A group of New York City commuters were forced to stand behind the subway entryway Tuesday morning while waiting for a train as a scre...
A group of New York City commuters were forced to stand behind the subway entryway Tuesday morning while waiting for a train as a screaming man paced on the platform - a scene that is increasingly typical as random subway violence becomes the norm.
Three women waiting for the downtown 6 at the 23rd Street station around 7am stayed behind the turnstiles before running onto their train at the last minute when it arrived.
Jennifer Smith, 29, who has lived in the area for two years and takes the downtown 6 train regularly to her media job from 23rd Street, said when she arrived, she noticed 'two to three other women standing behind the turnstiles.'
'There was also a six-foot man who’d gone through the turnstiles who was hovering near the exit door near us. It was a horrible atmosphere and there wasn’t a cop or MTA worker in sight,' she told DailyMail.com on Tuesday.
'When the train did arrive, we all raced through,' she said. 'He was still pacing, I’m not sure if he even got on the train. There’s always the worry that you’ll be followed onto the carriage and then you’re stuck there, potentially in a dangerous situation.'
Subway riders waiting nervously outside behind the turnstiles at the 23rd Street Station in Manhattan as a screaming man paced the platform
The man was behind the turnstiles (pictured), a rider told DailyMail.com, and three women riders had to rush through the terminals to get on the train when it arrived
When Smith first arrived, she didn't even notice the man lurking on the other side of the turnstile until he walked past with a 'deranged look in his eye.'
'That station has become a lot more dangerous in the last six months,' she told DailyMail.com. 'Before the pandemic, it was always fine and there were enough people around that you felt safe.
‘Now, every other day it’s just you and either a homeless person or someone with clear mental illness.’
What once might have been considered a 'right of passage' to encounter a crazy man on the subway, is now an every day occurrence for New York City subway riders as the weather grows colder and more homeless people take shelter on the trains and inside the stations.
Overall, crime has risen 30 per cent in the city, with transit crimes already up more than 100 per cent in 2022
What once was a man or a woman wandering through subway cars asking for spare change has turned more and more sinister; passengers are forced to stand against the wall on platforms to avoid being thrown on the tracks and are extra careful about their surroundings.
But newly minted mayor Eric Adams, 61, a former NYPD officer, said on Saturday that the subway systems are 'safe,' despite the ongoing increase in transit crimes, and said all New Yorkers have to do is erase the 'perception of fear.'
'New Yorkers are safe on the subway system,' Adams said at a press conference on Saturday. 'Think about that for a moment, what we must do is remove the perception of fear.
'When you see homeless individuals with mental health issues not being attended to and given the proper services, that adds to the perception of fear,' Adams said, who promised New Yorkers he would be 'tough' on crime.
'I don’t know the last time Eric Adams took the subway, but every other New Yorker I know has noticed a deterioration in the last year,' Smith told DailyMail.com.
'We’re not talking about taking an empty train in the middle of the night. This was at 7am, when people are just trying to get to their jobs. If more cops aren’t put down there soon, I worry about how much worse it’s going to get for passengers and MTA workers.'
New York subway stations have been more desolate in the recent weeks as more office are working from home, leaving riders more vulnerable during what used to be busy commute times.
Homelessness across the city could become more apparent as the two-year eviction moratorium - designed to stop residents from losing their homes during the pandemic - expired on Saturday, leaving many vulnerable to eviction and foreclosures.
Adams' comments came after 40-year-old Michelle Alyssa Go fell to her death after being shoved onto the tracks on the southbound N/Q/R/W platform at West 42nd Street and Broadway on Saturday morning at 9:30.
Simon Martial, 61, who has a lengthy rap sheet, was arrested later Saturday on a charge of second-degree murder for allegedly pushing Go. He also justified his alleged killing by calling himself 'God,' and saying he 'can do it.'
'Yes, because I'm God. Yes, I did it. I'm God. I can do it,' Martial told a reporter.
Martial is reportedly homeless and has been diagnosed with schizophrenia. His sister, Josette Simon, from Georgia, argued that her brother belonged in a mental health facility and should have been kept off the streets.
New York's crime rate continues to rise under new Mayor Eric Adams, who promised to be tough on crime, and 'woke' progressive DA Alvin Bragg
NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell said the attack was 'unprovoked' and the victim did not 'appear to have any interaction with the subject.'
Now, the family of Go has released a statement expressing 'shock' at their loss.
The statement, shared on Twitter Monday, said: 'We are in a state of shock and grieving the loss of our daughter, sister and friend.
'We hope Michelle will be remembered for how she lived and not just how she died.
'She was a beautiful, brilliant, kind and intelligent woman, who loved her family and friends, loved to travel the world and to help others.
'Her life was taken too soon in a senseless act of violence, and we pray that she gets the justice she deserves. Thank you for your condolences.'
Transit crimes have been rising throughout the pandemic with several people being thrown onto the subway tracks. A woman was killed on Saturday after a homeless person threw her on the tracks at the Times Square Subway Station at West 42nd Street and Broadway in Manhattan (pictured: police on scene in Times Square)
The horrifying attack comes as crimes in the subway and around the city continues to soar at the beginning of Mayor Eric Adams and Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg's first terms.
Bragg's controversial decision to downgrade burglary, armed robbery and drug dealings from felonies to misdemeanors has drawn criticism, as it has led to many criminals being let back out on the streets.
Transit crimes are also up more than 100 per cent in 2022, with 58 crimes taking place in the first nine days of the year, compared to only 28 in the same period last year.
The number of felony assaults has since increased by 4.7 percent, and overall, crime is up 30.5 percent from the same period in 2021, according to the city's crime stats.
Former Police Commissioner Bill Bratton said newly-elected Mayor Eric Adams has his hands tied in terms of crime while Bragg's office implements its woke policies.
No comments