“The M.T.A. wants more cops, we have seen subway crime go way up, and we also have seen ridership not anywhere near where it should be, to where we need it to be to get jobs and workers back in this city. If we don’t stop these crimes, people will not feel safe in the subways. There’s just no question about that. It will not take them to work, that will only hurt our recovery. If you’re elected, Ms. Wiley, how will you try to fix this in the first 100 days, especially what you’re proposing toward the N.Y.P.D.?” “When I am mayor, safety is job one.
And I’m going to keep New Yorkers safe, but I’m going to do it the right way. So imagine going down into the subway and before you have to fear whether someone attacks you because they’re mentally ill and need help, we’re going to make sure that there is a team of crisis responders who help our people who need help by getting them into the programs that also keep them off the subway, but also meet their human rights.” “But one of the frustrations New Yorkers feel right now is that it’s not even 100% clear who’s responsible for our safety on the subways, because you have hundreds of M.T.A. cops who report to the state. It’s one reason we saw this back and forth between the mayor and the governor. You need one person who’s accountable. It should be the mayor.
