The New York City subway has long since become a symbol of the rawness and grotesque of the Big Apple.
But with a new wave of unsolved crimes culminating on Sunday with the fourth subway murder of the year, trains and wet stations that were once a puncture line are scaring and outrageing city taxpayers.
As New Yorkers smile and endure their daily commutes in hopes of not being approached, beaten or shot, the city council and the MTA chose last week not to act in the face of violence but to present a new “impressive” set. of concrete stairs at Times Square Station. which cost a staggering $ 30 million – $ 1 million per notable step.
This is a desperate scenario that today is put in context by the new shining gem of London’s underground system: the Elizabeth line.
Londoners have rushed to the new trains today eagerly and have been photographed in very clean stations. There was enough armed police to protect them and the politicians they visited to celebrate the occasion.
Everything leaves a sour taste in the mouths of New Yorkers, who pay a premium to live in the city.
London’s new Elizabeth line was unveiled on Tuesday, offering Londoners new, clean trains on a safe and friendly tube network.
Signage and an empty lobby are displayed on Liverpool Street, one of the busiest in London, before the opening of the Elizabeth Line.
Passengers pass through Liverpool Street on Tuesday 24 May after catching the first trains on the Elizabeth Line
Meanwhile, in New York City, straphangers are waiting on the wet subway platform of Grand Central Station on Tuesday morning preparing to board the trains.
A straphanger prepares to disembark from the top 6 train on Tuesday morning while a homeless man sleeps in four seats at rush hour
Garbage on Grand Central Station tracks before train 6 in New York City on Tuesday morning
Grand Central tracks on Tuesday morning after straphangers dumped trash
The New York subway is cheaper than London; $ 2.75 will carry passengers anywhere in the five districts, while London fares can cost up to £ 9.40 ($ 11) for a single trip between Zones 1 and Zones 9.
However, New Yorkers pay more than 3 percent of New York income tax in addition to federal and state income tax.
Mayor Eric Adams vowed to crack down on crime when he took office in January, but has so far failed to control the situation.
The head of the Traffic Office, Jason Wilcox, told the MTA board on Monday that a police-designated “train force” will be introduced on the trains.
“In May we created a new Train Patrol Force, or TPF, which will conduct dedicated, directed and visible train patrols in the afternoon and at night.
A typical stopover inside Canal Street station on Tuesday morning
Canal Street Subway Station Tuesday morning, two days after a man was shot dead on the Q train as he approached Manhattan
Police on the subway Tuesday morning. There has been an increase in the last six months, but not enough to prevent a wave of violent crime
One person is on the ground at 161st Street Station in the Bronx. The pandemic has displaced many homeless people from shelters and the city’s streets and subway stations.
“The TPF is not a new concept, it was a kind of traffic patrol made years ago, particularly by our mayor when he was a traffic cop,” he said, according to AM New York.
“It was an idea we felt we had to go back to,” he added.
The TPF existed in New York City in the 1990s, but dissolved in 1995 when it joined the NYPD.
New York Mayor Eric Adams at the Balenciaga Fair on Saturday. He has not yet cracked down on subway crime
On Sunday, Daniel Enriquez, a 48-year-old Goldman Sachs worker, was shot dead while walking on the Q train at 11:42 a.m.
It was an unprovoked attack and the killer, believed to be Andrew Abdullah, remains at large; when the subway arrived at Canal St station, Abdullah fled.
He is believed to have handed over the gun to a homeless person, but continues to flee the city.
Abdullah was out on bail at the time of Sunday’s shooting.
According to court records obtained by the New York Times, Abdullah is a well-known member of the gang, known as “Ace.”
It is the second time in so many months that a gunman has opened fire on the subway and has been able to evade the police.
On April 12, Frank James opened fire on a busy N train bound for Manhattan.
He injured ten people, causing chaos at rush hour before he somehow managed to escape the train station unnoticed.
He took the train the next day, returning to the city from Brooklyn, then was arrested on the street after a member of the public recognized him and signaled officers who were nearby.
Abdullah, the alleged shooter in Sunday’s attack, has 19 previous arrests, according to The New York Post.
On Monday, Mayor Eric Adams promised to add high-tech machines that will be able to detect guns whenever people enter subway stations.
He has not yet indicated how they will work or where or when they will be presented.
Curtis Sliwa and Republican Senate candidate Joe Pinion visit the subway on Canal Street for a press conference on the dangerous subway
Andrew Abdullah is wanted for shooting Daniel Enriquez on the Q train on Sunday. He opened fire on Enriquez on the train and then fled when he entered Canal Street. He remains at large in the city
On April 12, Frank James opened fire on another subway car and injured ten people. He dodged police for two days before being stopped on the street after a citizen recognized him
On May 18, MTA officials revealed that they had spent $ 30 million on a new set of stairs at Times Square Station, an expense that infuriated New Yorkers who expect real trains to be cleaned up. and become more secure with the police.
$ 1 million per specific step: This is the cost of the new stops at Times Square Station
He said at a news conference that it was “the worst nightmare of all New Yorkers” to be killed like Enriquez.
“It’s his worst nightmare. I use the subway a lot. I’m very much in the system and it’s unimaginable.”
“You are sitting, you are going to lunch, you are going to visit a relative, a person is approaching you and shooting you for no reason.
“It’s not a dispute, it’s horrible to do it when [there is] a dispute, but this is the worst nightmare, “he said.
Adams said it was “his responsibility” to find the killer and tried to drown out critics as “well-oiled Twitter users.”
Adams is said to have a presidential term just six months after his job as mayor.
On the weekend he attended the Balenciaga parade on the NYSE and is a regular on the city’s nightlife circuit.
Crime in New York is rising in almost every category, including traffic assaults, which have risen 53 percent.