'Terrified' New Yorkers share their scariest subway stories amid rising crime and random attacks

Fearful and frustrated New Yorkers person voiced their concerns astir their regular commutes arsenic shocking instances of unit person precocious rocked the city's subways.

Many NYC residents babelike connected nationalist proscription consciousness helpless and unconsidered by metropolis and authorities officials who assertion to beryllium striving toward much unafraid subways. 

According to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), much than 3.6million radical thrust the subway each day.

In conscionable 2024 alone, the city's transit strategy recorded 10 murders - treble the fig from the erstwhile year.

From 1997 to 2019, the subway strategy ne'er recorded much than 5 murders successful a azygous year, according to NYPD data.

New York straphangers person been near outraged by the congestion pricing fees implemented astatine the commencement of 2025, which critics judge person near commuters cornered into taking unsafe nationalist transportation. 

Within the archetypal fewer days of congestion pricing being enforced, NYC subway ridership accrued by astir 13 percent from January 2024, ABC7 reported.

Frequent commuters told the DailyMail.com that subway unit combined with accrued postulation tolls has made is difficult to determine the safest and astir tangible ways to get astir the Big Apple. 

With constricted choices, radical revealed they person been forced to past the chaos of the subways - doing their champion to stay alert and instrumentality precautions. Here's what they said.

Chanel Clark: 'I person ne'er been much afraid' 

Author and beingness manager Chanel Clark has lived successful Manhattan for much than 20 years. She said that subway cars and platforms implicit the past mates of years person felt drastically much unsafe than before.  

'I instrumentality the subway astir each time and it is terrifying. I person ne'er been this afraid,' Clark told the DailyMail.com.

Clark sold her car past twelvemonth aft it became excessively costly to keep. Now, she feels virtually optionless erstwhile it comes to getting around. 

She has nary anticipation that the concern volition improve, and called retired section politicians and the MTA for whitewashing however perilous the subways person become.

'[The MTA is] perfectly downplaying it, but they support raising our fares. Where is our wealth going? Where is the extortion for the riders?' she said.

In a TikTok that received much than 730,000 views and 68,000 likes, Clark described a terrifying subway brushwood she had past month.

'There was a antheral shouting the full ride,' she recalled from the station.

'Out loud, making racist comments and s**t similar that. And if y'all don't know, this s**t is existent connected the subway cars.'

She told DailyMail.com the constabulary and subject request to instrumentality much enactment and support the subways.

'Eric Adams is terrible. I anticipation helium gets locked up by the Feds. He does not attraction astir the city. He cares astir fame and notoriety,' Clark asserted.

'He's not doing the work. He's not doing thing to help. He doesn't attraction astir the mentally sick oregon the homeless.

'We're conscionable tired. We're exhausted arsenic New Yorkers. I cognize I am. It's it's precise triggering to thrust connected a subway car, and you're conscionable sitting determination paranoid due to the fact that you don't cognize if someone's gonna spell off.'

Brynn Nelson: 'You bash spot immoderate brainsick worldly connected there'

Other commuters acknowledged that these subway attacks whitethorn beryllium fewer and acold between, but that does not marque them immoderate little concerning.

Brynn Nelson, 21, said she has to instrumentality a autobus and a bid from Queens to her internship successful Brooklyn and she has to alteration bid car astatine slightest doubly each fewer weeks due to the fact that of witnessing thing that makes her uncomfortable.

The Queens nonmigratory noted that situations of unit are inactive technically uncommon but are alarming to watch.

She told the DailyMail.com: 'I would accidental the large happening astir like, with everything that's going on. I consciousness similar you person to benignant of punctual yourself that it is rare, though it doesn't look rare.

'But, similar that being said, you bash similar spot immoderate brainsick worldly connected there.'

Her commuting options betwixt boroughs are limited, truthful she said she has been riding without her headphones successful to enactment keen to her surroundings.

Jenn Han: 'I debar trains that are empty' 

Midtown Manhattanite Jenn Han, 24, said she has recovered herself opting for much costly options alternatively of taking the subway - particularly astatine night.

Han shared with the DailyMail.com: 'I consciousness much harmless connected NYC’s subways during the daytime and connected trains wherever determination are a bully magnitude of people.

'I debar trains that are empty. I person ever been cautious astir information but the caller unit has been a aftermath up telephone to enactment vigilant.

'If it is aft 10 p.m. connected a Sunday oregon weekday, I take different modes of transport specified arsenic the autobus oregon an Uber.'

Fiona Knox: 'I effort to enactment alert'

Fiona Knox, a Brooklyn pistillate successful her thirties, said that she has been taking the aforesaid subway since she was 16 years old.

She told the DailyMail.com: 'I don't peculiarly bask taking the subway but it's conscionable a portion of my mundane beingness arsenic a New Yorker.

'Most radical I cognize who enactment successful the metropolis instrumentality immoderate signifier of nationalist proscription to and from. I effort to enactment alert and I don't basal adjacent the borderline of the platform.

'But, I unrecorded adjacent an NYC Ferry terminal now, and I effort to instrumentality that erstwhile the timing works out.'

Social media subway scares

Subway riders person taken to societal media to stock their gut-wrenching transit experiences.

Chris Olsen, who has 13 cardinal TikTok followers, posted a video astir the life-threatening ordeal that unfolded arsenic helium and his friend, Caroline Haroldson, rode the bid done the city.

'We conscionable fundamentally witnessed a stabbing and astir died connected the subway ourselves,' Olsen began, his dependable trembling arsenic helium relived the traumatic experience.

Unfazed by the large speech of shouts betwixt 2 passengers, Olsen initially brushed it disconnected arsenic different emblematic subway squabble.

However, Haroldson, visiting from retired of town, rapidly realized the concern was acold much sinister erstwhile she spotted 1 of the passengers brandishing a knife.

'Most radical person their headphones in, truthful they aren't truly listening to what's going on, but Cara and I are listening to the full thing,' Olsen said.

'I was inactive making jokes, not realizing however superior it was until 1 of them charged astatine the other.'

New York's response 

Mayor Eric Adams and NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch spoke extensively astir nationalist information during a press conference last month.

Tisch said: 'I privation to beryllium precise clear, subways volition allows beryllium a bellwether for the cognition of nationalist information successful New York City. Declining transgression numbers are significant.

'But we inactive indispensable bash much due to the fact that radical don't consciousness harmless connected our subways. Effective this week, I've directed that we determination much than 200 officers onto the trains to bash specialty bid patrol.'

She added that much officers volition beryllium added onto the platforms of the 'highest transgression stations' successful the city. 

Adams chimed in: 'Perception ever overrides world and erstwhile you looked astatine immoderate of the horrific incidents successful these past fewer days, the mean New Yorker would judge they are surviving successful a metropolis that is retired of control.

'That is not the reality. And we cognize that we are doing a bully occupation successful warring crime.

'But we indispensable woody with the cognition that galore New Yorkers feel.'

MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber addressed nationalist information and congestion pricing connected Bloomberg Surveillance successful January.

Lieber tried to easiness concerns, citing 'positive' wide stats for 2024 and acknowledging that radical are understandably scared.

'Last year, we were really 12 and a fractional percent little transgression than 2019, the past twelvemonth earlier COVID.

'But there’s nary question that immoderate of these high-profile incidents, you know, unspeakable attacks, person gotten successful people’s heads and made the full strategy consciousness little safe.

'And there’s a small spot of upset that’s crept into the nationalist abstraction since COVID. There’s nary question astir it.'

He called for the transgression justness strategy to 'do its job' successful bid to marque the nationalist consciousness harmless connected their trips astir the city.

Tisch announced connected Tuesday that subway transgression successful January was down 36.4 percent compared to January 2024. 

In general, large crimes crossed the 5 boroughs decreased by 16.8 percent successful the aforesaid timeframe. 

'January’s transgression declines are an bonzer testament to the enactment of our cops,' Tisch said. 

'Every day, we are analyzing transgression numbers and optimizing our deployments to enactment cops successful zones that request them. That’s starting to present existent results. And New Yorkers tin expect much of that data-driven policing to come.'  

Previous incidents

A 23-year-old pistillate was shoved onto subway tracks in beforehand of an oncoming A train by a stateless antheral connected January 27. 

Markeese Brazelis, 26, who had already been charged with intersexual maltreatment and trespassing successful caller months, allegedly pushed her soon aft 9 americium astatine the 175th Street station. 

She was struck by the bid arsenic it pulled into the station, but miraculously survived - falling backmost onto the platform.

On New Year's Eve, 2024, euphony programmer Joseph Lynskey, 45, was shoved into the way of an oncoming train astatine the 18th Street 1 Train presumption by a masked assailant who fled the scene.

Despite suffering from superior wounds including a cracked skull, 4 breached ribs and a ruptured spleen, Lynskey is expected to marque a afloat recovery.

His accused attacker, Kamel Hawkins, 23, was yet caught and arraigned connected attempted execution and second-degree battle charges.

Before that, 2 radical were injured successful Manhattan's Grand Central Station aft a maniac went connected a stabbing rampage connected Christmas Eve.

Just days prior, the Big Apple was stunned erstwhile a homeless pistillate was acceptable connected occurrence and burned to death portion she slept connected a subway car.

The unfortunate was identified by the NYPD arsenic Debrina Kawam, a 57-year-old stateless pistillate from New Jersey.

She was allegedly acceptable connected occurrence by amerciable migrant Sebastian Zepeta, who constabulary said utilized a lighter earlier fanning the flames with his shirt.