New York City Mayor Eric Adams recently blamed the supposed misperceptions of New Yorkers for their apprehension toward the city’s subway system. In recent months, there have been a number of high-profile criminal incidents that have drawn into question the safety of the Big Apple’s public transportation system.
In a recent statement, the Democratic Mayor claimed that subway system crime has ticked down according to new reports. Data cited by Adams suggests that criminal incidents on the subway system have dropped by roughly 24 percent in the last month.
“We’re down and crime in the subway system folks, for the first quarter. We’re down. We’re down 24% in March, we’re down in February. Can we please stop saying we’re up in crime and our subway system? We are not, we are down in crime in the subway system,” Adams stated emphatically.
Adams further described the apparent role “perception” plays in the fear of crime in the subway system. In the past, the mayor previously made comments claiming that crime could have nominally decreased, but because of visible disorder, it could create the idea that crime is worse than it is. Many found these remarks to be downplaying how badly New York City has deteriorated.
“If we go back to, I don’t know if it was March of 2022, committed to cardinal sin and said, perception is playing into this. You know, everyone blasted me, ‘Oh, you out of touch. It’s not reality.’ I said it back then. I always knew from the days of being a transit cop. The perception can override this so these guys can bring crime down to zero,” Adams said.
He continued, noting that the city is committed to increasing visible policing to make riders on the subway system feel safe amid the “perception” of high crime. “But if you don’t feel safe, because you see this disorder going on, then you’re going to say that hey, we’re not safe and so what we are doing when this team is doing is making sure our officers are visible when we hear from riders and we say what makes you feel unsafe. They said we want to see our police officers,” he said. Watch the clip of Adam’s comments below:
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Adams’ comments were harshly criticized on social media, where users felt that the Democratic mayor was being disingenuous toward the actual state of criminal activity in his city. For example, the popular conservative X account “I Meme Therefore I Am,” which shared the footage, illustrated a broader trend suggesting that subway attacks had increased nearly 53% over the past four years.
Another user could not believe the statistics that Adams shared, citing his own recent personal anecdotes with the New York City subway system. “This can not be real. A good friend of mine has witnessed 3 different stabbings and assaults and refuses to ride the subway anymore! This guy has the audacity to tell us what we see with our own eyes is not true? Ever since Mayor Adams Criticized Joe Biden, and his handling of the immigration crisis, and #Biden threatened his with campaign violation investigations, Adams stepped in line REAL FAST That is authoritarianism for you to see right in front of your face! Even your own side, you CRUSH if they step out of line or think for themselves,” they commented on X.
Featured image credit: Governor Kathy Hochul, Mayor Eric Adams, and MTA Chair & CEO Janno Lieber announce a Subway Safety Plan at Fulton Transit Center on Fri., February 18, 2022…(Marc A. Hermann / MTA)