New video released Monday morning shows the man police are looking for in connection to the attacks on the women on Sunday, seen jumping over a turnstile at the East 86th Street subway station near Lexington Avenue. Investigators said that the suspect approached two women, a 48-year-old and a 19-year-old, from behind and slashed them both in the right leg with a sharp object around 4 p.m.

“I just felt like a slice. I grabbed my thigh and I looked back and he was there. And I had the blood, and the blood was dripping everywhere,” said the teen victim, who did not wish to be identified. She said she was on the downtown train to pick up a cake for her dad on Father’s Day.

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“I noticed [the suspect] come in, he was kind of staring at me, I wasn’t trying to make eye contact with him. It was me, him and a lady that got off with a service dog,” said the teen. “I got off first and then he was behind me. I was walking up the stairs and he slashed me…I looked back and he was just there, standing, and I was crying and he just walked across the platform.”

She said the man never said a word, and moments later, the 48-year-old woman at the same station.

About 20 minutes after that initial attack, officers said a 28-year-old woman was stabbed by the same suspect at the Chambers Street station in lower Manhattan. The man ran from the scene and exited the train at the Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall station. He has not yet been identified.

The victim was rushed to the hospital with a severe cut to her left leg, according to police. Each of the three victims is expected to recover.

“NYC Transit cameras grabbed good pictures of this perpetrator jumping the turnstile and I’m confident the NYPD will track him down in short order,” said NYC Transit President Richard Davey.

Those incidents came after Father’s Day weekend started with a deadly attack on a 4 train at Union Square. The victim, identified by police as 32-year-old Tavon Silver, was found unconscious inside a train car Saturday morning with a stab wound to his chest. It was not immediately clear what led to the fatal confrontation.

On Monday, police arrested 33-year-old Claude White in connection with the deadly attack. White, who police said is homeless, was charged with murder and weapon possession. Attorney information was not immediately available.

No arrests have been made in any of the stabbings involving the female victims. It was unclear if police believed White to be connected to the other stabbings, but police were concerned it would only be a matter of time before the man involved strikes again. There was an increased police presence along the 4/5/6 line on Monday, with officers patrolling platforms, boarding trains and looking for the suspect.

Anyone with information regarding the case or the suspect, who is considered to be armed and dangerous, is urged to contact police.

Jordan Williams was arrested and charged with manslaughter, but was free without bail Thursday afternoon, NBC New York has learned. He was seen leaving Kings County criminal court in street clothes and without handcuffs.

During his court appearance, Williams didn’t say a word as he stood next to his attorney, but appeared relieved after the judge opted not to impose bail. The judge told Williams that “I think that your whole life is ahead of you. I think you have every reason to fight this case with the support of your family and community.”

His attorney, Jason Goldman, said after the hearing that “today, the system worked.”

On Wednesday, the 20-year-old was handcuffed as officers walked him out of a Williamsburg police station — just a few blocks away from where he allegedly stabbed Devictor Quedraogo to death on a northbound J train approaching the Marcy Avenue and Broadway station the day before.

The violent incident broke out just after 8 p.m. Tuesday, and police responded to a 911 call of a man stabbed while aboard the train. When officers got to the train station, they found a 36-year-old man who had been stabbed in the chest.

The victim, Quedraogo, was rushed to New York-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Less than 24 hours later, the 20-year-old Williams had been arrested and charged with manslaughter and weapon possession.

Williams said nothing as he was led out of the police station, only nodding “yes” when asked if he acted in self-defense in the previous night’s incident. His brother told NBC New York that the deadly stabbing was done as Williams defended his girlfriend.

Williams’ mother, April, said that her son “cares about life” and that he is “extremely remorseful.”

Law enforcement sources told NBC New York that Quedraogo had been harassing multiple passengers while acting belligerent and erratic toward others on board. He may have been under the influence of drugs or alcohol, sources said, but a toxicology report will determine if that was the case.

Williams’ girlfriend was one of the people who Quedraogo had been harassing, with an assistant district attorney revealing in court that Williams told Quedraogo to stop harassing his girlfriend and pushed him away.

Defense attorney Goldman said Quedraogo then punched Williams’ girlfriend, leading to both men getting into a scuffle.

“He deserves to fight this on the outside,” Goldman said of his client. “Judge realized that. Very grateful today.”

The girlfriend was also questioned by police, but was released. Investigators are now reviewing cell phone video that captured the scuffle that led up to the deadly stabbing.

The deadly stabbing has been compared to the death of Jordan Neely, put into a chokehold aboard a Manhattan subway by retired Marine Daniel Penny, who was indicted Wednesday. Penny claimed the street performer was also harassing and threatening riders, and that he was defending himself and others.

Overall, transit crime in New York City is down nearly 8 percent, according to the MTA, which said it is cooperating with investigations into both headline-grabbing incidents. The transit president quickly pointed out that extra officers on trains and platforms are keeping New Yorkers safe.

“We have over a million riders a day. We have a handful of serious crimes a day. We think the system is very safe,” said MTA President Richard Davey.

Jordan Williams was handcuffed as officers escorted him out of a Williamsburg police stationhouse Wednesday afternoon, just a few blocks away from where he allegedly stabbed Devictor Ouedraogo to death on a northbound J train approaching the Marcy Avenue and Broadway station the day before.

The violent incident broke out just after 8 p.m. Tuesday, and police responded to a 911 call of a man stabbed while aboard the train. When officers got to the train station, they found a 36-year-old man who had been stabbed in the chest.

The victim, Ouedraogo, was rushed to New York-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Less than 24 hours later, the 20-year-old Williams had been arrested and charged with manslaughter and weapon possession. Attorney information for Williams was not immediately available.

Williams said nothing as he was led out of the police station, only nodding “yes” when asked if he acted in self-defense in the previous night’s incident.

Law enforcement sources told NBC New York that Ouedraogo had been harassing multiple passengers while acting belligerent and erratic toward others on board. He may have been under the influence of drugs or alcohol, sources said, but a toxicology report will determine if that was the case.

Williams’ girlfriend was one of the people who Ouedraogo had been harassing, and he even punched herm according to a senior police official. That’s when Williams sprang into action, his brother told NBC New York.

The girlfriend was also questioned by police, but was released. Investigators are now reviewing cell phone video that captured the scuffle that led up to the deadly stabbing.

The deadly incident occurred just after 8 p.m. on a northbound J train approaching the Marcy Avenue and Broadway stop in Williamsburg, according to police. Officers responded to a 911 call of a man stabbed while aboard the train, and when they got to the train station, found a 36-year-old man who had been stabbed in the chest.

The victim, identified as Devictor Ouedraogo, was rushed to New York-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Law enforcement sources told NBC New York that Ouedraogo had been harassing multiple passengers while acting belligerent and erratic toward others on board. He may have been under the influence of something, sources said, but a toxicology report will determine if that was the case.

On Wednesday, Jordan Williams, of Queens, was arrested and charged with manslaughter and weapon possession in connection to the alleged subway stabbing. Attorney information for Williams was not immediately available.

The 20-year-old suspect did not say anything when police led him out of the 90th Precinct in handcuffs Wednesday afternoon. He only nodded “yes” when asked if he acted in self-defense in the previous night’s incident.

Williams’ girlfriend was one of the people who Ouedraogo had been harassing, according to a police official — and another source said that Ouedraogo punched Williams’ girlfriend.

It was not immediately clear what led up to the stabbing.

Investigators are now in the process of going through cell phone video that captured the deadly scuffle.

The idea is hardly new; such doors are commonplace in cities like London, and they came up for consideration in New York in 2012 and again in 2016, both times amid a surge in deaths on the tracks. The doors are aimed at keeping people from falling or being pushed onto the subway tracks.

But it took on renewed urgency in Jan. 2022 after Michelle Go was pushed in front of a train at the Times Square station and killed, a case that provoked national outrage about violence against the Asian community, safety in the transit system and the handling of the mentally ill.

There will be three stations that will get the barrier doors in a trial program confirmed by the MTA: Times Square (7 line), 14th Street and Third Avenue (L line) in Manhattan, and the Sutphin Boulevard-Archer Avenue station (E line) in Queens.

MTA Chair Janno Lieber previously told News 4 that the platform doors project will cost more than $100 million and will likely be years to develop and deploy. The pilot project is moving through the procurement process, the transit agency said.

The MTA already installed a pilot barrier design at 57-7th Avenue station in the center of the platform to provide protection against a rider being pushed from behind. But the new subway doors will span the length of the platform.

No timeline has been provided for when the new safety measures could be in place at the three stations. Officials said they have to look into who will construct the doors.

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The incident occurrent just after 9 p.m. aboard a Manhattan-bound D train approaching the Union Street subway station in Park Slope, according to police. The victim and the alleged attackers got involved in an argument, when things quickly turned violent.

The victim was stabbed in the thigh, police said. A motive for the stabbing and what sparked the argument was not immediately clear, nor was it known whether the victim and the attackers knew each other.

The three teens, all males, fled the scene immediately after the train arrived at Union Street. The victim was taken to the hospital and is expected to recover.

An investigation is ongoing.

The alleged incident on Tuesday occurred at the 25th street station in Sunset Park. Police said the victim was pushed onto the tracks of the southbound R train bed and was rescued by an MTA employee.

The suspect, who has not yet been identified, was caught by officers a stop away at the 36th Street station — the same stop that made national headlines in 2022 when a gunman opened fire on a train during the morning commute. He was seen kicking an ambulance as police took him away.

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Subway crime is down across the city, but there has been a string of disturbing attacks in the last few weeks. Tuesday’s shove comes less than two weeks after a seemingly random subway push — this time in Manhattan — paralyzed a woman. A man has been arrested on attempted murder and other charges in that case.

It also follows another incident in Manhattan on Monday which left the victim in a coma. In that attack along the F line at the Houston Street and Second Avenue station, the rider was slashed while standing on the platform and then fell onto the railbed.

Police said the wounded man was able to climb back up to the platform before the train arrived. He was later hospitalized and was in a coma as police tried to figure out his identity and his attacker.

Law enforcement sources said the suspect left a box cutter behind after slashing the rider during the rush hour attack. The suspect is said to be around 25 years old, and was last seen wearing an Adidas shirt and blue Jean jacket.

Friends, family members and civil rights leaders gathered at a Harlem church on Friday to mourn Jordan Neely, whose chokehold death on the New York City subway set off a debate about vigilantism, homelessness and public safety.

Pallbearers carried the white and gold casket to Mount Neboh Baptist Church, for what seemed like a quiet funeral service for a troubled soul who died too soon. But after a musical tribute, the tone in the church changed.

The Rev. Al Sharpton gave an impassioned eulogy for Neely, whose family has described as a promising young man crushed by his mother’s murder and failed by the mental health system. They acknowledge he had his “demons,” but say he never physically touched anyone — and didn’t deserve to die on the floor of that F train in Daniel Penny’s grip on May 1.

Sharpton told worshippers that Neely’s life should be celebrated, “but we should not ignore how he died.”

Sharpton, who delivered the eulogy, said Neely died “not because of natural causes but because of unnatural policies.”

Neely’s death and Penny’s subsequent arrest polarized New Yorkers and people beyond, with some saying Penny, who is white, was too quick to use deadly force on a Black man who posed no real threat, and others saying the 24-year-old U.S. Marine Corps veteran was trying to protect people on the train and shouldn’t be punished.

Sharpton noted that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, called Penny a “good Samaritan” last week and shared a fund-raising link for Penny’s legal defense.

Sharpton said the Biblical parable of the good Samaritan is about coming to the aid of someone in need.

“Jordan was not annoying someone on the train. Jordan was screaming for help…A good Samaritan helps those in trouble,” Sharpton said. “They don’t choke him out.”

Sharpton added, “What happened to Jordan was a crime and this family shouldn’t have to stand by themselves.”

While Neely had a history of disruptive behavior — he had been arrested many times and pleaded guilty this year to assaulting a stranger — friends and relatives have said they don’t believe he would have harmed anyone if Penny had just left him alone.

“People keep criminalizing people that need help,” Sharpton said, turning attention to City Hall and a mental health policy drawing fresh scrutiny. “They don’t need abuse, they need help…He’s an example of how you’re choking the homeless, how you’re choking the mentally ill. This choking’s gotta stop.”

Elected officials including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and New York Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado were among the hundreds attending the funeral, which was at the same church where the funeral for Neely’s mother, Christie Neely, was held after she was murdered when Nelly was 14.

The same pastor who presided over his mother’s 2007 funeral led the ceremony at Mount Neboh Baptist Church. An ivory and gold casket carrying Neely’s body arrived at the church ahead of the service.

Neely was 30 when he died. He had a lengthy criminal record for offenses including assault and disorderly conduct and allegedly was threatening people on the train that day, witnesses have said. Neely’s family said he “experienced a mental health episode” — and that no rider asked what was wrong before Penny and two others restrained him.

Penny was arrested on a single charge of second-degree manslaughter more than a week after the medical examiner’s office ruled Neely’s death a homicide. Protests erupted across the city, with some slamming the Manhattan district attorney’s office for not taking action earlier. At least one turned chaotic — and violent. A Molotov cocktail was found.

Neely was a street performer known for his Michael Jackson impressions. Entertaining others was how he tried to cope with the horror of his early life and loss, his family representatives have said.

He had also been on a special city watch list, considered a potential risk to himself and others.

Roger Abrams, a community health representative, said he saw Neely on the subway a week before his death. Neely was disheveled and told people he was hungry and in need of spare change. Abrams said he approached Neely and asked him why he no longer performs.

“I haven’t been feeling well,” Abrams remembered Neely saying.

Mayor Eric Adams has called Neely’s death a tragedy, declaring him a casualty of the mental health system. While forcefully saying he “did not deserve to die,” the Democrat was careful to toe the line between acknowledging the community heartbreak — and ensuing racial tensions — over his death without appearing to ascribe blame to Penny.

Penny’s legal defense fund, meanwhile, has raised more than $2.6 million in the 18 days since Neely died.

“Daniel Penny deserves his day in court and his attorneys, but they’ve raised $2 million. How much could Jordan raise for food and water?” asked NYC Public Advocate Jumaane Williams at Friday’s funeral.

Penny’s attorneys have insisted he never meant to harm Neely. They describe him as a “decorated Marine veteran” who “stepped in to protect himself and his fellow New Yorkers” and who “risked his own life and safety” in the process. They say he couldn’t have known Neely would die of the chokehold, calling it an “unfortunate result.”

Neely’s family has said the 24-year-old’s statements amount to a confession.

Penny is due back in court later this month.

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The family of Jordan Neely, the homeless man who died in a subway rider’s chokehold last week, sought to paint the 30-year-old as a promising young man crushed by the murder of his own mother who never got the help he needed from the mental health system — and who never to deserved to die on the floor of that F train in Daniel Penny’s grip.

While witnesses alleged Neely was threatening them on the train that May 1 afternoon, they also said he didn’t physically attack anyone before Penny put him in a chokehold. And that, says lawyer Donte Mills, is key.

“You can’t kill someone because you thought there was a possibility they could do something to you,” Mills said. “Mr. Neely didn’t attack anyone, he didn’t touch anyone, he didn’t hit anyone, but he was choked to death. That can’t stand.”

Mills, who is representing the Neely family along with Lennon Edwards shared a photo of Neely as a high school graduate, a tassel dangling from his cap and a smile on his face, like any other eager student.

“This is who Jordan was, and then tragedy struck,” Mills said. “Having his mother taken from him — and her body dumped in a suitcase on the highway … it changed Jordan’s mentality forever.”

Mills acknowledged Neely struggled with demons, and that sometimes, the unfortunate reality of mental illness means families have to take a step back. That doesn’t mean Neely lacked family support, Mills stressed. Standing alongside Neely’s father, Mills said the 30-year-old always had his family’s love and always had a place to live.

He didn’t always want the help — but he still wanted to help others.

Neely was a street performer known for his Michael Jackson impressions. Entertaining others was how he tried to cope with the horror of his early life and loss, Mills said, adding, “Even though he couldn’t smile, he made other people smile. That’s who Jordan was.”

Roger Abrams, a community health representative, said he saw Neely on the subway a week before his death. Neely was disheveled and told people he was hungry and in need of spare change. Abrams said he approached Neely and asked him why he no longer performs.

“I haven’t been feeling well,” Abrams remembered Neely saying.

Mills said Penny deserved to be charged with manslaughter, claiming he acted with indifference toward Neely’s life. He also had some words for the other riders on that subway train that day: You could have asked him what was wrong.

Next time a mentally ill person is struggling on a train, Mills says, he hopes another rider will ask that question.

The remarks come hours after Penny, a 24-year-old Marine veteran, surrendered to the Manhattan district attorney’s office to face a second-degree manslaughter charge in Neely’s May death at the Broadway-Lafayette train station.

Penny’s attorneys have insisted he never meant to harm Neely. They describe him as a “decorated Marine veteran” who “stepped in to protect himself and his fellow New Yorkers” and who “risked his own life and safety” in the process. They say he couldn’t have known Neely would die of the chokehold, calling it an “unfortunate result.”

Neely’s family has said the 24-year-old’s statements amount to a confession.

The family has been calling for criminal charges since the city medical examiner’s office declared the case a homicide a day after Neely’s death, and hours after Penny was released from questioning by the NYPD in the case.

Penny’s arrest Friday comes amid mounting public pressure over accountability following the medical examiner’s determination. It wasn’t clear if the Manhattan district attorney’s office intended to pursue charges against two other people seen restraining Neely in the widely shared video or if those people had yet been identified.

Witnesses had reported Neely, who had been on a special city watch list, considered a potential risk to himself and others, was aggressive toward other riders on the train. He had been shouting at passengers, witnesses said, yelling that he was hungry and didn’t care if he died. They also said Neely hadn’t physically attacked anyone before Penny moved to subdue him. Penny was questioned by the NYPD that day and released.

Then came the autopsy findings.

Multiple protests have taken place in Manhattan since Neely’s death, with dozens arrested. Protesters again ratcheted up the volume Thursday, after learning of the looming charges. More demonstrations are expected Friday.

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Mayor Eric Adams sidestepped a question Thursday about whether Penny’s actions should be considered criminal. Earlier this week, the Democrat, who had been accused by some of not weighing in substantially enough, formally addressed Neely’s death in a public address. He was careful to toe the line between acknowledging Neely’s death, the ensuing racial tensions and systemic outrage over mental health care, without appearing to ascribe any responsibility.

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The 24-year-old Marine veteran seen on video putting Jordan Neely in a chokehold on the floor of an F train in Manhattan last week, resulting in his death, was arraigned Friday on a single charge of second-degree manslaughter in a case that has prompted citywide protests and national controversy.

Dressed in a gray suit, Daniel Penny didn’t enter a plea at his 15-minute hearing in Manhattan Criminal Court. He was released on $100,000 bond and ordered to surrender any passports within 48 hours. He also must ask the court’s permission if he wants to leave New York state, and signed a waiver of extradition guaranteeing his return in the event he does without the OK.

Penny is due back in court July 17. He said nothing to reporters as he turned himself in at a Lower Manhattan precinct earlier in the day, which was done at the request of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, said one of his lawyers, Thomas Keniff.

“He did so voluntarily, and with the sort of dignity and integrity that is characteristic of his history of service to this grateful nation,” Keniff said outside the 5th Precinct a short time later. He added that Penny “has his head held up high.”

Penny’s attorneys have previously said the veteran acted in self-defense and to protect fellow subway riders from a supposed perceived threat. They say he could “not have foreseen” Neely would die in the chokehold, and have called his death “the unfortunate result” of good Samaritan intervention. They also say he’ll be absolved of the charge.

Neely’s family has said the 24-year-old’s statements amount to a confession.

They’ve been calling for criminal charges since the city medical examiner’s office declared the case a homicide a day after Neely’s death, and hours after Penny was released from questioning by the NYPD in connection with the case. While the Neely family’s attorneys said they were “overjoyed” by the arrest and arraignment, they don’t believe the potential 5-15 year sentence is enough if Penny is convicted.

“Ask yourself: Is that enough? Is that enough for someone who choked someone out and took their life?” said Lennon Edwards at a Friday morning press conference, as the attorneys called for a murder charge instead. “He chose to continue that chokehold minute after minute, second after second, until there was no life left. That’s what he chose.”

Sources said Bragg’s decision to charge Penny was made in consultation with the NYPD before presenting the case to a grand jury. Bragg, who said his office would not speak beyond the courtroom as the case proceeds, said his office determined there was probable cause to arrest Penny on felony charges.

“Jordan Neely should still be alive today, and my thoughts continue to be with his family and loved ones as they mourn his loss during this extremely painful time,” Bragg said.

A spokesperson for the police department didn’t return requests for comment. Second-degree manslaughter is a felony and applies in cases where someone either recklessly causes the death of another or intentionally causes or assists in a person’s suicide. In the case of Penny, a police report indicates the charge is tied to the former.

The court filing comes 11 days after Neely’s death on May 1 and amid mounting public pressure over accountability following the medical examiner’s determination. It wasn’t clear if Bragg’s office intended to pursue charges against two other people seen restraining Neely in that video or if those people had yet been identified.

Witnesses had reported Neely, a homeless man with a lengthy criminal record and a history of mental illness, was aggressive toward other riders on a train at the Broadway-Lafayette station in SoHo. He had been shouting at passengers, witnesses said, yelling that he was hungry and didn’t care if he died. The 30-year-old had been on a special city homeless watch list, considered a potential risk to himself and others.

“Because someone has either mental illness or houselessness or has history of arrests, does not make them dispensable,” said attorney Edwards.

Donte Mills, another lawyer for Neely’s family, disputed Penny’s version of events, saying the veteran “acted with indifference. He didn’t care about Jordan, he cared about himself. And we can’t let that stand.”

“Mr. Neely did not attack anyone.” Mills said. “He did not touch anyone. He did not hit anyone. But he was choked to death.

“No one on that train asked Jordan: ‘What’s wrong, how can I help you?’” Mills continued, urging New Yorkers in a similar situation: “Don’t attack. Don’t choke. Don’t kill. Don’t take someone’s life. Don’t take someone’s loved one from them because they’re in a bad place.”

The criminal complaint stated at Penny came up from behind Neely and pulled him to the ground, then held his arm around Neely’s neck for “several minutes.” An officer who reviewed video of the chokehold said that when Penny released him, “Mr. Neely appears to be unconscious.”

Witnesses also said Neely hadn’t physically attacked anyone before Penny moved to subdue him. Penny was questioned by the NYPD that day and released. Then came the autopsy findings.

Multiple protests have taken place in Manhattan since Neely’s death, with dozens arrested. Protesters again ratcheted up the volume Thursday, after learning of the looming charges, and more demonstrations were expected Friday.

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Earlier this week, Mayor Eric Adams, who had been accused by some of not weighing in substantially enough, formally addressed Neely’s death in a public address.

The Democrat forcefully declared Neely “shouldn’t have died” — while carefully towing a line between acknowledging the loss, and the ensuing tensions, and appearing to ascribe any sort of responsibility.

“One of our own is dead,” Adams said, empathizing with the emotional intensity coursing through the city over the case. “A Black man, Black like me — a man named Jordan, the name I gave my son, a New Yorker who struggled with tragedy, trauma and mental illness, a man whose last words were to cry for help, a man named Jordan Neely.”

Adams said his death is yet another indication the mental health system needs an overhaul to better protect those who, like Neely, he says fall through the cracks and “disappear into the shadows.”

On Thursday, Adams again sidestepped when asked his view of whether what happened aboard the subway train was criminal.

“If this case goes to trial, I don’t want to talk about changing venues, tainted with the police,” the Democratic mayor said.

As for Neely’s death itself, Adams added, “We need to make sure we prevent these things from happening. That is within my span of control.”

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UPDATE: Ex-Marine Daniel Penny Arrested on Felony Manslaughter Charge in Jordan Neely Death

The 24-year-old Marine veteran seen on video putting Jordan Neely in a chokehold on the floor of an F train in Manhattan 10 days ago, resulting in his death, is expected to be charged and surrender Friday, sources familiar with the matter tell News 4 New York.

The Manhattan district attorney’s office told NBC New York that Daniel Penny will be arraigned on a charge of second-degree manslaughter. Penny is expected to turn himself in as early as Friday morning at a lower Manhattan precinct.

“We cannot provide any additional information until he has been arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court, which we expect to take place tomorrow,” a spokesperson for DA’s office said.

NBC New York was told that the decision to charge Penny was made by the district attorney’s office in consultation with the NYPD. An NYPD spokesperson did not return requests for comment.

Penny’s attorneys also have not commented on the imminent charges. They have previously said their client was protecting himself and others, and there was no way Penny “could have foreseen” his bid to subdue the supposed perceived threat would turn deadly. His attorneys said he never intended to harm Neely.

Neely’s family has said that statement amounts to a confession and have been calling for criminal charges.

The charges will come more than a week after Neely’s death on May 1, and amid mounting public pressure over accountability following the medical examiner’s determination that the case was a homicide. It wasn’t clear if Bragg’s office intended to pursue charges against two other people seen restraining Neely in that video or if those people had yet been identified.

Witnesses had reported Neely, a homeless man with a lengthy criminal record and a history of mental illness, was aggressive toward other riders on a train at the Broadway-Lafayette station in SoHo. He had been shouting at passengers, witnesses said, yelling that he was hungry and didn’t care if he died. The 30-year-old had been on a special city homeless watch list, considered a potential risk to himself and others.

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Witnesses also said Neely hadn’t physically attacked anyone before Penny moved to subdue him. Penny was questioned by the NYPD that day and released. Then came the autopsy findings.

Multiple protests have taken place in Manhattan since Neely’s death, with dozens arrested. Protesters again ratcheted up the volume Thursday, even after learning of the charges said to be coming.

“We need people to be held accountable for their actions, however we don’t want this just to be about the need to incarcerate this man,” said Jawanza James Williams, the organizing director for Vocal NY.

Still, some said it has taken too long for the charges to come.

“It’s ten days too late,” said protester Tanesha Grant. “Yes it’s some step towards progress, but we’ve been waiting too long.”

Earlier this week, Mayor Eric Adams, who had been accused by some of not weighing in substantially enough, formally addressed Neely’s death in a public address on Wednesday.

The Democrat forcefully declared Neely “shouldn’t have died” — while carefully towing a line between acknowledging the loss, and the ensuing tensions, and appearing to ascribe any sort of responsibility.

“One of our own is dead,” Adams said, empathizing with the emotional intensity coursing through the city over the case. “A Black man, Black like me — a man named Jordan, the name I gave my son, a New Yorker who struggled with tragedy, trauma and mental illness, a man whose last words were to cry for help, a man named Jordan Neely.”

Neely had multiple arrests for offenses including assault and disorderly conduct, among others. Adams said his death is yet another indication the mental health system needs an overhaul to better protect those who, like Neely, he says fall through the cracks and “disappear into the shadows.”

On Thursday, Adams again sidestepped when asked his view of whether what happened aboard the subway train was criminal.

“It this case goes to trial, I don’t want to talk about changing venues, tainted with the police,” Adams said.

While addressing Neely’s death, the mayor said that “we need to make sure we prevent these things from happening. That is within my span of control.”

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Silence may be deafening, but it doesn’t mean “do nothing.” That’s the latest message from the Manhattan district attorney, as his office weighs potential criminal charges in the subway chokehold that has gained national attention.

It’s been 10 days since Neely, 30, died on the floor of an F train car after being put in a chokehold at the Broadway-Lafayette station on a Monday afternoon. The circumstances remain under investigation. Witnesses had reported Neely, a homeless man with a lengthy record, was aggressive toward other riders. They also reported Neely hadn’t physically attacked anyone before a 24-year-old former Marine, Daniel Penny, moved to forcibly subdue him.

Penny was taken into custody by the NYPD for questioning and later released. The next day, the medical examiner’s office ruled Neely’s death a homicide, igniting a firestorm of debate over self-defense vs. vigilantism. Also came a series of protests across a city wearied by too many deaths, however unrelated, of Black men at white men’s hands.

Officially, Bragg’s office has been tight-lipped on the case, saying only that it has assigned seasoned, experienced prosecutors to conduct an investigation. Sources say there could be grand jury action this week. In the meantime, Bragg urged late Wednesday that people not read much into his apparent silence.

“I think sometimes people peer into the silence and look at that as if the office isn’t doing anything right,” Bragg said. “It’s not important. It’s quite the contrary.”

Earlier that day, Mayor Eric Adams, who had been accused by some of not weighing in substantially enough, formally addressed Neely’s death in a public address on Wednesday.

The Democrat forcefully declared Neely “shouldn’t have died” — while carefully towing a line between acknowledging the loss, and the ensuing tensions, and appearing to ascribe any sort of responsibility.

“One of our own is dead,” Adams said, empathizing with the emotional intensity coursing through the city over the case. “A Black man, Black like me — a man named Jordan, the name I gave my son, a New Yorker who struggled with tragedy, trauma and mental illness, a man whose last words were to cry for help, a man named Jordan Neely.”

Attorneys for Penny have said the young man never intended to kill Neely and “could not have foreseen” that his efforts to mitigate a perceived public threat would turn deadly. Neely’s family has called that an “admission of guilt.”

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But now, more people are back in the office and using their city’s trains, subways and buses, at least part time. So which city is recovering best?

Moving company Hire a Helper analyzed government data and ranked cities with the best public transportation right now.

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If your first guess was NYC, close but not quite. The five boroughs was ranked third on the list, behind Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.

Hire a Helper looked at several key factors including average commute time, population density and the number of workers who commute by public transit to determine the list.

But when it comes to smaller cities’ public transit, another New York city topped the list. Ithaca was given a perfect score on its public transportation. For midsize metro areas, the Bridgeport-Norwalk-Stamford area was given the second-best marks in the country, just behind Provo-Orem, Utah.

The subway chokehold death of Jordan Neely in Manhattan has stoked national controversy, and Mayor Eric Adams, who had been accused by some of not weighing in substantially enough, formally addressed it publicly in his most extensive and substantive comments yet.

The Democrat, who responded to a smattering of questions about Neely’s death in the immediate aftermath, made his position clear in his under-15-minute speech Wednesday, saying the 30-year-old didn’t deserve to die. Adams acknowledged Neely’s history of mental illness, which he had done publicly before, and the race factor, which he had not.

“One of our own is dead,” Adams said, empathizing with the emotional intensity coursing through the city over the case. “A Black man, Black like me — a man named Jordan, the name I gave my son, a New Yorker who struggled with tragedy, trauma and mental illness, a man whose last words were to cry for help, a man named Jordan Neely.”

Neely, 30, died on the floor of an F train car after being put in a chokehold at the Broadway-Lafayette station May 1. It was the middle of the afternoon, and came after Neely yelled that he was tired, hungry and didn’t care if he went to jail or died. The NYPD questioned Daniel Penny, the 24-year-old ex-Marine seen on video with his hands around Neely’s neck, in the hours afterward, then released him from custody without filing charges.

The next day, the medical examiner’s office ruled the case a homicide, igniting a firestorm around Penny, who was declared a murderer by some who had hailed him as a good Samaritan for his actions less than 24 hours prior.

Adams said Neely’s death has “devastated his family and shocked his fellow New Yorkers,” but he appeared careful not to wade too much into some of the divisive discourse that has resulted, and pushed back against calls for those responsible to be arrested. The investigation is ongoing.

“While we have no control over that process, one thing we can control is how our city responds to this tragedy. One thing we can say for sure: Jordan Neely did not deserve to die,” the mayor said, nine days after the subway death. “All of us must work together to do more to help our brothers and sisters struggling with serious mental illness.”

“There were many people who tried to help Jordan get the support he needed, but the tragic reality of severe mental illness is that some who suffer from it are at times unaware of their own need for care,” Adams continued. “And all too often, they’re caught up in this cycle of violence, sometimes as perpetrators, or far more often as victims — and in many cases, through no fault of their own, they resist treatment, walk away from a chance for recovery and disappear into the shadows.”

Indeed. Neely’s arrest record — a lengthy criminal sheet with charges including criminal trespassing, disorderly conduct and assault, including within the city’s transit system — has been called out by people who believe Penny was justified in using the maneuver. They say it was done to subdue a man they allege posed a potential threat to the public.

Witnesses and sources had alleged Neely was acting aggressively on the train up until that point. Riders allegedly Neely said he was hungry, thirsty and didn’t care about going to jail. They also said he didn’t physically attack anyone before being put in the chokehold. Penny’s legal team submits that may be because of their client’s actions, citing Neely’s record. His attorneys also said late last week he never intended for Neely to die and couldn’t have foreseen it.

Neely’s family called that an “admission of guilt” — and said the system failed him.

A New Battle Plan for Mental Illness

Adams on Wednesday agreed the system needs to change.

“It is the nature of this cruel disease, and it breaks our hearts every time,” Adams said of mental illness. “We cannot and will not accept this state of affairs. We will not walk by those or step over those who are suffering or ignore those calls for help. We will respond with care, compassion and action. We can and must do everything possible to help.”

In previous remarks, Adams had said the incident underscores what he says is a need to remove people with mental illness from the transit system — a push he began with Democratic colleague Gov. Kathy Hochul in the early days of his administration. He referenced those early efforts and conversations again on Wednesday — and declared it “time to build a new consensus around what can and must be done for those living with serious mental illness.”

“Our vision is to create a better system that goes beyond one incident or tragedy,” Adams explained.

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He said renewed focus must be on “the continuum of care that keeps people connected to the support they need to stay well” and doing what can be done to get people help before they get into crisis as he says Neely did. Speaking about Neely’s life prior to Monday’s incident, Adams said he had interacted with many city agencies and community-based organizations and providers. He also acknowledged his encounters with the criminal justice system, and said the young man received services intended to help him live safely in the community.

“Those efforts were not enough,” Adams said. “And we must find ways to strengthen our system.”

The mayor pledged to bring leaders from five organizations the city contracts for homeless outreach together next week for a summit on improving outcomes for people with serious mental illness. He vowed to develop an action plan — one that he says will also ensure accountability when there are missed opportunities to help people in crisis.

“All of us will sit down at City Hall to develop an action plan to ensure accountability when there are missed opportunities to get those in crisis the help they need,” said Adams.

The Democrat was also expected to meet with faith leaders on the matter later Wednesday.

Some criticized how the city and the Adams administration have handled mental illness.

“Hospitalization is a tactic, it’s not a plan. Jordan had been in the hospital. If you play someone in the hospital, when they’re released with no continuum of care, it doesn’t really help,” said NYC Public Advocate Jumaane Williams.

What Happens Next?

Adams’ remarks came a day after the White House released its first statement on the case ahead of the president’s fundraising trip to New York. A Biden spokesperson called Neely’s death “tragic and deeply disturbing.“

The Manhattan district attorney’s office has mostly been tight-lipped about the case, but has said it has seasoned, experienced prosecutors looking into the case. Two sources familiar with the matter say Alvin Bragg won’t make a decision on whether or when to protest a possible case until later this week.

“I think sometimes people peer into the silence and look at that as if the office isn’t doing anything right…It’s quite the contrary,” said DA Bragg.

NYC Comptroller Brad Lander called for charges to be filed, saying “we can’t be a city where you could choke someone to death who’s experiencing a mental health crisis without any consequence.”

In the meantime, dozens have been arrested in seemingly escalating protests as the city awaits the DA’s decision. A Molotov cocktail was seized at Monday night’s protest, the latest in a series of demonstrations that saw mass transit disrupted over the weekend. While affirming the right to peaceful protest, top NYPD officials issued a stern warning.

“We understand why people want to elevate their voices and protest. And we support that people have a right to speak up when they believe an injustice occurs. But we cannot have people coming out to protest bringing dangerous substances like this,” Maddrey said of the firebomb. “We just really ask our communities, or people who want to come out and elevate their voices, not to engage in that kind of behavior. They could hurt themselves. They can hurt members of the department, co-protesters and innocent people. And it’s going to really defeat the purpose.”

That weapon, in particular, evoked memories of the 2020 George Floyd summer protests that saw flaming bottles thrown at the windows of NYPD cruisers, hundreds arrested and dozens of NYPD officers cited for misconduct.

Adams has seemed to suggest that any unrest was the fault of the protesters, and pointed the finger at “agitators from outside our city,” which was the case, officials have said, in the summer of 2020 after Floyd died.

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At least 11 people were arrested, and a Molotov cocktail seized, at Monday night’s protest over last week’s subway chokehold death of Jordan Neely, the latest in a series of demonstrations that have seen mass transit disrupted as New York City awaits word on whether the Manhattan district attorney will bring criminal charges in the case.

The White House has now also weighed in, ahead of President Joe Biden’s planned fundraising trip to New York this week. Calling Neely’s death “tragic and deeply disturbing,” a spokesperson offered condolences to friends and family.

“We firmly believe that the events surrounding his death demand a thorough investigation,” the White House said.

In total, at least two dozen people were taken into custody between the most recent protest and one on Saturday that saw throngs jump onto the track bed at the Lexington Avenue station and block the path of a Q train. While affirming their right to peaceful protest, top NYPD officials issued a stern warning early Tuesday about inciting violence.

The group rallied outside the Broadway-Lafayette station where the 30-year-old Neely lost his life last Monday. It was supposed to be a vigil in Neely’s honor. About 150 demonstrators flooded the immediate area, some holding signs demanding “Justice for Jordan Neely” and others calling for more law enforcement accountability.

It was the first Neely protest that saw tensions escalate to violence, with photos showing blood-splattered faces amid a sea of civilians, police officers and NYPD cops in blue community outreach jackets trying to calm the situation. Police used a loudspeaker to clear traffic-blocking crowds from the streets as well as the subway station entrance.

As the crowds moved, video at one point showed multiple officers piling atop something on the ground. It turned out to be a Molotov cocktail, NYPD officials said. No injuries were reported.

That weapon, in particular, evoked memories of the 2020 George Floyd summer protests that saw flaming bottles thrown at the windows of NYPD cruisers, hundreds arrested and dozens of NYPD officers cited for misconduct. And police were quick after Monday’s demonstration to remind people of what is — and isn’t — within their rights.

“We respect people’s right to protest. We respect their First Amendment rights, but we will not tolerate breaking the law,” NYPD Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey said. “More importantly, we will not tolerate people bringing weapons and dangerous substances to peaceful protests.”

Specific charges against those arrested Monday night weren’t immediately known, but Maddrey described the offenses as “different violations of the law.” Some questioned police actions at the demonstration, especially around the arrest of a journalist who allegedly interfered in the NYPD response. Maddrey said the reporter — and others — were warned multiple times about potentially illicit actions as they unfolded, and that police acted with restraint in arrests.

“We understand why people want to elevate their voices and protest. And we support that people have a right to speak up when they believe an injustice occurs. But we cannot have people coming out to protest bringing dangerous substances like this,” Maddrey said of the firebomb. “We just really ask our communities, or people who want to come out and elevate their voices, not to engage in that kind of behavior. They could hurt themselves. They can hurt members of the department, co-protesters and innocent people. And it’s going to really defeat the purpose.”

Mayor Eric Adams seemed to suggest that any unrest was the fault of the protesters, and pointed the finger at “agitators from outside our city. We should all be concerned about that.”

The developments come as New York City again awaits a decision by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, this time whether to bring potential charges against 24-year-old Daniel Penny, the ex-Marine seen on video putting his hands around Neely’s neck after the alleged F train disturbance on the afternoon of May 1.

Neely died a short time later.

The medical examiner’s office ruled his death a homicide the following day, igniting a firestorm around Perry, who was declared a murderer by some of the same people who hailed him as a good Samaritan for his actions a day earlier.

Two sources familiar with the matter say Bragg won’t make a decision on whether or when to protest a possible case until later this week. They say the investigation is ongoing. Officially, Bragg’s office has declined comment on the Neely case and referred reporters to a previously released statement from last week.

“This is a solemn and serious matter that ended in the tragic loss of Jordan Neely’s life,” that statement said. “As part of our rigorous ongoing investigation, we will review the Medical Examiner’s report, assess all available video and photo footage, identify and interview as many witnesses as possible, and obtain additional medical records.”

MTA sources say the chokehold happened while the train was stopped on the northbound side and the doors were open. There was no functional camera at the platform level of the station, they added. The NYPD is requesting footage from several nearby stations and asking the public for any witness statements or footage that might inform the case.

NYC Subway Chokehold Death Sparks Debate

The growing outcry for justice has been bolstered by many who say they are angry and fed up with a system that failed Neely, who was living on the streets, performing as Michael Jackson while battling mental illness.

“Mr. Neely suffered from mental illness which began at age 14 when he experienced the brutal murder of his mother. It is a tragedy for all of us to know that Jordan Neely’s life was also cut short. Mills & Edwards is committed to holding accountable the MTA and Neely’s killer,” his family’s attorneys said in a statement last week.

During the deadly chaos, witnesses and sources say Neely was acting aggressively on the F train. They said he was hungry, thirsty and didn’t care about going to jail, but had not attacked anyone before Penny put him in the deadly chokehold. The NYPD and other officials have asked the public to submit any footage or images that may assist.

Penny’s attorneys released the first statement on behalf of their client Friday, saying he “never intended to harm” the 30-year-old homeless man, and “could not have foreseen his untimely death.”

“When Mr. Neely began aggressively threatening Daniel Penny and the other passengers, Daniel, with the help of others, acted to protect themselves, until help arrived,’ the lawyers’ statement reads. “For too long, those suffering from mental illness have been treated with indifference. We hope that out of this awful tragedy will come a new commitment by our elected officials to address the mental health crisis on our streets and subways.”

Neely’s family, in a statement Monday, called that an “admission of guilt.”

“Daniel Penny’s press release is not an apology nor an expression of regret. It is a character assassination, and a clear example of why he believed he was entitled to take Jordan‘s life,” the joint statement from Neely’s family attorneys said. “The truth is, he knew nothing about Jordan’s history when he intentionally wrapped his arms around Jordan‘s neck, and squeezed and kept squeezing.”

They continued later: “It is clear he is the one who acted with indifference, both at the time he killed Jordan and now in his first public message. He never attempted to help him at all. In short, his actions on the train, and now his words, show why he needs to be in prison.”

The family has asked Rev. Al Sharpton to deliver the eulogy at Neely’s funeral on May 19, though no other details regarding the services have been announced.

Since Penny’s identity was made public, those seeking justice on behalf of Neely have sought to identify the two other people seen holding him down on video.

Mayor Eric Adams has said that the incident underscores what he says is a need to remove people with mental illness from the transit system — a push he began with Democratic colleague Gov. Kathy Hochul in the early days of his administration. Hochul has said she is pleased the district attorney’s office is investigating.

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A Manhattan grand jury could consider potential criminal charges this week in the subway chokehold death of Jordan Neely, who sources say was on a special watchlist of the city’s most at-risk people.

The 30-year-old known by many in the city for his years spent performing as a Michael Jackson impersonator, died one week ago on a train at the Broadway-Lafayette station after allegedly threatening passengers and being put into a chokehold by a former Marine identified by his own attorneys as 24-year-old Daniel Penny.

Penny put Neely in a chokehold on the subway car floor, video showed, as four people called 911 a total of five times. Neely ended up dead. Penny was initially taken into custody for questioning and later released. The medical examiner’s ruling of Neely’s death as a homicide put pressure anew on the Manhattan district attorney’s office, which sources say has been weighing possible charges.

News 4 has learned Neely was on a “Top 50” list of the city’s most at-risk homeless clients and considered by outreach workers to be a potential danger to himself and others. And yet, somehow city agencies and outreach teams lost track of Neely.

Justin Brannan, who chairs the New York City Council’s Finance Committee, asked on Monday if low staffing levels at Homeless Services played a role. 

“What real life impact are they having. And what can we do to make sure this doesn’t happen again and someone like Jordan Neely doesn’t slip through the cracks,” Brannan said.

A source inside City Hall denied that DHS has any sort of so-called “ranking” or list in regards to how violent or problematic a homeless individual may be. The source acknowledged that they do monitor a list of people who are most difficult to reach and may be more vulnerable — for example if they are older or living on the streets for a long time and have refused outreach help for years, sometimes decades.

The medical examiner’s office ruling of Neely’s death as a homicide put pressure anew on the Manhattan district attorney’s office, which sources say has been weighing possible charges. Prosecutors may present the case to a grand jury as soon as this week, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

“This is a solemn and serious matter that ended in the tragic loss of Jordan Neely’s life,” Alvin Bragg’s spokesperson said in a statement late last week. “As part of our rigorous ongoing investigation, we will review the Medical Examiner’s report, assess all available video and photo footage, identify and interview as many witnesses as possible, and obtain additional medical records. This investigation is being handled by senior, experienced prosecutors and we will provide an update when there is additional public information to share.”

MTA sources say the chokehold happened while the train was stopped on the northbound side and the doors were open. There was no functional camera at the platform level of the station, they added. Video of the chokehold is potential evidence. But sources say MTA cameras at the Broadway-Lafayette station did not produce useful images.

Sources briefed on the request say additional MTA footage was turned over to the NYPD for review from the Bleeker Street station, which is connected to Broadway-Lafayette, and 2nd Avenue, where the F train stopped prior to the incident.

A vigil for Neely held Monday evening quickly turned sideways in front of the subway station entrance, as a demonstrator defied orders from NYPD officers at the scene and was arrested. The crowd spilled on Houston Street as police told them to get back onto the sidewalk.

As many as 150 protesters were at the SoHo demonstration, with at least 11 people arrested and a man’s face left bloodied after a melee, though it wasn’t clear how it happened during the protests that continue to grow increasingly tense each day. A molotov cocktail was also found at the scene, according to police, and among those arrested was a photojournalist who allegedly interfered with at least three arrests.

Jordan Neely Death Debate?

The growing outcry for justice has been bolstered by many who say they are angry and fed up with a system that failed Neely, who was living on the streets, performing as Michael Jackson while battling mental illness.

“Mr. Neely suffered from mental illness which began at age 14 when he experienced the brutal murder of his mother. It is a tragedy for all of us to know that Jordan Neely’s life was also cut short. Mills & Edwards is committed to holding accountable the MTA and Neely’s killer,” his family’s attorneys said in a statement last week.

During the deadly chaos, witnesses and sources say Neely was acting aggressively on the F train. They said he was hungry, thirsty and didn’t care about going to jail, but had not attacked anyone before Penny put him in the deadly chokehold. The NYPD and other officials have asked the public to submit any footage or images that may assist.

Penny’s attorneys released the first statement on behalf of their client Friday, saying he “never intended to harm” the 30-year-old homeless man, and “could not have foreseen his untimely death.”

“When Mr. Neely began aggressively threatening Daniel Penny and the other passengers, Daniel, with the help of others, acted to protect themselves, until help arrived,’ the lawyers’ statement reads. “For too long, those suffering from mental illness have been treated with indifference. We hope that out of this awful tragedy will come a new commitment by our elected officials to address the mental health crisis on our streets and subways.”

Neely’s family, in a new statement Monday, called that an “admission of guilt.”

“Daniel Penny’s press release is not an apology nor an expression of regret. It is a character assassination, and a clear example of why he believed he was entitled to take Jordan‘s life,” the joint statement from Neely’s family attorneys said. “The truth is, he knew nothing about Jordan’s history when he intentionally wrapped his arms around Jordan‘s neck, and squeezed and kept squeezing.”

They continued later: “It is clear he is the one who acted with indifference, both at the time he killed Jordan and now in his first public message. He never attempted to help him at all. In short, his actions on the train, and now his words, show why he needs to be in prison.”

Since Penny’s identity was made public, those seeking justice on behalf of Neely have sought to identify the two other people seen holding him down on video.

The Manhattan district attorney’s office has not yet commented on whether other individuals could face charges.

Mayor Eric Adams has said that the incident underscores what he says is a need to remove people with mental illness from the transit system — a push he began with Democratic colleague Gov. Kathy Hochul in the early days of his administration. Hochul has said she is pleased the district attorney’s office is investigating, but also said Monday that Neely’s death is “clear evidence we need some work. We need alternatives for these individuals.”

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The NYPD is looking for a half-dozen people who brought train traffic to a halt over the weekend amid ongoing protests over the subway chokehold death of Jordan Neely, while sources familiar with the case say the district attorney’s office could convene a grand jury to consider criminal charges as early as this week.

About 13 people were arrested in connection with Saturday’s protests at Manhattan’s Lexington Avenue and 63rd Street stop. Police released photos of another six they want to question in what they call a criminal trespass case, but it was not immediately clear what their role in the protest was.

They were among dozens who, chanting “no justice, no peace,” jumped to the tracks, debilitating transit traffic.

It was just the latest demonstration amid ongoing fallout — and controversy — over Neely’s death on a subway at Broadway-Lafayette one week ago Monday. Neely, a 30-year-old with a lengthy arrest record for offenses including assault and disorderly contact, allegedly had been menacing passengers on a train that afternoon when another subway rider, a former Marine identified by his own attorneys as 24-year-old Daniel Penny, tried to intervene.

Penny put Neely in a chokehold on the subway car floor, video showed. Neely ended up dead. Penny was initially taken into custody for questioning and later released. The medical examiner’s office ruling of Neely’s death as a homicide put pressure anew on the Manhattan district attorney’s office, which sources say has been weighing possible charges.

“This is a solemn and serious matter that ended in the tragic loss of Jordan Neely’s life,” Alvin Bragg’s spokesperson said in a statement late last week. “As part of our rigorous ongoing investigation, we will review the Medical Examiner’s report, assess all available video and photo footage, identify and interview as many witnesses as possible, and obtain additional medical records. This investigation is being handled by senior, experienced prosecutors and we will provide an update when there is additional public information to share.”

MTA sources say the chokehold happened while the train was stopped on the northbound side and the doors were open. There was no functional camera at the platform level of the station, they added. The NYPD is requesting footage from several nearby stations.

Tensions, meanwhile, are simmering.

Amid the ongoing investigation, the case has incited calls for Penny — initially hailed as a good Samaritan for intervening — to be arrested. The weekend demonstrators took their chants through the streets of Manhattan before descending to the tracks at Lexington Avenue and East 63rd Street Saturday and blocking a Q train from entering the station, triggering reverberating transit delays and, officials say, recklessly risking lives.

The head of New York City Transit, Richard Davey, described the protesters’ actions as “dangerous, reckless and can be life-threatening.”

“While peaceful protest has always been part of American fabric, endangering transit workers and other responders, while also delaying New Yorkers just trying to get where they need to go, by deliberately risking contact with an electrified third rail, is unacceptable,” Davey said.

Another protest is scheduled for Monday evening.

Jordan Neely Death Debate?

The growing outcry for justice has been bolstered by many who say they are angry and fed up with a system that failed Neely, who was living on the streets, performing as Michael Jackson while battling mental illness.

“Mr. Neely suffered from mental illness which began at age 14 when he experienced the brutal murder of his mother. It is a tragedy for all of us to know that Jordan Neely’s life was also cut short. Mills & Edwards is committed to holding accountable the MTA and Neely’s killer,” his family’s attorneys said in a statement last week.

During the deadly chaos, witnesses and sources say Neely was acting aggressively on the F train. They said he was hungry, thirsty and didn’t care about going to jail, but had not attacked anyone before Penny put him in the deadly chokehold. The NYPD and other officials have asked the public to submit any footage or images that may assist.

Penny’s attorneys released the first statement on behalf of their client Friday, saying he “never intended to harm” the 30-year-old homeless man, and “could not have foreseen his untimely death.”

“When Mr. Neely began aggressively threatening Daniel Penny and the other passengers, Daniel, with the help of others, acted to protect themselves, until help arrived,’ the lawyers’ statement reads. “For too long, those suffering from mental illness have been treated with indifference. We hope that out of this awful tragedy will come a new commitment by our elected officials to address the mental health crisis on our streets and subways.”

Neely’s family, in a new statement Monday, called that an “admission of guilt.”

“Daniel Penny’s press release is not an apology nor an expression of regret. It is a character assassination, and a clear example of why he believed he was entitled to take Jordan‘s life,” the joint statement from Neely’s family attorneys said. “The truth is, he knew nothing about Jordan’s history when he intentionally wrapped his arms around Jordan‘s neck, and squeezed and kept squeezing.”

They continued later: “It is clear he is the one who acted with indifference, both at the time he killed Jordan and now in his first public message. He never attempted to help him at all. In short, his actions on the train, and now his words, show why he needs to be in prison.”

Since Penny’s identity was made public, those seeking justice on behalf of Neely have sought to identify the two other people seen holding him down on video.

The Manhattan district attorney’s office has yet to officially comment.

Mayor Eric Adams has said that the incident underscores what he says is a need to remove people with mental illness from the transit system — a push he began with Democratic colleague Gov. Kathy Hochul in the early days of his administration. Hochul has said she is pleased the district attorney’s office is investigating.

May 4

Gov. Kathy Hochul Answers Questions About Jordan Neely Chokehold Death

May 3

Homeless Man Choked to Death on NYC Subway Was a Beloved MJ Impersonator

NYC Subway May 5

Charges in NYC Chokehold Death May Hinge on ‘Reasonableness'

Protesters chanting “no justice, no peace,” swarmed a Manhattan subway station Saturday, bringing oncoming trains to a halt after dozens jumped down onto the tracks in another day of demonstrations over the chokehold death of Jordan Neely.

New Yorkers have been protesting much of the week following the death of Neely, a 30-year-old killed on a train at the Broadway-Lafayette station Monday and being put into a chokehold by a rider. Daniel Penny, later identified by his own attorneys as that rider, was questioned by the NYPD and later released from custody.

Amid the ongoing investigation, the case has incited calls for Penny — initially hailed as a good Samaritan for intervening — to be arrested. The weekend demonstrators took their chants through the streets of Manhattan before descending to the tracks at Lexington Avenue and East 63rd Street around 6 p.m. Saturday.

Power was temporarily cut to the station, for roughly 30 minutes, as dozens stood on the tracks, preventing a Q train from entering the station and sending reverberating delays for the lines running through the station. The NYPD said 13 people were arrested in connection with the protests Saturday.

By 7 p.m., the demonstrators had mostly cleared from the station and back out onto the street. The MTA had resumed train service with some residual delays.

The head of New York City Transit, Richard Davey, said the protesters’ actions jumping on the tracks “dangerous, reckless and can be life threatening.”

“While peaceful protest has always been part of American fabric, endangering transit workers and other responders, while also delaying New Yorkers just trying to get where they need to go, by deliberately risking contact with an electrified third rail, is unacceptable,” the president’s statement read Saturday.

At one point in the afternoon, hundreds of people had rallied and marched through downtown as part of the ongoing demand to get justice for Neely’s killing. The medical examiner’s office has ruled his death a homicide.

A senior prosecutor was said to be looking into the matter and, according to two sources familiar with the matter, was preparing to present the case to a Manhattan grand jury, which would determine whether criminal charges would be brought against Penny.

It wasn’t immediately clear when the Manhattan district attorney’s office would present those details to the grand jury, the sources said Friday.

“This man had a mental issue and the way you handle that is not to put him in a chokehold and squeeze the life out of him,” Rev. Al Sharpton said before the National Action Network on Saturday.

The growing outcry for justice has been bolstered by many who say they are angry and fed up with a system that failed Neely, who was living on the streets, performing as Michael Jackson while battling mental illness.

“Mr. Neely suffered from mental illness which began at age 14 when he experienced the brutal murder of his mother. It is a tragedy for all of us to know that Jordan Neely’s life was also cut short. Mills & Edwards is committed to holding accountable the MTA and Neely’s killer,” his family’s attorneys said in a statement last week.

During Monday’s chaos, witnesses and sources say Neely was acting aggressively on the F train and said that he was hungry, thirsty and didn’t care about going to jail, but had not attacked anyone before Penny put him in the deadly chokehold.

“A mental issue on a train is not to be sentenced to death,” Sharpton said. “How can no one be charged? That man, Jordan Neely is dead because he was Black, homeless and angry.”

May 4

Gov. Kathy Hochul Answers Questions About Jordan Neely Chokehold Death

May 3

Homeless Man Choked to Death on NYC Subway Was a Beloved MJ Impersonator

NYC Subway May 5

Charges in NYC Chokehold Death May Hinge on ‘Reasonableness'

Penny’s attorneys released the first statement on behalf of their client Friday, saying he “never intended to harm” the 30-year-old homeless man, and “could not have foreseen his untimely death.”

“When Mr. Neely began aggressively threatening Daniel Penny and the other passengers, Daniel, with the help of others, acted to protect themselves, until help arrived,’ the lawyers’ statement reads. “For too long, those suffering from mental illness have been treated with indifference. We hope that out of this awful tragedy will come a new commitment by our elected officials to address the mental health crisis on our streets and subways.”

Since Penny’s identity was made public, those seeking justice on behalf of Neely have sought to identify the two other people seen holding the man down and hold them accountable.

“I’m looking at the video, you got one man choking and the others holding him down. They all need to be in front of a grand jury,” Sharpton said.

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Daniel Penny, a 24-year-old college student, intervened by placing Neely, a homeless man who struggled with mental health, in a headlock while holding him on the ground aboard a train at the Broadway-Lafayette station Monday afternoon. Others also helped subdue Neely. 

Neely was unconscious on the car floor when officers arrived and pronounced dead at a hospital, police said.

Penny was questioned by the NYPD and later released from custody. The death was ruled a homicide by the medical examiner’s office. No charges have been filed in the case at this time.

Penny’s lawyers, Thomas Kenniff and Steven Raiser, released a statement Friday night offering condolences to those close to Neely and stating that Penny and other passengers acted in a justifiable manner.

“Mr. Neely had a documented history of violent and erratic behavior, the apparent result of ongoing and untreated mental illness,” the statement read. “When Mr. Neely began aggressively threatening Daniel Penny and the other passengers, Daniel, with the help of others, acted to protect themselves, until help arrived. Daniel never intended to harm Mr. Neely and could not have foreseen his untimely death.”

A Manhattan grand jury will hear the case to determine whether criminal charges will be brought against Penny, two sources familiar with the matter told News 4.

Juan Alberto Vazquez, who was on the train and recorded Neely becoming unconscious as he was restrained, said Neely acted aggressively and threw his jacket, he hadn’t attacked anyone. Vazquez said the chokehold lasted about 15 minutes.

Vazquez said he was scared, and believes others were, as well, with some moving from their seat on the train.

“I stayed sitting in my place because it was a little further away, but obviously in those moments, well, one feels fear,” Vazquez said. “One thinks he may be armed.”

NYC Subway May 5

Charges in NYC Chokehold Death May Hinge on ‘Reasonableness'

NYC Subway May 3

NYC Subway Chokehold Death Ruled a Homicide, As Groups Demand Justice for Jordan Neely

In the wake of Neely’s death, the district attorney’s office has faced mounting pressure to file charges in the case, leading to debate over whether Penny acted in justified defense or criminally.

Neely’s family has retained legal representation with Mills & Edwards LLP.

“I took this case because 15 minutes is too long to go without help, intervention and without air. Passengers are not supposed to die on the floor of our subways,” attorney Lennon Edwards said in a statement. “We understand our current times have created a heightened sense of fear (sometimes reasonable, sometimes not.) However, there has to be a clear line of when lethal force can be used by anyone, including civilians.”

Potential criminal charges against Penny could depend on whether a “reasonable” New Yorker would have acted similarly.

Under New York’s penal code, a person who uses deadly force must not only prove that they feared for their own life or someone else’s, but that any reasonable person would have felt the same way.

Law enforcement sources with knowledge of the case said Neely had a lengthy criminal history, with charges including assault and disorderly conduct. Penny’s lawyers said in the statement that Neely “had a documented history of violent and erratic behavior, the apparent result of ongoing and untreated mental illness.”

“For too long, those suffering from mental illness have been treated with indifference,” the statement read. “We hope that out of this awful tragedy will come a new commitment by our elected officials to address the mental health crisis on our streets and subways.”

Lawyers for the 24-year-old man at the center of the chokehold death of Jordan Neely on a Manhattan subway train said their client “never intended to harm” the 30-year-old homeless man, and “could not have foreseen his untimely death.”

In the first comments identifying Daniel Penny as the man seen on video performing a chokehold on Neely at the Broadway-Lafayette station Monday afternoon, the lawyers from the firm of Raiser and Kenniff said their client was “involved in a tragic accident” on the subway.

“We would first like to express, on behalf of Daniel Penny, our condolences to those close to Mr. Neely,” the statement released Friday evening began. “Mr. Neely had a documented history of violent and erratic behavior, the apparent result of ongoing and untreated mental illness.”

The statement went on to address what led up to the deadly chokehold that Penny, who lawyers said is a college student and a Marine veteran, was accused of putting Neely into.

“When Mr. Neely began aggressively threatening Daniel Penny and the other passengers, Daniel, with the help of others, acted to protect themselves, until help arrived,’ the lawyers’ statement reads. “For too long, those suffering from mental illness have been treated with indifference. We hope that out of this awful tragedy will come a new commitment by our elected officials to address the mental health crisis on our streets and subways.”

Penny, who has not returned multiple calls and emails from NBC New York in an effort to reach him, lives in Queens and is originally from West Islip on Long Island, according to multiple law enforcement officials. His attorney, Thomas Kenniff, also did not respond to requests for comment.

Penny is a former Marine who served from 2017-2021, according to his military record. He reached the rank of sergeant and was the recipient of numerous awards and medals during his time in the Marine Corps.

The Marine Corps said they were “aware of the incident and will cooperate with the agencies investigating this incident if asked,” but clarified that they were not confirming that Penny was the person involved. They would only confirm that a person by the name of Daniel Penny did serve in the Marines.

The fact that Penny served in the Marines could hurt a self-defense claim, according to a former NYC prosecutor. Marine recruits are routinely taught about executing and defending against chokeholds, which can render someone unconscious in as few as eight seconds, according to a military manual revised in 2020.

Penny was identified by his lawyer after it was learned that a Manhattan grand jury will hear the case to determine whether criminal charges will be brought against the 24-year-old accused of killing him this week, two sources familiar with the matter told News 4.

It wasn’t immediately clear when the Manhattan district attorney’s office would present those details to the grand jury, the sources said. The news comes amid mounting pressure on the district attorney’s office to file charges in the case, which has sparked debate over whether the rider who allegedly took him down acted in just defense against disorder or criminally.

Neely, a homeless man, had been threatening passengers aboard the F train, according to the NYPD. Penny is said to have intervened and put Neely in a headlock. He was questioned by the NYPD and later released from custody. Afterward, the medical examiner’s office ruled the case a homicide.

No charges have been filed in the case at this time. Police and prosecutors say they are still working to determine what happened before Neely died. A senior prosecutor was said to be looking into the matter, and Gov. Kathy Hochul said a day ago she was pleased that the district attorney’s office was looking into the case.

Amid the ongoing investigation, the case has incited calls for Penny — initially hailed as a good Samaritan for intervening — to be arrested in the death of Neely, who struggled with mental health. A GoFundMe established by an aunt to pay funeral expenses raised more than $36,000 by Friday morning, less than 24 hours after being posted.

Neely’s family has retained legal representation with Mills & Edwards LLP.

“I took this case because 15 minutes is too long to go without help, intervention and without air. Passengers are not supposed to die on the floor of our subways,” attorney Lennon Edward said in a statement. “We understand our current times have created a heightened sense of fear (sometimes reasonable, sometimes not.) However, there has to be a clear line of when lethal force can be used by anyone, including civilians.”

Lawyer Donte Mills, also representing the Neely family, said Penny in this case crossed the line.

“We have people being killed for ringing the wrong doorbell, pulling in the wrong driveway and screaming out in desperation on the subway. We cannot let that stand,” Mills said. “Mr. Neely suffered from mental illness which began at age 14 when he experienced the brutal murder of his mother. It is a tragedy for all of us to know that Jordan Neely’s life was also cut short. Mills & Edwards is committed to holding accountable the MTA and Neely’s killer.”

In the absence of video showing what might have precipitated the attack, many were reserving judgment.

Mayor Eric Adams said earlier in the week there were too many unknowns to judge the rider’s behavior at this point and echoed those sentiments on Thursday, saying that he has “a responsibility for this entire city and I have faith in the criminal justice system, and I’m going to let the process take its place.”

Janno Lieber, head of the MTA, weighed in for the first time Friday, saying he would wait for prosecutors to do their work.

“We’re gonna renew our efforts to make sure that people understand that when you’re in the subway together, they’re going to be challenges, when you’re in the public space together there are going to be challenges, but we have to find a way to deescalate,” the CEO said, calling the video “really troubling and upsetting.”

Meanwhile, the NYPD is asking for the public’s help with its investigation.

Law enforcement sources with knowledge of the case said Neely had a lengthy criminal history, with charges including assault and disorderly conduct. Those who knew him described him as a well-known Michael Jackson impersonator.

Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine recalled seeing Neely perform many times. Levine said he always made people smile.

Jordan Neely Death Timeline

The NYPD said it was called to the NoHo station around 2:25 p.m. Monday after a report of a physical fight in a northbound F train.

Witnesses and law enforcement sources said Neely got on the train and started acting very aggressively toward other riders, threatening to harm them. Police sources told NBC New York that Neely purportedly told riders on the train that he wanted food, that he wasn’t taking no for an answer, and that he would hurt anyone on the train.

“The man got on the subway car and began to say a somewhat aggressive speech, saying he was hungry, he was thirsty, that he didn’t care about anything, he didn’t care about going to jail, he didn’t care that he gets a big life sentence,” said Juan Alberto Vazquez, who was in the subway car and recording part of what happened afterward. “That ‘It doesn’t even matter if I died.'”

Vazquez said he was scared, and believes others on the train were as well. It was then that a 24-year-old rider came up behind Neely and put him in a chokehold, holding him on the ground. Two other men stood over them and also helped subdue him, video showed.

“If there was fear, the people who…were there where he separated everything, moved from their place. I stayed sitting in my place because it was a little further away, but obviously in those moments, well, one feels fear. One thinks he may be armed,” Vazquez said.

He said that the chokehold lasted about 15 minutes as they waited for police to respond, and it was held even as the train stopped at the subway station and the doors opened. That’s when Vazquez said most of the people who were inside the train car left, with a few exceptions, including the three who had been working to subdue Neely.

It was not clear why passengers had moved to restrain Neely. One witness, Vazquez who was on the train and recorded Neely becoming unconscious as he was restrained, said that while Neely was acting aggressively and threw his jacket, he hadn’t attacked anyone.

Neely was unconscious on the car floor when officers arrived, and died at the scene. Vazquez said no one thought the man would die, even after he went limp.

In an exclusive interview with NBC New York, another witness talked about the moment he called 911 while on the train.

“I thought it was just a fight. I didn’t know it was a deadly situation at all,” said Cenk Ergun, who was a few cars down from the chaos.

The first 911 call came in at 2:27 p.m. about a person making threats, with another call coming two minutes later reporting a homeless man was attacking people. Two more calls came after that before help arrived, and an ambulance pulled up to the scene a half hour after the first call was made.

Adams has said that the incident underscores what he says is a need to remove people with mental illness from the transit system — a push he began with Democratic colleague Hochul in the early days of his administration.

The governor’s office said that Safe Option Support (SOS) teams in the subway have conducted more than 6,800 outreach encounters and have enrolled 838 individuals into interventions services.

The lethal risks of chokeholds led New York City to ban police officers from using them. An officer was fired for using a chokehold on Eric Garner, a Black New Yorker whose dying words “I can’t breathe” became a chant in protests against racial injustice.

A U.S. Department of Justice website called chokeholds “inherently dangerous” and said that they have “too often led to tragedy.”

NYC Subway May 4

Jordan Neely Subway Chokehold Death: Protests, Calls for Charges Grow As NYPD Asks for Help

Brooklyn Apr 7

Subway Rider Stabbed to Death on Brooklyn D Train; Killer Runs Off

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Neely, a locally-known Michael Jackson impersonator who friends say suffered from worsening mental health, died Monday when a fellow rider pulled him to the floor and pinned him with a hold taught in Marine combat training.

Neely had been screaming at other passengers but hadn’t attacked anyone, according to a freelance journalist who recorded video of his final minutes.

The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office is investigating the incident and no charges have been announced. If a case does go forward, an argument of self-defense would likely brush up against a “tricky” legal requirement, according to Mark Bederow, a former assistant district attorney in Manhattan.

Under New York’s penal code, a person who uses deadly force must not only prove that they feared for their own life or someone else’s, but that any reasonable person would have felt the same way.

“Suppose the Marine says, ‘I honest to God thought I had no choice but to save someone,’ the question would be whether an objectively reasonable person in his circumstances would have felt the same,” Bederow said.

The interpretation of that statute was last clarified by the state’s highest court in 1986, in response to Bernhard Goetz’s shooting of four teenagers aboard a subway, an infamous case that has drawn comparisons to Neely’s death.

In 1984, Geotz, who was white, shot four young Black men after one of them asked him for $5. Goetz said he thought he was being robbed. A jury ultimately acquitted Goetz of attempted murder but convicted him of carrying an unlicensed handgun.

Neely’s killing has set off an emotionally-charged debate in New York about compassion and mental illness.

Most people who ride the subway system regularly have had occasional uncomfortable encounters with people who shout or throw things, or behave in unsettling ways, but pose no danger to anyone. It is still unclear why either the man who put Neely in the chokehold, or two other men who can be seen on the video helping to restrain him, decided to act.

No arrests were made by police, prompting outrage from some who demanded criminal charges against the 24-year-old Marine veteran, whose name has not been officially released.

Others, including New York City Mayor Eric Adams, have urged caution, highlighting the rights of riders to defend themselves in certain situations as well as the perils of a transit system that often serves as a shelter for the city’s neediest residents.

The Manhattan district attorney’s investigation is being led by Joshua Steinglass, one of the prosecutors who helped secure a conviction in a tax fraud case against the Trump Organization.

The man who placed Neely in a chokehold is reportedly being represented by Thomas Keniff, a Republican who lost to the current Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, in the 2021 election. Inquiries to Keniff and the 24-year-old rider were not returned.

Bederow predicted the Manhattan D.A. may choose to bring the case before a grand jury, a process sometimes used in controversial or complex cases. Charge of second degree manslaughter or criminally negligent homicide were most likely, he said.

Walter Signorelli, a former NYPD inspector and professor at John Jay College, said he was uncertain charges would be filed, given the apparent fear among riders in response to Neely’s behavior. If the case went to trial, he said a jury could empathize with the defendant.

“It’s not like he’s a villain,” Signorelli said. “He did what he thought was right and what seemed reasonable to him. He’s stepping up where most people turn away.”

NYC Subway May 3

NYC Subway Chokehold Death Ruled a Homicide, As Groups Demand Justice for Jordan Neely

Manhattan May 5

More Protests Expected in Wake of Jordan Neely Death

The defense could also highlight Neely’s criminal record, which includes dozens of arrests, ranging from disorderly conduct to assault. Most recently, in 2021, he was charged with assaulting a 67-year-old woman leaving a subway station. After pleading guilty, he missed a court date, leading to a warrant for his arrest that was still active at the time of his death.

At the same time, legal experts said Neely’s record would have been unknown to people inside the subway car.

The fact that the 24-year-old rider served in the U.S. Marines could also count against him, if prosecutors argued that he had the training to know better than to use a dangerous chokehold.

Video of the incident shows the man placing Neely in a chokehold for several minutes, maintaining the grip even after he stopped struggling.

“Even if you found him initially justified, the question then becomes how much is too much?” Bederow said. “If you look at that video, I don’t think anyone would say that guy is a threat at that point in time.”

As Neely lay face down on the subway car’s floor, still wrapped in the chokehold, at least one bystander can be heard on the video urging restraint, warning that they might be killing him.

“You’ve got to let him go,” the man says.

Another witness, Johnny Grima, then tells the men that the unconscious Neely could choke on his spit if they aren’t careful.

Grima arrived inside the subway car as the chokehold was in progress, and said he was deeply disturbed by the scene. He said the men assured him that Neely was still breathing.

“But when they let him go he just fell limp, staring off into space,” Grima said. “His eyes were open, but there was no light.”

A Manhattan grand jury will hear the case of the subway chokehold death of Jordan Neely to determine whether criminal charges will be brought against the 24-year-old accused of killing him this week, two sources familiar with the matter tell News 4.

It wasn’t immediately clear Friday when the grand jury would be presented those details. The news comes amid mounting pressure on the district attorney’s office to file charges in the case, which has sparked debate over whether the rider who allegedly took him down acted in just defense against disorder or criminally.

Neely, a homeless man, had been threatening passengers aboard a train at the Broadway-Lafayette station Monday afternoon, according to the NYPD. A 24-year-old rider intervened and put Neely in a headlock. He was questioned by the NYPD and later released from custody. Afterward, the medical examiner’s office ruled the case a homicide.

No charges have been filed in the case at this time. Police and prosecutors say they are still working to determine what happened before Neely, who was 30, died. A senior prosecutor was said to be looking into the matter, and Gov. Kathy Hochul said a day ago she was pleased that the district attorney’s office was looking into the case.

Amid the ongoing investigation, the case has incited calls for the 24-year-old initially hailed as a good Samaritan for intervening to be arrested in the death of Neely, who struggled with mental health. A GoFundMe established by an aunt to pay funeral expenses raised more than $36,000 by Friday morning, less than 24 hours after being posted.

Neely’s family has retained legal representation with Mills & Edwards LLP.

“I took this case because 15 minutes is too long to go without help, intervention and without air. Passengers are not supposed to die on the floor of our subways,” attorney Lennon Edward said in a statement. “We understand our current times have created a heightened sense of fear (sometimes reasonable, sometimes not.) However, there has to be a clear line of when lethal force can be used by anyone, including civilians.”

Lawyer Donte Mills, also representing the Neely family, says the 24-year-old in this case crossed the line.

“We have people being killed for ringing the wrong doorbell, pulling in the wrong driveway and screaming out in desperation on the subway. We cannot let that stand,” Mills said. “Mr. Neely suffered from mental illness which began at age 14 when he experienced the brutal murder of his mother. It is a tragedy for all of us to know that Jordan Neely’s life was also cut short. Mills & Edwards is committed to holding accountable the MTA and Neely’s killer.”

In the absence of video showing what might have precipitated the attack, many were reserving judgment.

Mayor Eric Adams said earlier in the week there were too many unknowns to judge the rider’s behavior at this point and echoed those sentiments on Thursday, saying that he has “a responsibility for this entire city and I have faith in the criminal justice system, and I’m going to let the process take its place.”

Janno Lieber, head of the MTA, weighed in for the first time Friday, saying he would wait for prosecutors to do their work.

“But we’re gonna renew our efforts to make sure that people understand that when you’re in the subway together, they’re going to be challenges, when you’re in the public space together there are going to be challenges, but we have to find a way to deescalate,” the CEO said.

The 24-year-old rider has repeatedly declined requests for comment. His attorney also declined comment. Several reports stated that he is a former Marine, which a former NYC prosecutor said could hurt a self-defense claim.

Marine recruits are routinely taught about executing and defending against chokeholds, which can render someone unconscious in as few as eight seconds, according to a military manual revised in 2020.

Meanwhile, the NYPD is asking for the public’s help with its investigation.

Law enforcement sources with knowledge of the case said Neely had a lengthy criminal history, with charges including assault and disorderly conduct. Those who knew him described him as a well-known Michael Jackson impersonator.

Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine recalled seeing Neely perform many times. Levine said he always made people smile.

Jordan Neely Death Timeline

The NYPD said it was called to the NoHo station around 2:25 p.m. Monday after a report of a physical fight in a northbound F train.

Witnesses and law enforcement sources said Neely got on the train and started acting very aggressively toward other riders, threatening to harm them. Police sources told NBC New York that Neely purportedly told riders on the train that he wanted food, that he wasn’t taking no for an answer, and that he would hurt anyone on the train.

“The man got on the subway car and began to say a somewhat aggressive speech, saying he was hungry, he was thirsty, that he didn’t care about anything, he didn’t care about going to jail, he didn’t care that he gets a big life sentence,” said Juan Alberto Vazquez, who was in the subway car and recording part of what happened afterward. “That ‘It doesn’t even matter if I died.'”

Vazquez said he was scared, and believes others on the train were as well. It was then that a 24-year-old rider came up behind Neely and put him in a chokehold, holding him on the ground. Two other men stood over them and also helped subdue him, video showed.

“If there was fear, the people who…were there where he separated everything, moved from their place. I stayed sitting in my place because it was a little further away, but obviously in those moments, well, one feels fear. One thinks he may be armed,” Vazquez said.

He said that the chokehold lasted about 15 minutes as they waited for police to respond, and it was held even as the train stopped at the subway station and the doors opened. That’s when Vazquez said most of the people who were inside the train car left, with a few exceptions, including the three who had been working to subdue Neely.

It was not clear why passengers had moved to restrain Neely. One witness, Vazquez who was on the train and recorded Neely becoming unconscious as he was restrained, said that while Neely was acting aggressively and threw his jacket, he hadn’t attacked anyone.

Neely was unconscious on the car floor when officers arrived, and died at the scene.

Vazquez said no one thought the man would die, even after he went limp.

Adams has said that the incident underscores what he says is a need to remove people with mental illness from the transit system — a push he began with Democratic colleague Hochul in the early days of his administration.

The governor’s office said that Safe Option Support (SOS) teams in the subway have conducted more than 6,800 outreach encounters and have enrolled 838 individuals into interventions services.

The lethal risks of chokeholds led New York City to ban police officers from using them. An officer was fired for using a chokehold on Eric Garner, a Black New Yorker whose dying words “I can’t breathe” became a chant in protests against racial injustice.

A U.S. Department of Justice website called chokeholds “inherently dangerous” and said that they have “too often led to tragedy.”

NYC Subway May 4

Jordan Neely Subway Chokehold Death: Protests, Calls for Charges Grow As NYPD Asks for Help

Brooklyn Apr 7

Subway Rider Stabbed to Death on Brooklyn D Train; Killer Runs Off

This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser.

The death of a homeless man who allegedly threatened passengers aboard a New York City subway and was later put into a chokehold by one of the riders has been deemed a homicide — fueling even louder calls for criminal charges in the case.

Investigators had said they were waiting on the report to determine whether or not it was the chokehold that killed 30-year-old Jordan Neely at the Broadway-Lafayette station Monday afternoon. However, no charges have yet been filed against the 24-year-old passenger who put Neely in a headlock.

Some are now calling for justice for Neely, who was homeless and struggled with mental illness, and for the person who was initially hailed as a Good Samaritan to be arrested. A GoFundMe established by an aunt to pay funeral expenses raised thousands of dollars in a matter of minutes Thursday afternoon.

Multiple protests were held Thursday and more are planned across the city on Friday, and Gov. Kathy Hochul said Thursday she was glad the district attorney was investigating the case, as a senior prosecutor was said to be looking into the matter.

“I’m really pleased that the district attorney is looking into this matter,” Hochul said in remarks at an unrelated event. “As I said, there have to be consequences, and so we’ll see how this unfolds – but his family deserves justice.”

Hochul said the chokehold was a “very extreme response” to an outburst by Neely that she said was not violent.

Other officials equally called on the DA’s office to do something — and quickly.

“The initial response by our legal system to this killing is disturbing and puts on display for the world the double standards that Black people and other people of color continue to face. There must be accountability for his killing, and a thorough investigation by the Manhattan district attorney that accounts for the facts and these realities is critical,” NY City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams said in a statement.

Late Thursday, attorneys for Neely’s family said in a statement that “passengers are not supposed to die on the floor of our subways.” The statement went on to say that “there has to be a clear line of when lethal force can be used by anyone, including civilians,” and referenced other recent examples of people shot for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

“We have people being killed for ringing the wrong doorbell, pulling in the wrong driveway and screaming out for desperation on the subway,” the attorney said. “We cannot let that stand.”

The NYPD tweeted a statement Thursday asking for the public’s assistance in the ongoing investigation.

“We need your help in regard to an incident that occurred on Monday, May 1, 2023, at the Broadway-Lafayette Street subway station. Anyone with information, photographs, or video is asked to please contact @NYPDTips or call 1(800)577-TIPS,” the NYPD’s tweet said.

Jordan Neely Death Timeline

The NYPD said it was called to the NoHo station around 2:25 p.m. Monday after a report of a physical fight in a northbound F train.

Witnesses and law enforcement sources said Neely got on the train and started acting very aggressively toward other riders, threatening to harm them. Police sources told NBC New York that Neely told riders on the train that he wanted food, that he wasn’t taking no for an answer, and that he would hurt anyone on the train.

“The man got on the subway car and began to say a somewhat aggressive speech, saying he was hungry, he was thirsty, that he didn’t care about anything, he didn’t care about going to jail, he didn’t care that he gets a big life sentence,” said Juan Alberto Vazquez, who was in the subway car and recording part of what happened afterward. “That ‘It doesn’t even matter if I died.'”

Vazquez said he was scared, and believes others on the train were as well. It was then that a 24-year-old rider came up behind Neely and put him in a chokehold, holding him on the ground. Two other men stood over them and also helped subdue him, video showed.

“If there was fear, the people who…were there where he separated everything, moved from their place. I stayed sitting in my place because it was a little further away, but obviously in those moments, well, one feels fear. One thinks he may be armed,” Vazquez said.

He said that the chokehold lasted about 15 minutes as they waited for police to respond, and it was held even as the train stopped at the subway station and the doors opened. That’s when Vazquez said most of the people who were inside the train car left, with a few exceptions, including the three who had been working to subdue Neely.

It was not clear why passengers had moved to restrain Neely. One witness, Vazquez who was on the train and recorded Neely becoming unconscious as he was restrained, said that while Neely was acting aggressively and threw his jacket, he hadn’t attacked anyone.

Neely was unconscious on the car floor when officers arrived, and died at the scene.

Vazquez said no one thought the man would die, even after he went limp.

“I think no one thought he was in a risky situation because he was defending himself all the time, all the time he moved, he tried to remove his arm,” said Vazquez. “Then when they had it on his side, he kept kicking, so we thought that’s him defending himself.”

One person in the video of the incident can be heard questioning whether Neely had been fatally injured, pointing out that defecation is a sign that he had died. Vazquez said he was conflicted over whether he thought the rider who subdued Neely went too far.

“It’s difficult, it’s a very big dilemma. And after two days, I still think it’s complicated. It’s difficult to judge,” said Vazquez.

In the absence of video showing what might have precipitated the attack, many were reserving judgment. During an appearance on CNN on Tuesday night, Mayor Eric Adams, a former police captain, said there were still too many unknowns.

“We don’t know exactly what happened here,” Adams said, adding that “we cannot just blatantly say what a passenger should or should not do in a situation like that, and we should allow the investigation to take its course.”

He echoed those sentiments on Thursday, saying that he has “a responsibility for this entire city and I have faith in the criminal justice system, and I’m going to let the process take its place.”

The mayor has said that the incident underscores what he says is a need to remove people with mental illness from the transit system — a push he began with Gov. Hochul in the early days of his administration. The governor’s office said that Safe Option Support (SOS) teams in the subway have conducted more than 6,800 outreach encounters and have enrolled 838 individuals into interventions services.

Calls for Jordan Neely Charges

The medical examiner’s office ruled Wednesday night that Neely died in a homicide caused by compression of the neck, but the office said that any determination about criminal culpability would be left to the legal system.

Regardless, many New Yorkers saw the choking as the latest in a long history of attacks on Black city residents.

“We’re like animals in white people’s backyards. They want to get rid of us,” said Diango Cici, a 53-year-old Manhattan resident.

Protests have sprung up outside the Manhattan DA’s office and throughout the city, including in front of Barclays Center, where a large group demonstrated Thursday night.

“After we saw that tape, (and) that the medical examiner clearly ruled that it was in fact a homicide, so we now have clear-cut evidence Mr. Neely died of that chokehold. (The other man) should be prosecuted,” said co-founder of Black Lives Matter of Greater New York Chivona Newsome.

The 24-year-old who delivered the chokehold was questioned and later released, the NYPD said. He has not yet been charged, and it was not clear if he would face charges.

Mayor Adams did not initially weigh in on the matter, as a spokesperson said that “any loss of life is tragic. There’s a lot we don’t know about what happened here,” adding that they were aware there were “serious mental health issues in play here.”

“The way detectives have to look at this case is, what would a reasonable person do and what would a reasonable person be expected to do,” said former NYPD Chief of Department Terry Monahan.

NBC New York has reached out to the 24-year-old multiple times, but he has declined to comment. Several reports stated that he is a former Marine — which a former NYC prosecutor said could hurt a self-defense claim.

“If he knew and was trained to use a chokehold, he would be no different than the training a police officer would get,” said former Manhattan prosecutor Michael Bachner. “The argument is going to be that he acted in a way that he should have known could result in death.”

Marine recruits are routinely taught about executing and defending against chokeholds, which can render someone unconscious in as few as eight seconds, according to a military manual revised in 2020.

The lethal risks of chokeholds led New York City to ban police officers from using them. An officer was fired for using a chokehold on Eric Garner, a Black New Yorker whose dying words “I can’t breathe” became a chant in protests against racial injustice.

A U.S. Department of Justice website called chokeholds “inherently dangerous” and said that they have “too often led to tragedy.”

Law enforcement sources with knowledge of the case said Neely had a lengthy criminal history, with charges including assault and disorderly conduct. But those who knew of him said Neely was a well-known Michael Jackson impersonator. Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine noted he had seen Neely perform many times, and always made people smile.

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Neely, who in the past had earned money imitating Michael Jackson, died Monday after an early-afternoon confrontation aboard a train beneath Manhattan. Neely, who had been homeless at points, according to people who knew him, had been shouting at fellow passengers when another rider wrapped his arm around his neck and pinned him on the floor. Two other passengers also helped restrain Neely.

No one has been arrested but the Manhattan district attorney’s office said a senior prosecutor is investigating the case, looking to review autopsy reports as well as “assess all available video and photo footage, identify and interview as many witnesses as possible, and obtain additional medical records.”

Police questioned the man who the video showed holding Neely in a headlock for at least 3 minutes — perhaps longer — but released him without charges. His name was not released by police, but his relationship with the Marines was disclosed by a law enforcement official who wasn’t authorized to make the information public and spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation was not yet complete.

Street performers who knew him described Neely as a kind and gifted impressionist, who sank into a depression as a result of his mother’s death. According to news accounts at the time, Christie Neely was strangled in 2007. Neely, who was 14 when she died, testified against his mother’s boyfriend at his murder trial.

Tari Tudesco, a back-up dancer in the Michael Jackson tribute act “Michael’s Mirror,” said many in the community had grown worried about Neely’s absence in recent years, and had begun searching for him, unsuccessfully.

“We were in shock to find now that he was living homeless,” she said. “We feel terrible.”

The Rev. Al Sharpton demanded in a statement that Neely’s death be investigated as a potential case of manslaughter. Sharpton referenced the Bernhard Goetz case in 1984, in which a white gunman was convicted of a weapons offense after he shot four Black men on a subway train.

“We cannot end up back to a place where vigilantism is tolerable. It wasn’t acceptable then and it cannot be acceptable now,” Sharpton said.

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Investigators had said they were waiting on the report to determine whether or not it was the chokehold that killed 30-year-old Jordan Neely at the Broadway-Lafayette station Monday afternoon. However, no charges have yet been filed against the 24-year-old passenger who put Neely in headlock.

Some are now calling for justice for Neely, who was homeless and struggled with mental illness, and the the person who was initially hailed as a good Samaritan to be arrested.

“What we’re seeing is people deputizing themselves and not having a compassionate approach to mental health and homelessness,” said one of the speakers at a rally — held at the same station where the altercation occurred, and where EMS performed CPR on Neely after a witness said he was restrained for 15 minutes.

The NYPD said it was called to the NoHo station around 2:25 p.m. after a report of a physical fight in a northbound F train.

Witnesses and law enforcement sources said Neely got on the train and started acting very aggressively toward other riders, threatening to harm them. Police sources told NBC New York that Neely told riders on the train that he wanted food, that he wasn’t taking no for an answer, and that he would hurt anyone on the train.

“The man got on the subway car and began to say a somewhat aggressive speech, saying he was hungry, he was thirsty, that he didn’t care about anything, he didn’t care about going to jail, he didn’t care that he gets a big life sentence,” said Juan Alberto Vazquez, who was in the subway car and recording part of what happened afterward. “That ‘It doesn’t even matter if I died.'”

Vazquez said he was scared, and believes others on the train were as well. It was then that a 24-year-old rider came up behind Neely and put him in a chokehold, holding him on the ground. Two other men stood over them and also helped subdue him, video showed.

“If there was fear, the people who…were there where he separated everything, moved from their place. I stayed sitting in my place because it was a little further away, but obviously in those moments, well, one feels fear. One thinks he may be armed,” Vazquez said.

He said that the chokehold lasted about 15 minutes as they waited for police to respond, and it was held even as the train stopped at the subway station and the doors opened. That’s when Vazquez said most of the people who were inside the train car left, with a few exceptions, including the three who had been working to subdue Neely.

Neely was unconscious on the car floor when officers arrived, and died at the scene.

Vazquez said no one thought the man would die, even after he went limp.

“I think no one though he was in a risky situation because he was defending himself all the time, all the time he moved, he tried to remove his arm,” said Vazquez. “Then when they had it on his side, he kept kicking, so we thought that’s him defending himself.”

One person in the video of the incident can be heard questioning whether Neely had been fatally injured, pointing out that defecation is a sign that he had died. Vazquez said he was conflicted over whether he thought the rider who subdued Neely went too far.

“It’s difficult, it’s a very big dilemma. And after two days, I still think it’s complicated. It’s difficult to judge,” said Vazquez.

The 24-year-old who delivered the chokehold was questioned and later released, the NYPD said. He has not yet been charged, and it was not clear if he would face charges.

The Manhattan district attorney’s office is conducting an ongoing investigation into the incident, saying in a statement “we will review the Medical Examiner’s report, assess all available video and photo footage, identify and interview as many witnesses as possible, and obtain additional medical records.”

Mayor Eric Adams did not weigh in on the matter, as a spokesperson said that “any loss of life is tragic. There’s a lot we don’t know about what happened here,” adding that they were aware there were “serious mental health issues in play here.”

In a TV interview later Wednesday, Adams said he would wait for investigators to decide.

“I was a former transit officer, and I responded to many jobs where you had a passenger assisting somewhat. So we can’t blanketly say what a passenger should or shouldn’t do in a situation like that,” the mayor said.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said video of the incident was “deeply disturbing, and it causes a lot of fear in people, and actually the mayor and I am working so hard to restore that sense of safety.”

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“The way detectives have to look at this case is, what would a reasonable person do and what would a reasonable person be expected to do,” said former NYPD Chief of Department Terry Monahan.

NBC New York has reached out to the 24-year-old multiple times, but he has declined to comment. Several reports stated that he is a former Marine — which a former NYC prosecutor said could hurt a self-defense claim.

“If he knew and was trained to use a chokehold, he would be no different than the training a police officer would get,” said former Manhattan prosecutor Michael Bachner. “The argument is going to be that he acted in a way that he should have known could result in death.”

Law enforcement sources with knowledge of the case said Neely had a lengthy criminal history, with charges including assault and disorderly conduct. But those who knew of him said Neely was a well-known Michael Jackson impersonator. Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine noted he had seen Neely perform many times, and always made people smile.

The NYPD says it was called to the Broadway-Lafayette station in NoHo around 2:25 p.m. for a 911 report of a physical fight in a northbound F train. The man was unconscious on the car floor when officers arrived.

Witnesses and law enforcement sources said the individual got on the train and started acting very aggressively toward other riders, threatening to harm them.

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“The man got on the subway car and began to say a somewhat aggressive speech, saying he was hungry, he was thirsty, that he didn’t care about anything, he didn’t care about going to jail, he didn’t care that he gets a big life sentence,” said Juan Alberto Vazquez, who was in the subway car and recording part of what happened afterward. “That ‘It doesn’t even matter if I died.'”

Vazquez said he was scared, and believes others on the train were as well. It was then that a 24-year-old rider came up behind the man and put him in a chokehold, holding him on the ground. Two other men stood over them and also helped subdue the man, video showed.

“If there was fear, the people who…were there where he separated everything, moved from their place. I stayed sitting in my place because it was a little further away, but obviously in those moments, well, one feels fear. One thinks he may be armed,” Vazquez said.

He said that the chokehold lasted about 15 minutes, even as the train stopped at the Broadway-Lafayette station and the doors opened. That’s when Vazquez said most of the people who were inside the train car left, with a few exceptions, including the three who had been working to subdue the man.

The individual in the chokehold died at the scene, according to police. Vazquez said no one thought the man would die, even after he went limp.

“I think no one though he was in a risky situation because he was defending himself all the time, all the time he moved, he tried to remove his arm,” said Vazquez. “Then when they had it on his side, he kept kicking, so we thought that’s him defending himself.”

The 24-year-old who delivered the chokehold was questioned and later released, the NYPD said. He was not facing any charges as of Tuesday night, and it wasn’t clear if he would be charged at a later date. The Manhattan district attorney’s office are conducting an ongoing investigation into the incident.

“The way detectives have to look at this case is, what would a reasonable person do and what would a reasonable person be expected to do,” said former NYPD Chief of Department Terry Monahan.

The medical examiner has yet to determine a cause of death. Neither the man who died nor the younger man have been identified. NBC New York reached out to the 24-year-old, but he declined to comment.

Law enforcement sources with knowledge of the case said the 30-year-old man had a lengthy criminal history, with charges including assault and disorderly conduct.

According to the NYPD, the victim was riding a southbound A train in East New York around 2 a.m. when he apparently thought he smelled weed and asked two males, possibly teenagers, he had linked to the odor to cut it out.

One of the alleged smokers slashed the man in the leg before he and the other ran off, police say. The victim stayed on the train until Shepherd Avenue, where he was able to get off and have officers tend to his wound.

It was so deep they needed a tourniquet to stem the blood flow, officials say, and while it appeared at one point the subway rider may not survive, the NYPD said later Thursday he is expected to pull through.

Cops said he could only describe his attackers by the color of their pants. One had beige pants; the other wore black.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.

Aside from being surprised there even were bathrooms at subway stations (seriously, who knew those were a thing??), riders welcomed the news as a new survey suggests more riders are satisfied with the transit service.

On a day when many trains were slowed by signal problems, Virginia Madrey celebrated the notion that when she has to go to work, it will be OK if she also has to, well, GO. 

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“We need it. Sometimes these trains are delayed. We need that bathroom,” Madrey said.

Yes, the seldom celebrated amenity of the subway bathroom. More than 100 of them closed during the pandemic. Nine stations finally re-opened their lavatories in January, and 12 more will be reopening May 2. That would bring the total amount back to about 30 percent of the pre-pandemic level.

Here is a list of stations where bathrooms will be opening once again come May:

• Norwood 
• Woodlawn 
• 168th Street
• 72nd Street Q train (Upper East Side)
• Brooklyn Bridge 
• 57th Street 
• The Barclays Center 
• 36th Street D and R lines
• Coney Island 
• Euclid Avenue 
• Flushing
• Queensboro Plaza

These are the nine stations that had their bathrooms reopen in January:

• E 180th Street
• 161st Street-Yankee Stadium
• 42nd Street-Bryant Park
• 14th Street-Union Square
• Fulton Street
• Jackson Heights-Roosevelt Avenue
• Forest Hills-71st Avenue
• Jay Street-MetroTech
• Kings Hwy

Here’s a map of all stations getting renovated facilities — strategically placed throughout the system:

“This is an important amenity that New Yorkers have said we should be doing more,” said NYC Transit President Richard Davey. He added that not only are riders relieved about the restroom situation, they’re also breathing easier about their commutes of late.

After months of safety concerns following a 2022 crime spike, transit officials have noticed a new trend: riders feel safe once again.

“For the third consecutive month, customers tell us they feel safer than the previous month,” Davey said.

Subway satisfaction for March 2023 stands at 65 percent, according to the MTA Customer Survey — compared to 52 percent in June 2022. Bus riders’ satisfaction is also up, from 63 percent to 69 percent, according to the results shared Wednesday.

Ask station managers and they’ll say what the difference maker is: safety. Not only is transit crime down 21 percent this year so far, the public sees police more frequently. 

When asked if he thinks that a visible police presence has made a difference, MTA station manage Germaine Jackson gave an emphatic yes

“Big difference. Probably a 99% difference,” said Jackson.

As for the return of station bathrooms, Jackson also addressed what may be riders’ biggest question: Will they stay clean?

“We have an increased cleaning frequency with our bathrooms and we inspect them every hour,” he said, ensuring they will be clean.

Of course challenges remain. One in three riders still are not satisfied with the system, which is cash strapped, facing signal problems and needs modernization. 

The 17-year-old in the Queensboro Plaza case, which happened around 10:15 p.m. Wednesday, wasn’t hurt. Cops charged him with reckless endangerment after seeing him riding on the outside back platform of the last car as it pulled into the station, according to officials. They say the teen has no prior criminal history or transit summonses.

Monday’s tragedy involving Zachery Nazario in Brooklyn was the second such death in the borough in less than 90 days. Nazario, was on a Manhattan-bound J train shortly before 11 p.m. Monday when he fell, according to police.

He died at the scene. His mother, Norma Nazario, said she thinks he got distracted or looked to one side and his head hit a beam, throwing him to the tracks. She also said her son had spent the day in Brooklyn with his girlfriend and was heading back home when he died.

“I don’t wish this to any mother,” Norma Nazario said, adding her son dreamed one day of joining the U.S. Marines.

She said she had never talked to her son about the dangers of subway surfing because she didn’t even know it was a thing that teens had been doing. The mother blamed social media for driving the behavior in young people.

His death came about two months after an eerily similar incident in Brooklyn claimed the life of another 15-year-old boy. He was on top of a J train and fell off as it pulled into the Marcy Avenue stop in broad daylight on Dec. 2. The boy made contact with the electrified third rail and died.

Roughly six months before that, a 15-year-old boy lost an arm in a terrifying subway surfing incident in Queens in late August. And in mid-June, wild video surfaced showing people riding atop a subway train as it crossed the Williamsburg Bridge. There were eight people on top of that J train during the early December trip. No one was hurt — but the MTA sought to draw attention at the time to what they described as a concerning — and escalating — dangerous trend.

The transit agency doesn’t differentiate between reports of subway surfing versus moving between train cars versus other incidents of people riding outside trains, rather grouping them all together into one annual sum. Either way, the number of incidents skyrocketed last year.

In 2022, there were 928 reports of such incidents. That’s more than double the number reported the year before (206) and in 2020 (199), though those years may have seen data impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Still, the 2022 figure represents a 160% spike from 2019 levels (ridership in November and December 2022 had roughly returned to 2019 levels).

“Subway surfing is not only illegal, it is super reckless, extremely dangerous and people die doing so. Tragedies like this are avoidable,” NYPD Acting Chief of Transit Michael Kemper said earlier this week.

The boy, identified by his mother as Zachery Nazario, was on a Manhattan-bound J train shortly before 11 p.m. Monday when he fell, according to police. He was pronounced dead at the scene. No other details were immediately available.

“As the train was coming from Brooklyn, there was a beam…and he got distracted or he looked to the other side — the next thing you know, he was hit and thrown to the tracks, and he was run over,” said mom Norma Nazario. “I don’t wish this to any mother.”

Nazario said her son, who dreamed of one day joining the Marines, had spent the day in Brooklyn with his girlfriend and was heading back home.

She said she had never talked to her son about the dangers of subway riding, because she didn’t even know it was going on or a thing that teens had been doing. The mother blamed social media for driving the behavior in young people.

“This was a really terrible, tragic incident of this young man and our team is going to do a host of things to bring awareness, to speak with other young people,” said New York City Mayor Eric Adams.

It comes about two months after an eerily similar incident in Brooklyn claimed the life of another 15-year-old boy. He was on top of a J train and fell off as it pulled into the Marcy Avenue stop in broad daylight on Dec. 2. The boy made contact with the electrified third rail and died.

Roughly six months before that, a 15-year-old boy lost an arm in a terrifying subway surfing incident in Queens in late August. And in mid-June, wild video surfaced showing people riding atop a subway train as it crossed the Williamsburg Bridge. There were eight people on top of that J train during the early December trip. No one was hurt — but the MTA sought to draw attention at the time to what they described as a concerning — and escalating — dangerous trend.

The transit agency doesn’t differentiate between reports of subway surfing versus moving between train cars versus other incidents of people riding outside trains, rather grouping them all together into one annual sum. Either way, the number of incidents skyrocketed last year.

In 2022, there were 928 reports of such incidents. That’s more than double the number reported the year before (206) and in 2020 (199), though those years may have seen data impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Still, the 2022 figure represents a 160 percent spike from 2019 levels (ridership in November and December 2022 had roughly returned to 2019 levels).

The latest incident was discussed at the MTA’s board meeting on Tuesday.

“Subway surfing is not only illegal, it is super reckless, extremely dangerous and people die doing so. Tragedies like this are avoidable,” said NYPD Acting Chief of Transit Michael Kemper.

Speaking exclusively to the NBC New York I-Team, parents of 20-year-old Joseph Ancona accused the public transit agency of negligence after their son got caught in a subway door and dragged by a 1 train as it left the Columbus Circle platform during rush hour in October 2022. At the time, the NYPD said the victim was dragged onto the tracks and killed when another oncoming train hit him.

“How does a train leave with somebody being dragged?” said Jack Ancona, the victim’s father. “He had nothing but a bright future ahead of him that got taken away unfortunately through things that could have been prevented.”

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According to a notice of claim filed by Ancona’s parents, the subway operator “should have never set the train car in motion with the Claimant being stuck between the doors of the train car.”

Citing the pending litigation, MTA spokesperson Aaron Donovan declined to answer specific questions about the accident.

“This was a tragic situation with a terrible result that led to thorough internal and outside independent reviews,” Donovan said.

The MTA did not share results of those internal and external accident reviews, nor did the transit agency indicate whether the investigations are complete. The MTA did say all subway trains have redundant safety features and protocols designed to prevent trains from moving when the doors are not fully closed.

Rosemarie Arnold, an attorney representing Ancona’s parents, characterized whatever safety features were present as insufficient.

“What you’re dealing with here is one of the top 10 subway stations in Manhattan during rush hour,” Arnold said. “How is it possible in 2023 that a conductor started a train with a man trapped in between the doors? It’s unheard of.”

After the death underground, Janno Lieber, the MTA Chair and CEO, stressed the there was no criminality in the accident, saying subway fatalities like Ancona’s are “exceedingly rare.”

“Every loss of life in the mass transit system breaks my heart. This one is a little extra,” Lieber said.

But Ancona’s parents say the MTA’s soaring legal bill – much of it paying for personal injury settlements – suggests safety gaps have become too common.

According to an I-Team review of 20 years of financial statements, MTA expenditures on legal claims surged from $140 million to $509 million in the ten years between 2002 and 2011. In 2012, payouts for claims dropped steeply back down to $155 million. But since then, legal bills have steadily risen again, reaching $426 million in 2021, a 175% increase over the last decade.

“The fact that there is more litigation. The fact that there are more settlements, that should be eye opening to everyone,” said Paige Butler, another attorney representing the Ancona family. “That means there continue to be issues. There continue to be incidents. There continue to be individuals who get harmed as a result of a negligent authority.”

The MTA disputed the notion that safety gaps are driving the higher claims payouts. The transit agency says increase in legal costs over the last decade are better explained by trends in liability lawsuits impacting lots of public agencies and departments across New York City.

“Like the City, over time we’ve experienced an increasingly litigious environment and higher jury awards,” said Tim Minton, the MTA’s Communications Director. “The MTA needs new strategies to limit exposure for taxpayers’ dollars.”

Jack Ancona’s said his legal claim is intended to hold the transit agency accountable, and to make it less likely another family will experience the loss of a loved one.

“I don’t want my son to go away without an opportunity for his part to be heard or some kind of correction to be made in his name,” Ancona said. “I don’t want my son’s death to be in vain.”

Anyone hoping to take it in and out of Manhattan during the weekends starting Feb. 4 will need to make alternate plans. Saturday will mark the first day the MTA is shutting down 7 train service between Hudson Yards and QUeensboro Plaza.

The shutdown will take place every weekend through April 23, the transit agency said. The closure is being done so crews can install elevators at Queensboro Plaza, to make the station more accessible for people with disabilities.

For those looking ahead and worried about getting to any Mets games early in the season, there is some good news: The Amazins’ have only one home weekend series during that period. The 7 Line Army will have to find their way to Queensboro Plaza by other means for the weekend series against the Miami Marlins on April 8-9.

They are calling on Mayor Eric Adams to push Albany to fix the much-maligned MTA, while improving subway and bus service without hiking up fares — a tall order for an agency that’s seemingly perpetually strapped for cash. But it’s a familiar push from transit advocates, as budget season is fast approaching.

“We are demanding this governor and mayor keep price at  $2.75,” said City Councilman Chris Marte.

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That demand came after the long-awaited launch of Grand Central Madison — an $11 billion project decades in the making. As MTA Chairman Janno Lieber said, “people have been wishing for this for generations.”

But transit officials are facing renewed pressure to improve much more about the subway and bus service for millions of riders. With a planned decrease in subway frequency in the months ahead — to save money — advocates are calling for the opposite: more service. 

“‘Six-minute service’ could be the game changer communities waiting for,” said Bronx City Councilwoman Amanda Farias, referencing the campaign to have buses and subways run every six minutes at all times, every day.

Advocates are backing a new bill in Albany that would completely revolutionize bus service in the city — by making it totally free for riders. The MTA tried that temporarily, early in the pandemic, and some other cities have done it full time.

One state lawmaker says free buses are a real possibility. 

“This has real hope of passing — 66 of my colleagues hear from students that they can’t afford fare,” said New York State Assemblywoman Zohran Mamdani, who represents part of Queens.

MTA officials said they welcome the ideas, but need one thing to be absolutely certain at all times: A reliable funding stream. Though Lieber highlighted the current work that is being done currently to improve the system.

“Let’s make sure we don’t lose sight of the fact we are doing a ton of stuff,” he said. “We are resignaling the system and making it accessible.”

One change unveiled Thursday was a new elevator at Penn Station.

“This is particularly important for me as a New Yorker with a disability. Now, more than ever, demand for elevators and ramps highest it’s ever been,” said MTA Chief Accessibility Officer Quemuel Arroyo.

Flames shot up from the tracks at the 42nd Street-Port Authority station on Eighth Avenue around 6:30 p.m., according to police, with smoke filling the air as commuters were trying to get home. Trains on the A/C/E line bypassed the station in both directions for a time, as the FDNY responded to what was later determined to be a trash fire.

Less than a half hour later, a suspicious device was reported at the very same station. Officers once again evacuated the hundreds of people who were underground, as the smoke from the earlier trash fire still hung in the air.

Once the station was emptied, K9s and the bomb squad stepped in to investigate. Officers checked any suspicious object in sight, like a black bag left on top of a trash bin. About an hour later, the all-clear was given. Police said that the suspicious device was a vape smoking device.

Riders were let back in after the last of the NYPD’s evidence team left the station. Trains service at the station resumed shortly after.

Adamaris Garcia had finished her shift at a Manhattan restaurant around 9 p.m. on Dec. 31 and then went out with a friend. Garcia took the northbound N train and got off at the Queensboro Plaza station, last being seen around 11:15 p.m.

That is until police said after 1 a.m. Thursday that Garcia had returned home in good health. No further explanation was given for her disappearance, where she went or why.

Her family had been desperate to find her, and had assumed that she was going to walk from the N and transfer to another train that would have taken her home.

It wasn’t immediately clear who reported Garcia missing.

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For the first time, video exclusively obtained by NBC New York provides a look inside that subway car as passengers fought to survive.

Some of the evidence against shooter Frank James had been kept secret until now. Attorneys for NBC asked a Brooklyn federal judge to release that evidence, which they did on Wednesday.

In chilling video that can be difficult to watch, the injured and bleeding can be seen lining the floor of the still-moving N train in Sunset Park. The agony is audible as the victims desperately wait to get to the next stop.

Loud bangs are heard, with a person holding a cellphone camera asking if they were gunshots. Another person can be heard saying “that’s a lot of blood” as the camera pans to the blood-soaked floor.

“Please, someone help me get off,” a voice can heard saying, desperate to leave the train. A man volunteers to help. As the train approaches the 36th Street station, another voice can be heard complaining that his right leg is hurt.

“Put your weight on my shoulder,” a man tells one of the injured trying to get off the train, as smoke lingers inside the subway car. “Just go slow, don’t let people bump into you.”

People on board are then seen rushing to exit the train when the doors open, trying to get out onto the platform — and away from the terrifying scene on board the train.

While the gunman was not captured on the never-before-seen video, the gravity of what had just happened was clear, as New Yorkers rushed to help the wounded. Many were seen lying on the ground of the subway platform, some with others crowding over them trying to help with the bleeding.

In about a minute, an MTA worker arrives at the scene.

“Hold the train!” the worker yells out. “Anyone see what happened?”

He asks the victims and witnesses to “calm down so I can relay the message” to police.

“It was an explosion bomb. Black smoke, popping sounds. Came from the end of the train, next to a construction worker with orange clothes on,” one man can be heard describing.

Minutes later, an army of first responders can be seen arriving — but not before the suspect escaped, hopping on another train across the platform.

Additional video released on Wednesday shows some of what has already been seen: The attacker, James, in an orange construction jacket carrying the guns and devices for his April 12 attack. It would be another 30 hours until the 63-year-old James was ultimately caught.

In more never-before-seen video, the gunman is seen giving video statements as he talked with law enforcement in the aftermath of the attack. For the first time, FBI agents and police can be seen pressing James to tell whether the public is still in danger. After being asked multiple times if there are more plans to hurt people, or more weapons out there, James repeatedly says he doesn’t know what they’re talking about.

He would later claim he had guns prior to the subway shooting, but admitted that he had a black bag of supplies and he drove the van used to bring the weapons from Philadelphia to New York City. When asked about the U-Haul van, he told agents “yes, that’s mine.”

In the two-hour tape, he at times tries to nap, and at one point wets himself. He also told investigators “I am a loner. I live by myself. I drink and I make music videos. That’s all I do.”

He also explains why he finally decided to call and give himself up.

“I get my phone and I opened YouTube and there was video after video of me passed off as the suspect,” James tells investigators.

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The videos come just a day after James pleaded guilty to federal terrorism charges, admitting to his role in the subway attack.

James, who referred to himself as the “prophet of doom” in online posts before the shooting, has been held in a federal jail in Brooklyn since the attack. Dressed as a maintenance worker, James fired a 9-mm handgun at least 33 times after setting off a pair of smoke grenades — wounding victims ranging in age from 16 to 60 in the legs, back, buttocks and hand as the train pulled into a station.

One of the city’s worst subway attacks in recent years, it sparked a manhunt that ended only when he called the police on himself — and raised questions about the MTA’s surveillance footage system and camera protocol in the following months.

Miraculously, none of the victims suffered life-threatening gunshots. Other subway riders were hurt as well, mainly in the chaos that ensued after the barrage of rapid gunfire and curtains of smoke in the midst of the morning rush. Prosecutors said the assault was “intended to inflict maximum damage at the height of rush hour.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Sara Winik said James set off smoke grenades before shooting so that passengers would flee to one side of the subway car, enabling him to shoot them more easily. The trajectory of his gunshots showed he was aiming “center mass” for maximum lethality, she said.

The attack upended the ritual of the morning commute, “endangering the lives of countless New Yorkers who rely on the safety of the subway system every day,” Winik said.

Following the attack, a law enforcement search of James’s apartment and storage unit uncovered a cache of weapons, prosecutors said, including handgun ammunition, a barrel for a handgun that allows a silencer to be attached, a high-capacity rifle magazine, a stun gun and a blue smoke cannister.

James initially pleaded not guilty to charges in connection with the attack, but told his lawyers in December that he wanted to plead guilty. They didn’t immediately explain why he wanted to admit his involvement. His lawyers said James had struggled with mental illness, but James told the judge he was of sound mind while admitting his guilt on Tuesday.

Wearing a beige jail jumpsuit and reading from a prepared statement, James said Tuesday “while it was not my intention to cause death, I was fully aware a death or deaths could occur as a result of my discharging a firearm in such an enclosed space such as a subway car.”

He pleaded guilty to all 11 counts in his indictment. Ten of those charges — each one corresponding to a specific victim — accuse him of committing a terrorist attack against a mass transportation system carrying riders and workers. The 11th charge accuses James of discharging a firearm during a violent crime.

He didn’t have a plea agreement, and prosecutors are seeking to put him in prison for decades. His lawyers — arguing that his conduct amounted to aggravated assault, not attempted murder — said he shouldn’t serve more than 18 years.

“Mr. James has accepted responsibility for his crimes since he turned himself in to law enforcement,” James’ lawyers, Mia Eisner-Grynberg and Amanda David, said in a statement. “A just sentence in this case will carefully balance the harm he caused with his age, his health, and the Bureau of Prisons’ notoriously inadequate medical care.”

In a letter to Judge William F. Kuntz II late last week, prosecutors indicated they planned to seek a harsher punishment than the roughly 32-to-39-year sentence that federal sentencing guidelines would recommend.

James planned the attack for years and endangered the lives of dozens of people, prosecutors said in the letter. He allegedly began purchasing items to use in an attack as early as 2017, including smoke grenades, weapons, ammo and a disguise, the Department of Justice said. In the months leading up to the attack, prosecutors said James conducted online searches for things relating to NYC and the subway system, particularly in the area where he conducted the attack and where he parked his rented U-Haul van.

“Frank James cold-bloodedly shot innocent New Yorkers traveling on the subway in Brooklyn and brought terror to our great city. James’s crimes of violence have been met with swift justice,” said U.S. Attorney Breon Peace for the Eastern District of New York. “James’s admission of guilt to all eleven counts of the superseding indictment acknowledges the terror and pain he caused. This guilty plea is an important step towards holding James fully accountable and helping the victims of the defendant’s violence and our great city heal.”

Previously, he vowed to fight the charges and refused to leave his jail cell to appear at an earlier court hearing, leading Kuntz to issue an order instructing U.S. Marshals to use “all necessary force” to ensure that James showed up to Tuesday’s plea hearing.

Before the shooting, James, who is Black, posted dozens of videos online in which he ranted about race, violence and his struggles with mental illness. In some, he decried the treatment of Black people and talked about how he was so frustrated, “I should have gotten a gun and just started shooting.” In one video, he appeared to be in a packed New York City subway car, raising his finger to point out passengers one by one.

In other videos foreshadowing his plans, he stated “if you hear the name Frank James on the news, if something happens to a Frank James that’s sixty-something years old, chances are that’s me.”

James, who’s been locked up at a Brooklyn federal jail since his arrest, told Kuntz that a jail psychologist visits him once a month “to speak with me and see how I’m doing.”

James had been scheduled to stand trial in late February, where prosecutors said evidence would’ve refuted James’ claim that he intended only to injure, not kill. He now faces up to life in prison on each of the 11 counts, according to the DOJ.

The gunman did not express remorse for his actions, but said he will do that when he is sentenced over the summer. A specific sentencing date has not yet been set.

Investigators say Garcia had finished her shift at a Manhattan restaurant around 9 p.m. on Dec. 31, 2022. Garcia, who is known to her family as Yuri, then went out with a friend, took the northbound N train and got off at the Queensboro Plaza station. She was last seen around 11:15 p.m. and there has been no sign of her since.

“My daughter, I love her and miss her a lot. She needs to be here with us,” her mother, Amanda Robles, told Telemundo 47.

“Investigators say there are going to go there to find out what happened through cameras — to check if she got off the train or took another train or what happened,” Robles added.

The family assumes that Garcia was going to walk from the N and transfer to another train that would have taken her home. She was last seen wearing a black dress with long sleeves, black and white sneakers and black socks, according to the NYPD

Garcia is described as being about 4 feet 11 inches tall and 115 pounds with brown hair and a thin build.

“It’s very, very sad to start the year with this news,” said her uncle Cesar Robles, who traveled from Pennsylvania to help in the search.

It wasn’t immediately clear who reported Garcia missing.

Anyone with information on her whereabouts is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.

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According to police, the stranger followed the 18-year-old victim onto a southbound 2 train as it was leaving the 125th Street station just before 10 p.m. Sunday. He allegedly exposed himself to her, attempted to pull her pants down and tried to rape her as the subway pulled into 72nd Street, but a good Samaritan intervened and helped the woman get to another train car.

The suspect, later identified as Isaiah Benjamin, stayed aboard the train until 42nd Street. They’re not sure where he went after that but law enforcement officials confirmed Wednesday the 23-year-old had been arrested. Charges are pending against him.

The woman went to a hospital for treatment and evaluation.

Frank James, who referred to himself as the “prophet of doom” in online posts before the shooting, has been held in a federal jail in Brooklyn since the April 12 attack in Sunset Park. Dressed as a maintenance worker, James fired a 9-mm handgun at least 33 times after setting off a pair of smoke grenades — wounding victims ranging in age from 16 to 60 in the legs, back, buttocks and hand as the train pulled into a station.

One of the city’s worst subway attacks in recent years, it sparked a 30-hour manhunt that ended only when he called the police on himself — and raised questions about the MTA’s surveillance footage system and camera protocol in the following months.

Miraculously, none of the victims suffered life-threatening gunshots. Other subway riders were hurt as well, mainly in the chaos that ensued after the barrage of rapid gunfire and curtains of smoke in the midst of the morning rush. Prosecutors said the assault was “intended to inflict maximum damage at the height of rush hour.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Sara Winik said James set off smoke grenades before shooting so that passengers would flee to one side of the subway car, enabling him to shoot them more easily. The trajectory of his gunshots showed he was aiming “center mass” for maximum lethality, she said.

The attack upended the ritual of the morning commute, “endangering the lives of countless New Yorkers who rely on the safety of the subway system every day,” Winik said.

Following the attack, a law enforcement search of James’s apartment and storage unit uncovered a cache of weapons, prosecutors said, including handgun ammunition, a barrel for a handgun that allows a silencer to be attached, a high-capacity rifle magazine, a stun gun and a blue smoke cannister.

James initially pleaded not guilty to charges in connection with the attack, but told his lawyers in December that he wanted to plead guilty. They didn’t immediately explain why he wanted to admit his involvement. His lawyers said James had struggled with mental illness, but James told the judge he was of sound mind while admitting his guilt on Tuesday.

Wearing a beige jail jumpsuit and reading from a prepared statement, James said “while it was not my intention to cause death, I was fully aware a death or deaths could occur as a result of my discharging a firearm in such an enclosed space such as a subway car.”

He pleaded guilty to all 11 counts in his indictment. Ten of those charges — each one corresponding to a specific victim — accuse him of committing a terrorist attack against a mass transportation system carrying riders and workers. The 11th charge accuses James of discharging a firearm during a violent crime.

“Today’s guilty plea demonstrates that the Justice Department will work relentlessly to hold accountable those who engage in mass violence and terrorize our communities,” said U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland.

He didn’t have a plea agreement, and prosecutors are seeking to put him in prison for decades. His lawyers — arguing that his conduct amounted to aggravated assault, not attempted murder — said he shouldn’t serve more than 18 years.

“Mr. James has accepted responsibility for his crimes since he turned himself in to law enforcement,” James’ lawyers, Mia Eisner-Grynberg and Amanda David, said in a statement. “A just sentence in this case will carefully balance the harm he caused with his age, his health, and the Bureau of Prisons’ notoriously inadequate medical care.”

In a letter to Judge William F. Kuntz II late last week, prosecutors indicated they planned to seek a harsher punishment than the roughly 32-to-39-year sentence that federal sentencing guidelines would recommend.

James planned the attack for years and endangered the lives of dozens of people, prosecutors said in the letter. He allegedly began purchasing items to use in an attack as early as 2017, including smoke grenades, weapons, ammo and a disguise, the Department of Justice said. In the months leading up to the attack, prosecutors said James conducted online searches for things relating to NYC and the subway system, particularly in the area where he conducted the attack and where he parked his rented U-Haul van.

“Frank James cold-bloodedly shot innocent New Yorkers traveling on the subway in Brooklyn and brought terror to our great city. James’s crimes of violence have been met with swift justice,” said U.S. Attorney Breon Peace for the Eastern District of New York. “James’s admission of guilt to all eleven counts of the superseding indictment acknowledges the terror and pain he caused. This guilty plea is an important step towards holding James fully accountable and helping the victims of the defendant’s violence and our great city heal.”

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Previously, he vowed to fight the charges and refused to leave his jail cell to appear at an earlier court hearing, leading Kuntz to issue an order instructing U.S. Marshals to use “all necessary force” to ensure that James showed up to Tuesday’s plea hearing.

James balked at being taken to a court date in October but appeared later that day after Kuntz issued a similar order for him to be forced to court if necessary.

Defense attorneys did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday, when courts were closed.

Before the shooting, James, who is Black, posted dozens of videos online in which he ranted about race, violence and his struggles with mental illness. In some, he decried the treatment of Black people and talked about how he was so frustrated, “I should have gotten a gun and just started shooting.” In one video, he appeared to be in a packed New York City subway car, raising his finger to point out passengers one by one.

In other videos foreshadowing his plans, he stated “if you hear the name Frank James on the news, if something happens to a Frank James that’s sixty-something years old, chances are that’s me.”

James, who’s been locked up at a Brooklyn federal jail since his arrest, told Kuntz that a jail psychologist visits him once a month “to speak with me and see how I’m doing.”

In a jailhouse interview with The Associated Press in August, James spoke about his lifelong struggle with mental health and the notoriety he gained at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, where he befriended the disgraced R&B star R. Kelly.

“It’s going to be a long case,” James said. “People don’t have enough information yet to judge me… All in all I’m a good person at heart. I’ve never hurt anybody.”

After the guilty plea was announced, the MTA said in a statement that those impacted by the “reprehensible attack deserved and received justice…we hope this perpetrator will never again be free to hurt innocent people.”

James had been scheduled to stand trial in late February, where prosecutors said evidence would’ve refuted James’ claim that he intended only to injure, not kill. He now faces up to life in prison on each of the 11 counts, according to the DOJ.

The gunman did not express remorse for his actions, but said he will do that when he is sentenced over the summer. A specific sentencing date has not yet been set.

Adamaris Garcia, of 48th Street, was last seen around 11:15 p.m. on Saturday, New Year’s Eve, on a northbound N train that was stopped at the Queensboro Plaza station, officials say.

Garcia is described as being about 4 feet 11 inches tall and 115 pounds with brown hair and a thin build. She was last seen wearing a black dress with long sleeves, black and white sneakers and black socks, according to the NYPD.

It wasn’t immediately clear who reported Garcia missing.

Anyone with information on her whereabouts is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.

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The trio was on duty at the 14th Street N station around 3:15 p.m. Wednesday when the three contractors, who were not armed, stopped the person, the sources said. The individual went out through the turnstiles and left the station, three returned and started to record at least one of the contractors on his cellphone, the sources added.

One of the three contractors allegedly grabbed the phone and slammed it to the ground, breaking it. The other two allegedly then surrounded the rider and started to punch him, while the alleged phone-grabber kicked him, the sources said. The rider grabbed his phone and left, then reported the incident to transit police in the station, sources said.

Video surveillance appeared to capture the incident and coincide with the rider’s narrative of events, according to the sources. Two of the contractors were brought in for questioning and later arrested on a third-degree assault charge, sources said. The third contractor had left the scene and had not been apprehended as of early Thursday afternoon.

The straphanger was treated for a small laceration to the face and is expected to be OK.

The name of the vendor wasn’t immediately clear. At least one of the three individuals arrested appeared to have a lengthy rap sheet, though all prior cases were sealed, the sources said.

The agency’s chief of external relations, John McCarthy, said the MTA was cooperating with the NYPD.

“In the meantime, the vendor who employs the guards has assured those allegedly involved will not be assigned to work at MTA facilities,” McCarthy added.

The Publishers Clearing House Prize Patrol, famous for surprising sweepstakes winners at their homes, work or other locations with huge checks and more, announced Wesley Autrey as its latest random prizewinner, shocking him with roses, balloons, champagne and a new Ford Bronco (or its cash value — $52,820).

“This is a dream come true!” Autrey exclaimed after learning he won the prize.

Autrey, who PCH said retired just three months ago but still works part-time, ended up taking the cash option in order to help his daughters and mother.

The group sent Howie to Autrey’s Harlem home, which isn’t far from the transit hub where his selflessness made him a global household name and a local legend.

As the lore goes, Autrey was waiting for a train at 137th Street around lunchtime on Jan. 2, 2007, with his two young daughters when he spotted another subway rider, Cameron Hollopeter, having a seizure on the platform. He and two other bystanders raced to help the then-20-year-old film student. Hollopeter ended up stumbling off the platform.

He fell right onto the tracks — and a train was approaching.

Autrey jumped onto the tracks and, realizing there wasn’t enough time to pull the New York Film Academy student off before the train hit them both, he put himself over Hollopeter, who was in a trench between the tracks and held him down. Five cars rolled over both of them before the train stopped. People were screaming.

“We’re OK down here,” Autrey yelled, according to The New York Times. “But I’ve got two daughters up there. Let them know their father’s OK.”

That was met with resounding applause — and total awe.

Hollopeter suffered some bumps and bruises, but that was about it. Autrey declined medical attention at the scene. Then, the Times reports, he got his girls home and went to visit Hollopeter in the hospital before starting his night shift.

“I don’t feel like I did something spectacular,” Autrey told the paper the next day. “I just saw someone who needed help. I did what I felt was right.”

The Navy vet’s inspirational and humble story got out — widely — and he was flooded with scholarship money for his girls as well as cash, among other gifts, and earned a moniker that has followed him since: “Hero of Harlem.”

Events tickets, backstage Beyonce passes, Nets (then in New Jersey) games, a new Jeep and a trip to Walt Disney World Resort followed. Autrey also earned a bronze medallion, New York City’s highest award for exceptional citizenship and outstanding achievement, from former Mayor Michael Bloomberg two days after the heroic venture.

Former President George W. Bush honored him and his daughters as guests at the State of the Union that year, too.

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Frank James, 63, wants to plead guilty the first week of January, the attorneys said Wednesday in a letter to U.S. District Judge William F. Kuntz II. They didn’t explain why he wanted to admit his guilt.

James has been held in a federal jail in Brooklyn since his arrest in the April 12 attack, which stunned the city and set off a massive 30-hour manhunt that ended when the gunman called the police on himself.

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The shooter set off a pair of smoke grenades and then scattered a barrage of random shots inside the train, bloodying passengers as it moved between stations.

In the chaos, authorities said James slipped on to another train and escaped. But he left behind the gun, ammunition clips, a hatchet, gasoline and a key to a rented van. That key and surveillance cameras in the subway system helped authorities identify James, who was recorded entering the system wearing a construction worker’s garb and a yellow hard hat.

Before the shooting, James, who is Black, had posted dozens of videos online in which he ranted about race, violence and his struggles with mental illness. In some he decried the treatment of Black people and talked about how he was so frustrated, “I should have gotten a gun and just started shooting.”

A revised indictment last week charged James with 10 counts of staging a terrorist attack against a mass transportation system.

The revelation by James’ lawyers that he intended to plead guilty came just a day after the defense team requested an adjournment of a trial set for late February. The lawyers said extra time was needed to review evidence and because of the revised indictment.

Prosecutors opposed a delay to the trial, saying gunshot victims deserved to see justice carried out without reasonable delay.

A spokesperson for the federal prosecutor in Brooklyn declined comment.

The transit agency’s board opted Wednesday to postpone fare hike hearings until at least late February, meaning the soonest MTA subway and bus fares, along with bridge tolls, could rise would be June.

Hikes typically begin in March each year, following a December vote. MTA Chairman and CEO Janno Lieber said Wednesday that fake hike hearings would be delayed to allow a subcommittee to study equity and other variables.

An MTA fare hike is likely unavoidable, with the cash-strapped transit agency still in dire post-pandemic straits, but y as the transit agency detailed the financial dire straits they find themselves in as a result of the pandemic.

Top transit officials showed MTA board members at a Nov. 30 hearing just how bad the deficit situation is — like billion-bad — and said it was expected to near $3 billion by 2026, according to MTA Chief Financial Officer Kevin Willens.

The reason for the crisis? Ridership still hasn’t fully returned to pre-pandemic levels, sitting at only two-thirds of what it was in 2019 as of late November. 

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The office of New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli has demanded to know how the MTA plans to save money and fund operations while trying to reduce COVID-driven budget gaps. The agency had a $15 billion federal bailout but spent at least two-thirds of that to stay afloat, according to the comptroller’s office.

“That federal relief is not forever,” DiNapoli said earlier this month. “Some of it is in the form of a loan that has to be paid back. And ridership has not come back.”

The comptroller also warned that with government funding running out, and ridership still sagging, severe service cuts and fare hikes could be coming in the future.

The MTA, in response to the comptroller’s report, said it was “committed to maintaining robust service for our riders, and this report underscores that solving post-pandemic budget gaps with fare increases and service cuts alone is not an attractive option.”

As for how to save costs, Lieber has said that the service cuts DiNapoli suggested weren’t on the table. The agency has, however, announced plans to adjust subway service on more than a dozen lines in 2023 to better reflect post-pandemic ridership. That means changes on weekends, weekdays and more. See the details.

If the losses can’t be recouped through service cuts, fare hikes are the next option — and riders aren’t thrilled about it.

“It shouldn’t even be the fare it is now. They want more money, but we are not getting the service that we need! It’s just out of control,” said rider Peggy Banks.

The state audit revealed that before the pandemic, subway and bus fares accounted for 42% of MTA revenue. Now, it says it’s just 24%, which is only serving to fuel the $1.6 billion deficit, officials say.

DiNapoli’s office says it would take a fare hike of 28% to ease the MTA’s financial pain. An increase of that amount would raise the price of a single ride from $2.75 to $3.50.

Lieber, meanwhile, has recommended a more modest 5% fare hike, which would be about 15 cents more than riders pay now. He also said the fiscal cliff can be averted if federal state and local governments kick in more cash — to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars.

“And if they also want to provide an answer that makes the fare hike unnecessary, we are all ears,” Lieber has said.

Two MTA workers were waiting on the southbound R train platform at the Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center station when they got into an argument with another rider around 9 p.m. Tuesday, police said. The man came up to the pair and soon became irate, threatening to beat them up, according to NYPD Transit Chief Michael Kemper.

The man continued his verbal barrage as the train arrived and aboard it, police said. The MTA workers — one of whom maintains MetroCard vending machines, the other an armed transit revenue collector and acting security — then got off the train at the Union Street station in Gowanus, but the other man followed them.

As they were on the mezzanine level, the man went up to the men again, which is when the armed agent took out his gun and ordered the man to stop, Kemper said at a later press conference. When the man attempted to take the gun away, the MTA worker fired once.

The 39-year-old man was shot in the chest was taken to Methodist Hospital, and was said to be in critical condition. Neither of the MTA workers was said to be hurt.

New York City Transit President Richard Davey said that they are cooperating with the police investigation, and said that the worker who fired the shot is a 21-year veteran of the agency. Davey said that the armed collection agents accompany the workers who fix the MetroCard vending machines in order to provide protection.

While the other man has not been identified, Kemper said that he is known to the department. It was unclear what, if any, charges would be filed in connection to the incident.

An investigation is ongoing.

Emergency crews responding to a call at the West 14th Street and Sixth Avenue station shortly before 10:30 a.m. found the two — a 63-year-old woman and a 44-year-old man — dead at the scene, according to police.

The man went down onto the tracks for some reason, police said, and the woman followed. Both were later hit by a train. The names of the victims have not been released.

There was no surveillance video of what happened, according to police, and no witnesses have come forward.

While the investigation is ongoing, preliminary reports indicate no criminality, according to police and Mayor Eric Adams, who was briefed at the scene.

Police ask any potential witnesses to come forward.

Subway service was affected in the area for some time. Get real-time transit updates from all your key sources right here.

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There was no immediate speculation on a possible motive for the attack, which happened shortly before 2 a.m. Tuesday at the 14th Street and Eighth Avenue L line platform.

Cops say it appears that the suspect, later identified as 27-year-old Alexe St. Fleur, somehow got inside an MTA workroom and grabbed the hammer out of a tool bag. He then used it on the unsuspecting 51-year-old worker, police say.

The victim was taken to a hospital for treatment and is expected to be OK.

The alleged attacker was taken into custody and brought to Bellevue Hospital for a psychiatric evaluation. St. Fleur, of Brooklyn, faces a slew of charges including robbery, assault, burglary, possession of stolen property, and more. Attorney information for St. Fleur was not immediately available.

The investigation into the April 12 camera failure at 36th Street in Sunset Park started in the immediate aftermath of the April 12 shooting, allegedly at the hands of Frank James.

Police previously acknowledged that security cameras in three stations weren’t working that morning, including the one at 36th Street.

According to the OIG findings unveiled Thursday, “shortfalls in staffing, maintenance and internal controls significantly delayed both the discovery that the video was not streaming and the eventual repair of the network.”

There was no evidence the outage was intentional, investigators said. And while the exact reason for the network failure remains unclear at this time, the OIG inquiry determined the cameras at the three stations went down at 5:21 p.m. on April 8. NYC Transit workers discovered it 24 hours later, and the group responsible for maintaining the network wasn’t aware of the outage for another two days, the OIG’s office says. Read the full report.

Repairs of the network started the morning of April 11, investigators say, more than two full days after the outage started — possibly due to the fact that there was not enough trained staff to fix or monitor them. OIG says limited staffing caused delays in both the discovery of the problems and the repairs. Insufficient training for the group tasked with maintaining camera network equipment and “deficient” maintenance protocol for the network equipment were also identified as contributing to the overall problem, investigators said.

After the April 12 attack at the 36th Street station in Sunset Park, sources told NBC New York that the inability to access the station cameras slowed down the investigation. Had it not been for cell video, they said there would be little to no footage of the immediate aftermath of the gunman opening fire and shooting 10 on the packed N train.

“This is about maintenance,” Acting Inspector General Elizabeth Keating said in releasing the OIG report Thursday. “The staffing shortfall in maintenance positions is real and a much broader problem impacting NYC Transit operations.”

Other MTA cameras, however, did provide useful footage that day. NY Transit President Richard Davey, who started a couple weeks after the shooting, rebutted the report by noting that the MTA had plenty of backup cameras that were operational.

“Because of our cameras that were working that day, we were able to capture four photos of the perpetrator,” Davey told NBC New York.

Some of those photos from the MTA showed the suspect entering the subway and, on the same day, boarding a bus. However, the OIG said that the agency should have also had video from the scene of the crime, and that training is deficient.

NYC Transit has already taken steps to address OIG’s draft findings and recommendations, the report says. The agency says it has implemented a formal reporting protocol for maintenance issues and started the transition to a software system that offers better tracking and work order generation technology. Davey added that there are crews “constantly monitoring and repairing” the agency’s cameras.

The MTA has nearly 10,000 cameras at its 472 subway stations, and other cameras in nearby stations helped police track James’ movements before and after the shooting.

James also left behind a bag containing weapons, smoke grenades and the key to a U-Haul truck he had driven. The truck was found parked near a station where authorities believe he entered the subway dressed in construction clothing. He was apprehended the following day in New York and charged with a federal terrorism offense.

James has pleaded not guilty. His trial is expected to begin early next year.

The MTA is sniffing around on testing pee-detection technology that alerts staff to clean wet and smelly messes in subway elevators.

Richard Davey, president of New York City Transit, said Monday at a City Council transportation committee hearing that the agency is exploring urine sensors in station elevators that sometimes double as de facto bathrooms.

“It’s ‘problem solving 101’ for us at Transit,” Davey told THE CITY. “So anytime I see someone in New York, outside of New York, doing something interesting, I’m happy to steal good ideas.”

The MTA would be following the lead of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority — which in 2013 began installing urine detectors in station elevators — and the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, which announced plans last summer to install them on four elevators in Boston’s subway, the T.

Davey, a former head of the MBTA, said riders deserve unsoiled surroundings.

“If any one person uses an elevator in that regard, that’s awful,” he said. “It’s awful for our customers who choose to use the elevator, it’s awful for our customers who have to use an elevator.”

Urine not only can be sticky and leave an unpleasant aroma, but can damage critical equipment. The MTA did not have figures for how often subway elevators have been taken out of service or needed cleaning because of urine.

There are 353 elevators throughout New York’s 472 subway stations. According to MTA data, the lifts were in service nearly 95% of the time over the last year.

“The bigger concern is when they don’t work,” said Teresa Wang, 37, who rode an elevator with three children to a platform at 14th Street-Union Square.

A Place to Go

The MTA plans to begin reopening restrooms next month in nine stations whose public toilets have been closed since the start of the pandemic — a fraction of the more than 130 restrooms in nearly 70 stations that have remained shuttered for safety reasons, amid a cleaner shortage.

With the MTA on a hiring spree for subway cleaners, officials are willing to try another tactic to help keep elevators free of human waste.

“It’s big — they do it in there and then my people have to clean it up,” Robert Kelley, a Transport Workers Union Local 100 vice president who represents cleaners, told THE CITY. “This thing was the same prior to the bathrooms being closed, but with the homeless situation and the [emotionally disturbed people] in the subway, that’s why it’s become more of an issue.”

“Sometimes, they can be used like toilets,” said Bore Traore, 35, who rode an elevator Monday night to a platform on the N/Q/R/W lines at 14th Street-Union Square. “If I didn’t have my bicycle with me, I would not go in there.”

Kelley, the TWU official, said the smell detectors are worth trying for the sake of riders and transit workers.

“At the end of the day, people shouldn’t have to get on elevators and deal with urine smells,” he said. “I’m definitely not opposed to us being able to identify these smells.”

THE CITY is an independent, nonprofit news outlet dedicated to hard-hitting reporting that serves the people of New York.

Subway riders have seen them everyday for decades: Subway agents inside the token booths, helping lost tourists find their way underground or helping people find out why their MetroCard is no longer functioning.

But they haven’t sold tokens in 20 years, and now the agents won’t be in the booths much longer — but they aren’t going away.

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With the MetroCard getting replaced by the tap-and-go OMNY system, the MTA is removing the agents from their iconic glass booths and assigning them to be roving agents instead.

MTA officials said that at a time when public safety is the number one issue, getting agents out from behind the glass provides more eyes and ears.

“Being able to move out is a far better approach than behind a booth with very limited view,” said MTA Transit President Richard Davey.

It also means new training for the agents.

“It’s a little scary to be here with the people…we need to pay attention to our surroundings look around ,” said station agent Yamina Smith.

The booths themselves won’t actually be removed, and will be staying as a bulletproof security precaution.

“As long as the booths are there we can retreat, I don’t see a problem,” said another station agent, Dwayne Boothman.

The Transit Workers Union agreed to the roving aspect of the job as a way to avoid layoffs. 

“The OMNY posed a serious threat. We refused to get left behind like the toll clerks at the tollbooths at bridge and tunnels,” said TWU Vice President Robert Kelly.

The transformation of 2,000 booth agents to roving agents will take a little time, with the program beginning Feb. 1, 2023.

Cops say the man, whose age and identity remain unclear at this time, had apparent stab or slash wounds to his torso when MTA workers doing a track inspection shortly after midnight discovered him in the area off the platform.

It’s not clear how long the man may have been there. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The medical examiner’s office will conduct an autopsy to determine how and when the man died, and who he was.

The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.