The NYPD released data over the weekend showing that more people were assaulted in the city’s subways in 2023 than in any other year since at least 1996, reports The Gothamist. Over the course of the year, police recorded 570 assaults — or about 1.5 per day — in trains and stations. That’s up less than 3% from the 556 subway assaults reported in 2022 — but marks a 52% increase from 2019 and a 60% increase since 2014, when NYPD reported a mere 228 assaults.
Overall subway crime was down 2.6% from 2022. But the rising number of assaults is still a cause for concern. A contributing factor is low subway ridership, which remains down by roughly 30% from before the pandemic. Nonvoting MTA board member Andrew Albert, who represents transit riders, said there’s a "safety in numbers" element to the subways; he expects that fewer people would be assaulted as more riders return.