NYC officials say major subway crimes are down, but 'bad couple of weeks' leave New Yorkers nervous
NEW YORK (WABC) -- New York City leaders say overall crime on the subways is trending downward, however recent crimes haven't stopped New Yorkers from feeling nervous.
There were three attacks in two different boroughs of New York City in the span of eight hours overnight and into the early morning hours of Monday.
The most recent happened at around 4 a.m. in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn.
A 27-year-old woman was struck in her face with an unknown object on a southbound A-train at the Franklin Avenue station.
She was taken to Kings County Hospital where she was treated for a cut.
There are no arrests in that assault.
Then at around 9 p.m. Sunday, a 36-year-old man was shot in his thigh after another man demanded his wallet.
It happened on a southbound Rockaway Park shuttle approaching the Rockaway Park Beach - 116th Street station in Queens.
And just an hour before that, around 8 p.m. Sunday, a 15-year-old boy was stabbed in his hip during a robbery on a northbound L train near the East 105th Street Station in Canarsie, Brooklyn.
Police say the attacker was wearing a black mask and fled with the victim's phone.
Surveillance footage of that suspect has been released, as officials are seeking the public's help in identifying the individual's whereabouts.
Despite these recent attacks, MTA officials and the NYPD contend crime is trending in the right direction.
"We've had a couple bad weeks. There's no question. Especially with high profile things that alarmed passengers. I've said, that is a real concern," said MTA CEO Jano Leiber.
"The question that New Yorkers ought to focus on is what's the broad trend? And the broad trend is since the beginning of this year we're down 6%. We had a bad couple weeks but the presence of police has improved rider confidence."
Major felonies are down, by more than six percent, and overall crime in the subway system is trending in the right direction.
But Misdemeanor Assaults are up 16.5% compared to last year and petit larceny is up more than 25%.
Even with statistics reflecting a downward trend, riders still have concerns.
"In the daytime I feel safe," said rider Daryl Rawls. "In the evening, I don't."
It was just last weekend when the NYPD surged the system with additional officers in response to several violent incidents.
"I want to get this out to the ridership, to the public. There are no plans to reduce that infusion. We are upwards of around 1,000 additional cops in the subway system each and every day," said Michael Kemper, NYPD Transit Chief.
"June has been a challenging month for us as there were a few high profile, and to be quite frank, unacceptable and unnerving, events that occurred."
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