Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Assaults on NYC subway hit 27-year high in 2023
By
Catalina Gonella
Published Jan 29, 2024
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Getty Images
By
Catalina Gonella
Published Jan 29, 2024
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
The NYPD reported more people were assaulted in the city’s subways in 2023 than any other calendar year since at least 1996, according to data released by the department over the weekend.
According to the data, police recorded 570 assaults — or about 1.5 per day — in trains and stations over the course of the year. That’s up less than 3% from the 556 subway assaults reported in 2022 — but marks a 52% increase from 2019, the year before the COVID-19 pandemic caused mass transit ridership to plummet.
Reported assaults in the subways have been trending upwards since 2014, when the NYPD reported 228 of them, according to the data.
Overall subway crime — including murders, rapes and robberies — was down 2.6% from 2022.
“This decrease is directly attributed to investments, a very positive working relationship with the MTA leadership and the MTA team,” NYPD Chief of Transit Michael Kemper said at an MTA committee meeting Monday.
But the rising number of assaults is still a cause for concern, according to Andrew Albert, a nonvoting MTA board member who represents transit riders. He said there’s a "safety in numbers" element to the subways, and expected fewer people would be assaulted as more riders return to the system.
“Obviously, we don't like to see any of these statistics go up. We want people to feel welcome and use the subways on a regular basis, which is what most New Yorkers do,” said Albert, a longtime member of the advocacy group New York City Transit Riders Council. “That's what actually the more regular riders you have, the safer the system is.”
Subway ridership remains down by roughly 30% from before the pandemic, according to MTA data.
Tagged
new york city
transportation
Catalina Gonella
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.
By
Liam Quigley
Published Sep 28, 2026 at 4:15 p.m. ET
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
The Garden State now requires that corn masa dough and flour made and sold in the state be fortified with folic acid.
By
Arya Sundaram
News
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
The Garden State now requires that corn masa dough and flour made and sold in the state be fortified with folic acid.
By
Arya Sundaram
A Brooklyn jail cell filled with smoke. The emergency button failed, a lawyer said.
By
Samantha Max
Crews launch tunnel machines to dig first new Hudson River rail tunnels since 1910
By
Michael Sol Warren
NYC nor’easter dries up after weather service reports minor flooding
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .