I thought I'd make a quick post on a news thing that occurred with the MTA and New York City Transit that I saw yesterday evening. Been a while since I've covered New York City Transit, but I think this important. Yesterday, Sean Duffy, head of DOT, took a two-stop ride on the B train (possibly not the greatest choice), with the goal of addressing the New York City Subway's state of security and safety at this time. His findings were rather, aggressive, and he claimed "We're not where this needs to be" after being brought on a brief tour by Mayor Adams.
He said he passed people who seamed to be unwell during his tour, and he called it "not humane" to have people with mental illness living in the subway. At the press event later, he said he may try to send DOGE folks down to the MTA to see how there spending their money and try to make any improvements to how taxpayer money is being spent.
Amazingly, when asked if he considered the subway a "shithole" he said "Some would say". Quite a defeat to all those who work in and for it. An annoyed Gov. Kathy Hochul said this "Sec. Duffy has literally no idea what he's talking about. As Mayor Adams and most New Yorkers know, Gov Kathy Hochul has stepped up to add NYPD officers and security guards resources on public transit. Now, subway crime has declined by double digits and ridership continues to grow". "We hope secretary enjoyed his field trip to Manhattan."
Apparently, he's now threatening to defund the MTA over their crime issues alone. Personally, I believe the MTA has been trying to improve crime rates, and that it's a very difficult task considering the size of the system and the amount of crime and homelessness that was allowed to build up over time. I'd like to see him provide more constructive feed back, instead of just slamming them. This must be a huge slap in the face for the the entire MTA leadership including Janno Lieber himself.