Hundreds of cops will patrol NYC subway stations to combat fare evasion: NYPD
MANHATTAN, N.Y. (PIX11) — The NYPD will deploy hundreds of cops into dozens of New York City subway stations this week as part of an ongoing effort to combat fare evasion, authorities announced Monday.
Operation “Fare Play” will be a five-day initiative to crack down on turnstile jumpers and other fare evaders at strategic subway locations in the five boroughs, according to the NYPD. Approximately 800 uniformed and plain-clothes cops will patrol the stations this week, officials said.
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So far this year, 1,700 fare evaders have been arrested and 28,000 others were given summonses, according to the NYPD.
“Don’t do it. Don’t jump. Don’t crawl. Don’t come through the gate,” NYPD Transit Chief Michael Kemper said at a briefing Monday at the 125th Street- Lenox Avenue subway station.
Despite some recent high-profile incidents in the city’s transit system, subway crime decreased in February and is trending down in March compared to last year, Kemper said. Two people were stabbed, including a 52-year-old man, in subway stations on Monday.
Cops have arrested 20 people with guns in the subway system so far this year, 11 of them were stopped at a turnstile, officials said. One of those arrests happened Monday morning at the Delancey Street-Essex Street subway station in Manhattan, Kemper said.
The man allegedly tried to pass through the gate without paying when he was stopped by transit cops at around 11 a.m., police said. The man had a firearm and was wanted for grand larceny, Kemper said.
“We’re thrilled by the commitment to transit safety demonstrated again and again by Mayor (Eric) Adams and the NYPD,” MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said.
Mira Wassef is a digital reporter who has covered news and sports in the New York City area for more than a decade. She joined PIX11 News in 2022. See more of her work here.
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