Since the beginning of the year, there has been plenty of violence in the transit system. Attacks on MTA workers, passengers and even subway performers.
In an effort to curb violence and fear, Gov. Kathy Hochul said anyone convicted of assaulting a passenger should be banned from riding city trains and buses for at least three years. But some advocates say that proposal is off the rails.
What You Need To Know
- In an effort to curb violence and fear, Gov. Kathy Hochul said anyone convicted of assaulting a passenger should be banned from riding city trains and buses for at least three years
- Some advocates say that proposal is off the rails
- There’s already a similar ban on anyone who attacks an MTA worker, but the governor admits that law is rarely used
- If the law is passed, it would be hard for police officers to determine who’s breaking the ban, unless the person is stopped in connection to a new crime or violation
“As a matter of public policy, it’s kind of nuts to ban people from the subways because what does it mean? It means you can’t get to see your family perhaps, you can’t get to your job perhaps, you can’t get to your doctor’s appointment,” said Donna Lieberman, the executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union.
Lieberman spoke with NY1 inside the bustling Union Square subway station in Manhattan.
“The governor can’t just ban people from the subway, that’s not the way the system works. You have to have a law, a legal basis to do that, and I don’t think we have that law,” Lieberman said.
Gov. Hochul is proposing to amend state law this session, within the coming weeks, to allow judges to ban anyone convicted of violence against another passenger.
There’s already a similar ban on anyone who attacks an MTA worker, but the governor admits that law is rarely used.
Rob DeLeon served 10 years behind bars and is now the deputy CEO for The Fortune Society, an organization that helps formerly incarcerated individuals. He believes banning people from mass transit will prevent them from getting the assistance they need to be productive citizens.
“It would mean not getting to the supportive services that help them get their lives back on track,” DeLeon said. “That help them to get jobs, to reintegrate into society and to be taxpaying citizens, to find places to live, supportive housing, all of those things that make society safer.”
The Fortune Society gives free metro cards to participants so they can make it to their supportive services across the city.
If the law is passed, it would be hard for police officers to determine who’s breaking the ban, unless the person is stopped in connection to a new crime or violation.
DeLeon said the governor has been really supportive in signing legislation to help the formerly incarcerated. He said she should rethink this proposal.