Trump administration vows to cut NYC transit system federal funding unless it gets subway crime data

The Trump administration is threatening to pull federal funding from New York City's transit system until it complies with requests on subway crime.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy sent a letter Tuesday to Janno Lieber, the CEO of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, a public benefit corporation in New York state responsible for public transportation in the New York City metropolitan area, asking for crime statistics and plans to reduce crime on subways.

"The trend of violent crime, homelessness, and other threats to public safety on one of our nation's most prominent metro systems is unacceptable," the letter reads, according to Fox News. "After years of soft-on-crime policies, our Department is stepping in to restore order."

Duffy said that the administration wants to ensure that tax dollars are spent on a "crime-free commute."

New York City has made headlines over the past few months due to subway crime. In December 2024, a woman died after being set on fire on the subway. And on New Year's Eve, a man was charged with attempted murder for shoving another man onto the subway tracks.

However, overall crime appears to be on a downward trend.

New York Police Department Commissioner Jessica Tisch, in her 2024, end-of-the year report, said overall offenses on the subway were down 5.4%, compared to 2023.

Overall, there were 2,211 index crimes (murder, rape, robbery, burglary, assault and grand larceny) in the subway in 2024, down from 2,337 in 2023, according to nyc.streetsblog.org. 

The MTA, in responding to Duffy's letter, said crime has decreased 40% since before the COVID-19 pandemic that began in early 2020. d