President Donald Trump’s administration is demanding that New York City’s transit authority reduce crime across the city or face big cuts to federal funding.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy issued the ultimatum to the Metro Transportation Authority (MTA) in a letter on Tuesday, saying the new administration is here to “restore order.” The federal government currently supplies the MTA with billions of dollars in funding.
“The trend of violent crime, homelessness, and other threats to public safety on one of our nation’s most prominent metro systems is unacceptable. After years of soft-on-crime policies, our Department is stepping in to restore order,” Duffy wrote.
“Commuters are sick and tired of feeling like they have to jeopardize their safety to get to work, go to school, or to travel around the city. We will continue to fight to ensure their federal tax dollars are going towards a crime-free commute,” he added.
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Duffy’s letter requests the MTA’s data on fare evasion, worker assaults, customer assaults and police patrols. It also requests an accounting of how the MTA has used federal funding to address safety and security in the city’s transportation system.
“I appreciate your prompt attention to this matter to avoid further consequences, up to and including redirecting or withholding funding,” Duffy wrote.
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MTA Chief of Policy and External Relations John McCarthy argued crime is “moving in the right direction” in a statement responding to Duffy’s letter on Tuesday.
“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,” McCarthy said, adding that fare evasion is down 25% since COVID.
McCarthy’s statement echoes claims that MTA head Janno Lieber made in January, when he suggested that recent high-profile subway attacks have “gotten in people’s heads” to make them feel that the subway system is unsafe.
Lieber made the comments during an appearance on the Bloomberg News’ podcast “Bloomberg Talks,” arguing that “the overall stats are positive” on crime.
“Last year, we were actually 12.5% less crime than 2019, the last year before COVID. But there’s no question that some of these high-profile incidents, you know, terrible attacks, have gotten in people’s heads and made the whole system feel less safe,” Lieber said.
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