Wednesday's MTA board meeting was all about responding to Trump Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy's "misinformation whac-a-mole," in the words of MTA Chief of Policy and External Relations John McCarthy.
"We're playing a game of whac-a-mole when it comes to the misinformation," McCarthy bemoaned while citing a laundry list recent Duffy falsehoods about subway crime and congestion pricing. "I don't know if it's intentional or not."
With U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy railing against congestion pricing while threatening to cut MTA funding over exaggerated concerns about subway crime, MTA officials one-by-one addressed Duffy's demands for the MTA's "plans" for addressing public safety:
- MTA Police Chief Michael Kemper ran through a litany of crime stats and policing strategies the NYPD and MTA have deployed in recent years to address the public's transit safety concerns. Kemper noted that overall subway crime is way down compared to 30 years ago and that subway crime is a small percentage of all crime in one of the safety cities in America.
- New York City Transit President Demetrius Crichlow discussed the MTA's fare evasion strategy and tossed some blame on city district attorneys.
- MTA Co-Chief Financial Officer Jai Patel rattled through all the money the authority has spend on safety and security — noting that the MTA carries 43 percent of the country's transit riders while receiving just 17 percent of federal transit funds.
- McCarthy shared ways Duffy and the federal government could help the MTA cut costs and save money for both the feds and the state.
Contrary to Duffy's messaging, subway felonies are down so far in 2025 compared to 2024, including for felony assault, which rose to historically high levels in recent years. Just seven felonies crime occur per day on a system that carries four million daily riders. And still, New York is installing more cameras, removing more homeless and mentally ill people from the system, issuing more fare evasion tickets and putting cops on every nighttime subway car.
You'd think all that would satisfy Duffy and Trump — but no.
"I'm just mystified by why the Secretary of Transportation, who was himself as D.A. at one point, would be attacking the NYPD," Lieber told reporters after the meeting. "I don't get it, but we're going to try to a stay a fact-based organization as we respond."
"I think you respect the office he holds," Lieber said of his strategy vis-a-vis Duffy. "He's been given a responsibility and I'm going to be respectful of the office and try to educate him on some of the issues and the facts... When you hold that office, you have a responsibility, you have powers — and I expect him to exercise them appropriately, and I'm hopeful he will."
Lieber saved his harshest words for for New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, who stood alongside Duffy as the secretary called the subway a "shithole" over the weekend: "If he’s standing there next to Phil Murphy getting transit advice, transit in America is doomed."
Lots of news outlets covered the meeting, including The Times, The City, the Daily News, News12 and Newsday — as well as amNewYork and ABC 7 NY, both of whom completely ignored the Duffy-laden context of Kemper's presentation to wring out yet another misleading story about increased crime.
In other news:
- Related: The Times profiled the MTA under siege.
- Something called the "Center for Cost Effective Government" thinks New York should settle for a "one-shot funding infusion" from Trump and Duffy in exchange for canceling congestion pricing and putting the MTA under an independent control board. And, naturally, the Post covered it.
- Janno Lieber started his day on NY1 touting congestion pricing and the MTA's efforts to combat subway crime.
- Speaking of which, another poll shows congestion pricing growing support among New York City voters. (Emerson College Polling)
- MTA board member Neal Zuckerman, mulling a run for congestion pricing foe Mike Lawler's seat in Congress, "looks forward" to defending the toll on the campaign trail, according to this report. (NY Times)
- Congestion pricing raised $100 million in its first two months. (Gothamist)
- The Post's MTA board coverage harped on the authority for hiring consultants to run the Second Avenue Subway project.
- NY1 had mostly hype for the very, very hypothetical Queens waterfront greenway — but anti-bike conspiracy theories persist.
- The City Council passed a law that aims to cut down on the number of sidewalk sheds across the city. (Daily News)
- Opponents of the "City of Yes" held a very small rally to announce a "dubious" lawsuit against the zoning reforms. (Crain's)
