Felony assaults on the subways are up 17 percent this year, new NYPD figures show.
Angry riders are using whatever they can get their hands on, including knives, guns, pipes, bottles, umbrellas, chains, brass knuckles — even a painting canvas and tote bag.
There have been 234 assaults overall through Sunday, up from 200 during the same period a year ago. In Manhattan, it’s 98 now compared with 74 over the same stretch last year — a 30 percent rise.
Meanwhile, assaults on transit workers are also up dramatically, with the victims including conductors, bus drivers and subway-station cleaners. Felony assaults on transit workers in the subway alone soared by 89 percent this year, with 17 victims through Sunday compared with nine in the same period of 2014.