MTA transit chief admits cops in subways haven’t derailed spiking transit crime
The head of Big Apple transit for the MTA admitted Tuesday that cops on subway platforms aren’t even enough to deter underground crime — noting police were at the Queens transit station where a man died in a scuffle over a cell phone Monday.
New York City Transit President Richard Davey made the admission while taking the media along on his trip aboard a No. 4/5 train from Bowling Green to Union Square in Manhattan to try to convince the public that the transit system is safe amid a terrifying crime wave.
Davey revealed that officers were at the Jackson Heights station when a straphanger was killed by a train Monday during a fight over his accidental bump into a stranger — and also at a Far Rockaway, Queens, station when a 15-year-old boy was shot to death on an arriving train Friday.
“The police were on the platform yesterday when that incident occurred,’’ Davey said of the Jackson Heights horror.
“They were at the station at Rockaway last week,’’ he said, referring to the teen’s death.
“For some of these senseless crimes that are occurring, even the presence of police hasn’t been able to stem that.
“If you’re in a 10-car train, it’s incredibly difficult to see if a police officer may or may not be on the platform,” Davey said.
The transit chief suggested rail riders could help diffuse potentially volatile situations themselves.
“We also need to take a moment, to take a breath and de-escalate issues that occur,” he said,
“In the instance of yesterday, the police are investigating it, but it seems like it was a dispute about a cell phone falling. I mean, God, please, deescalate the situation.”
Davey added that subway conductors should make safety announcements on trains, too.
Despite his concession about the apparent lack of effectiveness of police presence on platforms, Davey — who claimed he takes the subway regularly — said more cops would be deployed in the system soon, with 63 transit-dedicated officers slated to patrol the tubes.
He maintained that illegal guns and New Yorkers struggling with mental-health issues were the biggest hurdles to derailing crime in the transit system.
“Emotionally disturbed individuals, I think that is actually the top concern,” Davey said. “You’re seeing a person who might have mental-health issues who isn’t doing anything from a criminal perspective but makes you feel some kind of way, if you will.”
A 17-year-old straphanger who happened to be on the subway train while Davey was there with reporters wasn’t quite sold on the message.
“Who is that?” the teen asked The Post when he saw Davey in front of the cameras.
The reporter replied that it was the head of MTA city transit.
“I definitely feel safer with a politician on board. I hope you caught the sarcasm,’’ the teen said.
