Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy directly linked a rise in subway felony assaults to Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY), accusing her of failing to protect riders.
New York Police Department data showed that subway felony assaults rose by 20% since last year, despite other crimes decreasing. Duffy sought to connect this to Hochul and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, as the two sides engage in a wider feud over congestion pricing.
“Felony assaults on NYC’s subways are up 20%! @GovKathyHochul and @MTA are failing to maintain safety,” he said in a post on X. “More than a third of these assaults involve our brave transit workers. Commuters, transit employees, travelers — they all deserve better than this.”
The NYPD reported 778 major crimes in the transit system so far this year, according to data provided to Gothamist. These were disproportionately made up of violent assaults that caused serious physical harm.
New York City implemented the controversial congestion pricing program on Jan. 5. The tax varies for motorists entering congestion zones during peak hours. The revenue generated will be devoted to repairing the city’s subway system. With his latest swipe, Duffy is looking to undercut the reason for congestion pricing by arguing that the funds generated aren’t being used to keep riders safe.
The Trump administration announced the termination of congestion pricing on Feb. 19, which Hochul ignored.
On April 21, Duffy sent a letter to Hochul, giving her 30 days to demonstrate why her refusal to comply with the Trump administration’s demands to end the practice wasn’t illegal. He warned a failure to do so would incur “serious consequences.”
DOT OUTLINES PENALTIES TO GO INTO EFFECT IF HOCHUL DOESN’T END NYC CONGESTION PRICING
“President [Donald] Trump and I will not sit back while Governor Hochul engages in class warfare and prices working-class Americans out of accessing New York City,” he said. “The federal government sends billions to New York—but we won’t foot the bill if Governor Hochul continues to implement an illegal toll to backfill the budget of New York’s failing transit system. We are giving New York one last chance to turn back or prove their actions are not illegal.”
That deadline passed on Wednesday, with the MTA refusing to budge.