Wednesday night, 39 windows were smashed into a 7 train at Vernon Boulevard and Jackson Avenue stations in Queens.
This is yet another incident added to a three-month-long vandalism in the subway that resulted in dozens of damaged cars.
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The MTA says more than 400 subway windows have been broken since May, costing the MTA more than $ 300,000. The vast majority are on the number 7 line.
MTA had a glass reserve when the wave of vandalism began, but officials now say the agency has nearly filled its reserve of replacement windows.
Authorities say there have been 31 separate copies of broken windows in the 7 trains since May 14, probably by the same person
If the spree continues, the MTA says they may be forced to pull trains and restrict services, which would result in more time between trains translating to longer waiting times on subway platforms and more volume subway trains – two things the MTA is actively trying to do. to occur during the pandemic.
No service has been affected yet, but there is a potential that could change if vandalism continues at the current pace.
MTA Chief Safety Officer Pat Warren says one or more people use weapons to blow out the windows on subways inside the trains.
“This takes great power,” Warren said. “This has to be done with a blunt instrument of some kind, a hammer, a pipe, a baseball bat, something important.”
The MTA does not know why there has suddenly been “a manly” uptick in vandalism.
The windows are specially designed, and different windows fit different train cars. There are simply not enough meter trains in the supply line to repair them at the rate they are currently being broken.
Most of the vandalism seems to happen when passengers are not on the trains, resulting in a frustrating lack of accounts for passengers.
They are still trying to pinpoint exactly when and where the vandalism is taking place, and the NYPD says they are still looking for the suspect who is wanted for 63 different incidents of metro vandalism.
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Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call the NYPD Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging on to the Crime Stoppers website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM, or on Twitter @NYPDTips.
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