Uncontrolled crime had pushed ridership way down. Then came the Tuesday mass shooting in Brooklyn.
The subway system—lifeblood of this city’s economy and vitality—is in a precarious condition. Weekday ridership has hovered below 60% of pre-pandemic levels. Violent crime has risen in raw numbers even with the dramatic drop-off of riders. The perception and reality of danger loom large. A survey last month of the city’s workforce found that nearly 3 in 4 feel less safe on trains than they did two years ago. Transit officials say riders who never returned to the subways are even more terrified of crime underground.
Into this fray enters Frank R. James, the man suspected of releasing a thick gaseous substance into a train car in Brooklyn on Tuesday before opening fire, wounding 10 passengers. The rush-hour attack at a Brooklyn station deals an enormous blow to the city’s effort to win back riders. How can the New York City Police Department and the Metropolitan Transit Authority make the subways safe again?
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Hannah Meyers is director of the policing and public safety initiative at the Manhattan Institute.
This piece originally appeared in The Wall Street Journal