It was a blustery Monday at the Bowling Green subway station, where mostly essential workers filed in and out.

Paul Thomas was one of them. He said he’s seen an uptick in concerning behavior on the trains.

What You Need To Know

  • Dozens of unions penned a letter to request a larger police presence in public transit

  • They are also requesting more mental health assistance

  • The MTA says it wants to make people feel safe as ridership starts to grow again

“Honestly, right now, they need to control what's going on in the train stations because there's a lot of people that's going on the trains and they're disrespecting people. People are trying to get home safe. They're trying to go to work," he said.

Ridership is much lower than pre-pandemic levels, and while overall, major felony crimes are down compared to this time last year, in March, there was an increase in felony assaults, as well as three murders within the subway system this year alone.

Because of those concerns, more than a dozen union leaders representing hundreds of thousands of workers employed by the MTA, FDNY Emergency Medical Services and more who rely on public transit, penned a letter to Mayor Bill de Blasio calling for a larger police presence and mental health services.

“We don’t need to be assaulted, we don’t need to be spit on, we don’t need to be stabbed, we don’t need to be murdered. We’re here to provide a service that takes people to their jobs,” said Tony Utano, president of Transit Worker's Union Local 100.

Interim Transit President Sarah Feinberg told NY1 the MTA would like to work with the NYPD to make riders feel comfortable again and in turn help bring the city back to life.

“When ridership really comes back, the system is going to feel better and it's going to be safer as well. That's why the next three to six months are so critical. We're not asking for a thousand police officers permanently. I don't really want to have a heavy police presence in the system forever, I want to really focus on the next couple of months so we can get people back and help the city come back," she said.

In response to the letter, the NYPD said it remains flexible and prepared to reallocate personnel in response to any upticks in crime. 

"In February, the Department deployed over 500 officers to keep New Yorkers safe in our trains, stations, and platforms. They are working hand in hand with the thousands of Transit officers constantly assigned to patrol the subway system," a statement read.

City officials said they have deployed 24/7 social service outreach teams and they would like to work with the MTA to keep crime down.