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Most Subway Perverts Are Arrested At Grand Central Terminal
By
Jen Chung
Published Jun 23, 2014
Modified Sep 24, 2015
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By
Jen Chung
Published Jun 23, 2014
Modified Sep 24, 2015
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As part of its deep dive into subway crime data, the Daily News has discovered, "Grand Central is Pervert Central. Straphangers throughout the city reported being the victim of creeps bumping, grinding, groping, flashing and assaulting them more than 3,000 times over a five-year period — and Grand Central Station is the epicenter of subway sleaze."
Grand Central had 369 misdemeanor sex crimes and eight felony sex crimes, between July 2008 and June 2013, followed by Union Square, which had 172 misdemeanor sex crimes. Both stations have the 4/5/6 Lexington Avenue line—which is infamous for awful incidents like that time subway grinder ejaculated on a 14-year-old girl.
Many of the incidents at Grand Central happened during rush hour; a retired transit detective told the News, “Often, [gropers and grinders] are on their way to work." MTA spokesman Adam Lisberg also said, "We recognize that it’s not only a problem, but it’s one that is historically underreported, so we’re trying to work with the NYPD on a joint strategy to make sure that people know not only is it a crime, but that we need help from witnesses as well as victims."
Take, for instance, Nicola Briggs, who decided to yell at a man who took out his penis on a subway ride and rubbed against her in 2010. Briggs decided to loudly berate the man, and a video of her ripping into him went viral.
Briggs writes in the Daily News, "The main thing I felt watching myself in that very intense moment was not embarrassment, but a feeling that I was completely justified in doing what I did, and that I would do it again in a New York minute. I wasn’t ashamed. There is already too much shame tied to being the target of this type of crime. That’s why many victims never come forward, and are still, even in this advanced society, often not properly supported when they do tell others about it. I believe it’s time that we, as crime victims, bring the shame back on the shoulders of the perpetrators, and be unafraid to tell the world our stories."
Unfortunately, sometimes when victims want to come forward, they get turned away by the NYPD. While I was on a 2 or 3 train a few years ago, a man was very clearly rubbing against me from 34th Street to 42nd Street. It was only one stop, but the subway was crawling during rush hour traffic. At first, I thought his movements were just the product of a packed train, but the rubbing continued. There was nowhere for me to move, and two middle-aged woman looked at me in horror. One even said to the man, "What are you doing?"
When we got to 42nd Street-Times Square, the grinder got off the train. I continued to 72nd Street, and spent the remainder of my ride feeling increasingly violated and upset. When I got off the train, I found an MTA employee who helped me find a police officer. But when I asked the (male) police officer if I could file a report, he said he couldn't help. The cop explained, "You see, he didn't really touch you."
Tagged
grand central terminal
grinder
subway
subway crime
subway pervert
union square
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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