After windows on two 7-line subway trains were smashed last Friday, the MTA warned that the area of vandalism on subways is more than a nuisance, but could also lead to service delays, as trains are pulled out of service and a shortage of replacement glass.
MTA’s Chief Safety and Security Officer Patrick Warren said at a news conference Saturday that two subway trains were found vandalized at 103rd Street-Corona Plaza in Queens, with 21 windows smothered at 10 a.m. Friday.
Update: The MTA stated that one train was found at Vernon Boulevard-Jackson Avenue Station, and the other at 103rd Street-Corona Plaza.
“This takes great power,” Warren told WABC-TV. “This has to be done with a blunt instrument of some kind, a hammer, a pipe, a baseball bat, something important.”
The subways use “special glass,” Warren said. “It’s a shatterproof glass, safety glass, approved by the federal government. It needs to be specially made and imported. ”
The damage will cost the agency about $ 10,000 to repair, with each window costing $ 500, NY1 reported, and the trains will be taken out of service under repair.
More than 400 subway windows have been broken since May, ABC 7 reported, costing the MTA more than $ 300,000. On Wednesday, 39 windows were bashed in a 7-train on Vernon Boulevard and Jackson Avenue station in Queens, according to WABC-TV.
The Daily News reported that “crews have replaced at least 200 windows on No. 7 trains since early August.”
While the MTA had replacement windows in stock, officials told the New York Post that they had almost filled their reservation of replacement windows.
There have been 31 reports of broken windows on the 7 train since May 14, the MTA said, and NYPD said there have been at least 63 incidents from May 8 to August 3 of broken glass on the 2nd. , 3 and 7 lines.
The agency is working with the NYPD on an investigation. In early August, the NYPD published a photo of a man she said was “wanted in connection with an urban criminal misdemeanor.”
NYPD published a photo of this man in early August wanted to be questioned in connection with dozens of incidents of smashed windows on subway lines.
NYPD handout
“This is criminal behavior, and it’s as dangerous as it is to be despised,” NYC Transit interim president Sarah Feinberg told Gothamist in an earlier investigation into 7 train vandalism in early August. “Cowards who break subway windows have no respect for fellow NYers, and no worries about endangering their fellow riders. We will hold those accountable to the full extent of the law and look forward to presenting the criminals with the very large bill needed to repair it. “
Update: The MTA issued a statement on Saturday afternoon from Chief Safety and Security Officer Patrick Warren:
“This is absolutely devastating for the people of New York, and of course the MTA, to continue with this challenge of vandalism to our system. It costs New York City customers, the taxpayers money. Last night was probably $ 10,000 in damage, which is added to the more than 400 other window incidents that have erupted since the spring. The cost of this is more than $ 300,000 at this point, which is irresponsible.
We continue to increase oversight, and that’s in line with our friends at the NYPD. When it’s time for us to think about a broken Windows policy strategy, this may be the moment in time. We would very much like to continue and work with the NYPD on that strategy if they choose to take it. “
