President Donald Trump’s administration is demanding that New York Metropolis’s transit authority scale back crime throughout the town or face large cuts to federal funding.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy issued the ultimatum to the Metro Transportation Authority (MTA) in a letter on Tuesday, saying the brand new administration is right here to “restore order.” The federal authorities at the moment provides the MTA with billions of {dollars} in funding.
“The trend of violent crime, homelessness, and other threats to public safety on one of our nation’s most prominent metro systems is unacceptable. After years of soft-on-crime policies, our Department is stepping in to restore order,” Duffy wrote.
“Commuters are sick and tired of feeling like they have to jeopardize their safety to get to work, go to school, or to travel around the city. We will continue to fight to ensure their federal tax dollars are going towards a crime-free commute,” he added.
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Transportation Sec. Sean Duffy threatened funding cuts if NYC would not decrease crime charges. (Eduardo MunozAlvarez/VIEWpress/Samuel Corum/Sipa/Bloomberg through Getty Photos)
Duffy’s letter requests the MTA’s information on fare evasion, employee assaults, buyer assaults and police patrols. It additionally requests an accounting of how the MTA has used federal funding to handle security and safety within the metropolis’s transportation system.
“I appreciate your prompt attention to this matter to avoid further consequences, up to and including redirecting or withholding funding,” Duffy wrote.
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MTA Chief of Coverage and Exterior Relations John McCarthy argued crime is “moving in the right direction” in a press release responding to Duffy’s letter on Tuesday.
“Crime is down 40% compared to the same period in 2020 right before the pandemic, and so far in 2025 there are fewer daily major crimes in transit than any non-pandemic year ever,” McCarthy stated, including that fare evasion is down 25% since COVID.
McCarthy’s assertion echoes claims that MTA head Janno Lieber made in January, when he recommended that current high-profile subway assaults have “gotten in people’s heads” to make them really feel that the subway system is unsafe.
NYC authorities have sought methods to fight fare evasion throughout the town. (Michael Dorgan/Fox Information Digital)
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Lieber made the feedback throughout an look on the Bloomberg Information’ podcast “Bloomberg Talks,” arguing that “the overall stats are positive” on crime.
“Last year, we were actually 12.5% less crime than 2019, the last year before COVID. But there’s no question that some of these high-profile incidents, you know, terrible attacks, have gotten in people’s heads and made the whole system feel less safe,” Lieber stated.
