Violence is up in the Big Apple’s transit system — with robberies and murders surging — even as overall crime underground is down, according to NYPD data.
A maniac repeat-offender pushed an elderly man to his death on Manhattan subway stairs Thursday, cops said — the fourth subway homicide this year, a 300% spike from the one murder at the same time last year.
Cops brought Rhamell Burke, described as an “emotionally disturbed person,” to Bellevue Hospital’s psych ward at 3:30 p.m. Thursday. He was released an hour later and at 9:30 p.m. allegedly shoved Ross Falzone, a 76-year-old retired teacher, down the stairs of a Chelsea subway station.
Robbery has also shot up by 18% so far in 2026 over the same span last year, to 156 from 132, according to NYPD data.
Felony assault is down 6% so far this year, to 209 from 221, but has increased 16% over the same period in 2024 and 60% from seven years ago.
Misdemeanor assault — typically the charge for a punch — is up 15% so far this year from 500 to 573, and 68% from seven years ago.
Major crimes in transit overall, which include murder, rape, robbery, felony assault and grand larceny, are down less than a percentage point from 733 to 732, according to NYPD data.
Tickets for fare beating have dropped 8% so far this year, from 40,036 to 36,659, and 14% over the same span two years ago, according to the data.
“What’s not surprising is that there seems to be a significant increase in certain offenses that is coupled with a decrease in enforcement,” said Rafael Mangual of the Manhattan Institute.
Outside of transit the Big Apple has been seeing historic lows in crime, including the lowest monthly murder count in recorded history with 19 in April 2026, following the safest first quarter for shootings and murders, which was driven by precision policing and increased officer hiring, according to officials.
“Last year was the safest year on New York City’s subway since 2009, excluding the pandemic years,” an NYPD spokesperson said.
So far this year, grand larcenies in transit have dropped 2.7% from 368 to 358.
The felony assaults include a large number of assaults against police officers in transit — 28% or 58 so far this year, compared to 29% or 64 in the same period last year, the spokesperson said.
Out of the 157 robbery reports this year, 103 have resulted in an arrest, the spokesperson said, adding that some of the robberies happened after people fell asleep on the train.
“But there is always more we can do to ensure people feel safe, and that is why we’ve recently added more than 175 officers to the subway every day, in addition to the normal cops who are always within the transit system,” the spokesperson said.
“Their focus is on preventing violence and responding immediately when something happens. They work to ensure that the millions of people who ride our subways each day can do so safely.”
The subway murders included a beloved 83-year-old veteran who was randomly pushed onto the tracks by a stranger on March 8 and a 41-year-old man was shot dead on a Bronx subway platform when an argument between the victim and the gunman turned deadly.
A 55-year-old man died after he was punched on the northbound C/E platform at Penn Station around 7 p.m. March 14. Nassadir Tate, 21, was arrested and charged with assault but was later released pending an autopsy report.
In one recent violent incident, a machete-wielding man slashed three elderly people in the subway at Grand Central Station on April 11, causing terrified straphangers to flee. A detective working at the Manhattan transit hub shot and killed the slasher.
Terrifying incidents like those can make people feel less safe, Mangual said.
He cited the NYPD’s Citywide Quality of Life stat, which shows total calls about complaints in the subway are up 34%, to 30,417, so far this year from 22,787 during the same period last year.
“I would say that’s a canary in the coal mine,” he said. “When you have these quality of life complaints, you know, going up like that, that tends to signal that something else is wrong in the system, signals that there’s less enforcement, that signals that there’s less oversight.”
Subway riders said they were keeping their heads on a swivel.
“I’ve witnessed hostile violent behavior, there needs to be more police on the subways,” Upper East Side teacher Abel Navaro, 45, said Friday.
Bri Soekoe, a 42-year-old Broadway producer, said she feels like things have gone downhill in her 25 years taking the subway.
“I do feel like crime is up in the subway,” she said. “I’ve experienced a lot more turnstile hopping and a lot more harassing on subway cars.”
Harlem engineer Susie Gonzales, 50, said she worries about her safety.
“As a mature single female, it’s dangerous,” she said. “I saw someone pull out a machete on the 1 line.””
Peter Schepper, 61, works at an Upper East Side frame shop his friend was pushed on the tracks.
“They pulled him out before the train came,” he said. “It was a crazy homeless person who pushed him.”
https://nypost.com/2026/05/09/us-news/murders-robberies-surge-in-nyc-subway-nypd-data-shows/
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