (WABC) -- A transit worker was attacked inside a subway station after simply doing her job.
Noreen Mallory, a subway station agent, says she saw a large object tucked beneath a bench on the platform at the Wall Street station and when she approached to get a better look, she discovered a man sleeping.
That man is said to have then gotten angry as she approached and chased her down before punching her repeatedly.
Mallory, who suffered a fractured eye socket as a result of the attack, spoke on the frightening experience Tuesday.
"He was immediate, like he was mumbling," she recalled about the man's initial reaction. "I was going to, you know, notify to our emergency system, the police. And before I could do that, he got irate and started following me down and then ultimately hitting me."
She says several riders helped stop the attack and the man was arrested.
After months of steady decline, crime is suddenly surging in the subway system.
So far this year, major crime is up 18%, while felony assaults are up 3%, grand larcenies are up 30% and petty larcenies are up 67%.
Overall, arrests are up 40%, many of them for things like fare beating. Those arrests have more than quadrupled in the past two years.
Mayor Eric Adams says officers are being placed on 12-hour tours, after deployments were scaled-back in recent months for lack of funding.
"We want more visibility, more movement.," said Adams. "We want officers walking through the trains, being at the platforms, being near the token booth and identifying where the crime is actually taking place. And we're seeing a substantial amount of that crime taking place on our subways."
Union leaders say workers and riders deserve better from the mayor and from the MTA.
"We're not asking for much. We're asking for safety," said Robert Kelley, Vice President of TWU Local #100. "It must be prioritized."
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