ALBANY – Judges could ban more dangerous people from New York City subways and buses under a budget-tied proposal pushed by Gov. Kathy Hochul amid broader efforts to boost safety after a series of violent incidents last year.
The proposal would expand a 2020 law that allows multiyear bans for people convicted of sexual crimes or assaults against MTA employees to include those also convicted of assaulting fellow riders and agency contractors.
“They need high-quality service. They need reliability. They need safety,” Hochul told reporters Thursday while highlighting her efforts to boost safety and reliability within the MTA system, including a proposed $1.6 billion funding increase via the state budget.
Judges would also have greater clarity on including such bans during sentencing if the idea gets approved in the state budget due April 1 following negotiations between Hochul, state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart (D-Yonkers) and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D-Bronx).
Stewart-Cousins and Heastie did not provide comment Thursday about whether they support her idea of luring New Yorkers back to the system after big drops in ridership earlier in the pandemic.
“I think it’s a good idea,” said Nicole Gelinas, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute who has written extensively about safety within the MTA system. “Allows cops to eject chronic bad actors on sight without having to catch them in a new crime.”
“These provisions would encourage a return to ridership by reducing the likelihood of encountering dangerous individuals and deterring violent behavior in the MTA system,” reads a legislative memo attached to the draft spending plan unveiled Thursday.
Bill boosters say the proposed changes will help lure New Yorkers back to public transit after big drops in ridership earlier in the pandemic while making it easier for judges to ban dangerous people from the MTA system.
Just a single person had been banned from the system after assaulting an MTA employee as of late 2022 despite felony crimes underground jumping 40% last year alone.
“We want to see judges impose the transit ban,” TWU Local 100 President Richard Davis said. “It’s long overdue. The criminal justice system needs to send a message that these unprovoked and despicable attacks on transit workers won’t be tolerated.”
A lack of action on the 2020 law spurred MTA CEO Janno Lieber to urge state leaders to get behind the idea of expanding the law, which he argued district attorneys need to apply more aggressively.
“I don’t see any reason why any violent crime in the system — if, you know, some of them go to jail, they should at least be not able to use the system and get in the face of their victims,” he said.
Violence within the subway and bus systems reached record levels last year with the help of shocking incidents.
“I am still reviewing the budget and looking over all of the proposals but we all want people to feel safe on the subways, particularly after recent tragedies like the death of Michelle Go,” Assemblywoman Grace Lee (D-Lower Manhattan) told The Post, referring to the January 2022 fatal shoving of the Upper West Side woman.
Transportation advocates argue banning people from the subway system is not the way to go to reach the goal of attracting straphangers back to trans and buses.
“Our vision is of a subway that is safe, welcoming, and inclusive for all New Yorkers. The best way to make that happen is to make it as useful as possible to win as many riders back as possible by running more frequent service,” Riders Alliance spokesman Danny Pearlstein said.
Assemblywoman Inez Dickins (D-Harlem) also expressed reservations about the proposal, which she said was good in principle but hard to implement considering the sheer size of the MTA system that includes subway, bus, Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North systems.
“We want this legislation. We want this help, but we also want something enforceable,” Dickins said.
“Gov. Hochul has been clear: the safety of New Yorkers is her top priority, and she’s worked with Mayor Adams on the Cops, Cameras, and Care initiative, which has already proven effective in reducing crime and helping riders feel safe. This proposal calls for giving the legal system the necessary tools to keep transit workers and passengers safe by removing those who have assaulted MTA employees and customers,” said Hochul spokesman John Lindsay
