Now NYC mayor admits he DOESN'T feel safe on subway as transit crimes spike 65% ...

Now NYC mayor admits he DOESN'T feel safe on subway as transit crimes spike 65% ...
Now NYC mayor admits he DOESN'T feel safe on subway as transit crimes spike 65% ...

The mayor of New York City has admitted that he does not feel safe while riding the subway - two days after insisting that there was merely a 'perception of fear.'

Eric Adams's backtracking came hours after a group of commuters revealed how they were forced to stand behind the subway entrance while waiting for a train as a screaming man paced on the platform - a scene that is increasingly typical as random subway violence becomes the norm. 

Transit crimes are already up 65 percent in 2022, with 96 crimes taking place in the first 16 days of the year, compared to only 58 in the same period last year, according to New York Police Department crime statistics released on Tuesday afternoon. 

On Saturday morning, a 40-year-old Deloitte executive died when a mentally ill homeless man shoved her into the path of an oncoming subway train at Times Square. 

A candlelit vigil in honor of Michelle Alyssa Go, who grew up in the Bay Area before moving to New York, is scheduled to take place in Portsmouth Square in San Francisco's Chinatown on Tuesday at 6pm. Another vigil will be held on Tuesday night in Times Square.

On Sunday, Adams said: 'New Yorkers are safe on the subway system. I think it's about 1.7 percent of the crimes in New York City that occur on the subway system.

'Think about that for a moment. What we must do is remove the perception of fear.' 

Adams, a former NYPD officer, acknowledged on Tuesday there was a problem - reversing his previous stance.

'Day One, January 1, when I took the train, I saw the homelessness, the yelling, the screaming early in the morning, crimes right outside the platform,' he said, during an in-person City Hall press briefing. 

'We know we have a job to do — and we're going to do both. 

'We're going to drive down crime, and we're going to make sure New Yorkers feel safe in our subway system. 

'And they don't feel that way now. I don't feel that way when I take the train every day, or when I'm moving throughout our transportation system.' 

Adams spoke hours after three women waiting for the downtown 6 train at the 23rd Street station at around 7am told how they were forced to stay behind the turnstiles before running onto their train at the last minute when it arrived. 

Eric Adams, the mayor of New York, admitted on Tuesday that he did not feel safe on the subway, despite having said on Sunday that there was merely the 'perception of fear'

Eric Adams, the mayor of New York, admitted on Tuesday that he did not feel safe on the subway, despite having said on Sunday that there was merely the 'perception of fear'

Subway riders are seen on Tuesday morning waiting nervously outside behind the turnstiles at the 23rd Street Station in Manhattan, as a screaming man paced the platform

Subway riders are seen on Tuesday morning waiting nervously outside behind the turnstiles at the 23rd Street Station in Manhattan, as a screaming man paced the platform  

The man was behind the turnstiles (pictured), a rider told DailyMail.com, and three women riders had to rush through the terminals to get on the train when it arrived

The man was behind the turnstiles (pictured), a rider told DailyMail.com, and three women riders had to rush through the terminals to get on the train when it arrived

Eric Adams's subway U-turn 

Adams on Sunday: 'New Yorkers are safe on the subway system. I think it's about 1.7 percent of the crimes in New York City that occur on the subway system.

'Think about that for a moment. What we must do is remove the perception of fear.

'Cases like this aggravate the perception of fear.

'When you see homeless individuals with mental health issues not being attended to and given the proper services, that adds to the perception of fear.'

Adams on Tuesday: 'Day One, January 1, when I took the train, I saw the homelessness, the yelling, the screaming early in the morning, crimes right outside the platform. 

'We know we have a job to do — and we're going to do both. 

'We're going to drive down crime, and we're going to make sure New Yorkers feel safe in our subway system. 

'And they don't feel that way now. I don't feel that way when I take the train every day, or when I'm moving throughout our transportation system.'

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Jennifer Smith, 29, who has lived in the area for two years and takes the downtown 6 train from 23rd Street regularly to her media job, said when she arrived, she noticed 'two to three other women standing behind the turnstiles.' 

'There was also a six-foot man who'd gone through the turnstiles who was hovering near the exit door near us. 

'It was a horrible atmosphere and there wasn't a cop or MTA worker in sight,' she told DailyMail.com on Tuesday. 

'When the train did arrive, we all raced through,' she said. 

'He was still pacing, I'm not sure if he even got on the train. 

'There's always the worry that you'll be followed onto the carriage and then you're stuck there, potentially in a dangerous situation.'

Transit crimes have been on the rise since the start of the pandemic, with many commuters becoming increasingly worried about being thrown on the tracks as more horror stories arise.   

The number of felony assaults has also  increased by 7.7 percent, and overall, crime is up 35 percent from the same period in 2021, according to the city's crime stats. 

Despite the MTA Chairman Janno Lieber commending the mayor for 'getting it,' not all New Yorkers are feeling the same way.  

'That station has become a lot more dangerous in the last six months,' Smith told DailyMail.com. 

'Before the pandemic, it was always fine and there were enough people around that you felt safe.

'Now, every other day it's just you and either a homeless person or someone with clear mental illness.' 

Transit crimes already up more than 65 per cent in 2022 as more commuter face dangerous situations on their commute

Transit crimes already up more than 65 per cent in 2022 as more commuter face dangerous situations on their commute

When Smith first arrived, she didn't even notice the man lurking on the other side of the turnstile until he walked past with a 'deranged look in his eye.' 

Overall crime is up 35 per cent in the Big Apple

Overall crime is up 35 per cent in the Big Apple 

What once might have been considered a 'right of passage' to encounter a crazy man on the subway, is now an every day occurrence for New York City subway riders as the weather grows colder and more homeless people take shelter on the trains and inside the stations. 

And whereas previously a man or a woman might wander through subway cars asking for spare change, the situation has now turned more and more sinister; passengers are forced to stand against the wall to keep themselves safe.

One even said she had resorted to using a bike lock to chain herself to poles in double platform stations, to avoid being thrown on the tracks.  

Wanda Vela, from the Bronx, recently went viral on TikTok for her radical way of making sure no one pushes her off the tracks. 

Vela secures herself with a bike lock to a nearby pole on the platform and doesn't take it off until the train has arrived. 

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