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Get on board with subway safety or hop off the gravy train.
President Trump’s transportation chief demanded the MTA fork over data on plants to tackle subway crime and safety — or else risk losing federal funding, a letter obtained by The Post shows.
The nation’s largest transit agency needs to show it’s properly using federal tax dollars to ensure a crime-free commute, said US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.
“The trend of violent crime, homelessness, and other threats to public safety on one of our nation’s most prominent metro systems is unacceptable,” he said in a statement. “After years of soft-on-crime policies, our Department is stepping in to restore order.”
The oversight letter that Duffy sent Tuesday to Metropolitan Transportation Authority honcho Janno Lieber gives the agency until March 31 to provide a swath of information on assaults on straphangers, subway surfing and fare evasion.
Duffy argued that a number of high-profile incidents on the New York City transit system raised concerns over whether the MTA had used federal funds to actually ensure the safety of passengers and workers.
“The expectation is that (New York City Transit Authority) will address this matter promptly to ensure compliance and avoid further (Federal Transit Administration) enforcement actions up to and including redirecting or withholding funding,” the letter warns.
How much federal money that could be redirected or withheld from the MTA was unclear.
MTA officials anticipate needing upwards of $14 billion from the federal government over the next five years to carry out an ambitious capital plan.
The amount could change, however, as Congress decides every five years what that funding amount should be — and it’s up again in 2026.
The letter largely demands information, such as crimes in the subway system and fare evasion, that is already publicly available.
It also seeks information about funds from “all sources” that are budgeted toward improving straphanger and MTA worker safety.
“Of key importance will be documentation of actions and funding that ensure effective security for passengers and workers on the NYCT system,” the letter states.
Transit crime has been a persistent concern in New York City since the COVID-19 pandemic — and especially recently in light of a spate of sickening attacks, including a horrific arson in which a woman was burned to death on a Coney Island train.
The fears over subway safety prompted Mayor Eric Adams and Gov. Kathy Hochul to take high-profile stems to not only combat crime, but battle the perception that the transit system is growing unsafe.
“Governor Hochul’s top priority is public safety, which is why she’s surged more than 1,000 uniformed public safety personnel into the subways and committed unprecedented State funding to ensure there are two NYPD officers on every single overnight train. We’re always open to partnering with the federal government on ways to fund New York’s priorities,” a spokesperson for Hochul told The Post.
Hochul sent National Guard troops into the subways and most recently unveiled a plan to put NYPD cops on every overnight train.
The efforts show some signs of success — transit crime overall is down nearly 27% this year compared to the same span in 2024, NYPD data shows.
Felony assaults, however, so far this year remain a whopping 56% higher compared to 2019’s levels, data shows.
“People traveling on the NYCT system to reach their jobs, education, health care, and other critical services need to feel secure and travel in a safe environment free of crime; as well, workers who operate the system need to be sure of a safe operating environment to provide transportation service,” Duffy’s letter states. “The transit riders and workers of New York City deserve nothing less.”
The letter comes just days after Hochul met with Trump at the White House amid weeks of high-stakes bickering between the pair over congestion pricing.
The spat erupted after Duffy sent another letter in February announcing he’ll pull federal approval of the controversial Manhattan toll program, prompting a lawsuit from the MTA.
Transportation department officials later gave the MTA until March 21 to stop congestion pricing, but Hochul and MTA honcho Janno Lieber vowed to keep collecting tolls so long as the court case remained open.
Hochul has alternated between lambasting Trump and playing nice with the president in a spate of meet-ups, during which they’ve jawboned over congestion pricing and redeveloping Penn Station.
The MTA is happy to discuss its efforts, along with the NYPD’s, to tackle crime and fare evasion, said John J. McCarthy, the agency’s chief of policy and external relations.
“The good news is numbers are moving in the right direction: crime is down 40% compared to the same period in 2020 right before the pandemic, and so far in 2025 there are fewer daily major crimes in transit than any non-pandemic year ever,” he said.
“Moreover, in the second half of last year subway fare evasion was down 25% after increasing dramatically during COVID.”
— Additional reporting by Vaughn Golden and Craig McCarthy
