NEW YORK CITY – After a spate of violent attacks on the country’s largest transit system, many New York City commuters told Fox News Digital they fear for their safety when taking the subway.
"It is nerve-racking, for sure," a woman named Amelia told Fox News as she waited on a platform to meet a friend.
"It's really crazy out here," said Ahmed, a nearly 22-year employee of the Metropolitan Transit Authority.
WATCH:
Big Apple subway crime is up 65% during the first half of January, according to the New York Police Department. Over the weekend, 40-year-old Michelle Alyssa Go was killed after Simon Martial, a homeless man with a decades-long rap sheet, allegedly pushed her onto tracks where she was struck by an oncoming train at the Times Square station.
Amelia shares her thoughts on riding the NYC subway.
MICHELLE ALYSSA GO: ACCUSED NYC SUBWAY SHOVER HELD WITHOUT BAIL AS COPS PROBE FOR RACIAL BIAS
Fox News Digital spoke to several riders at the same station where Go was reportedly pushed to her death.
Simon Martial, 61, who allegedly pushed a woman to her death on a NYC platform. (WNYW)
"The homeless population has gone up, and they are just defecating and urinating all in the subway system. It is really deteriorating," a man named Rene told Fox News Digital.
Some passengers say they have taken special precautions to prevent a potential assault by a would-be attacker.
"I always stay alert. I don't sleep on the train," a man named Hilton said.
"If I'm waiting on the train, I stand in the middle of the platform. I won't stand near the edges," said Ahmed. "I don't even be on my phone when I'm on the platform."
Ahmed, an MTA worker, describes how he stays safe when he takes the NYC subway.
But some New Yorkers say they haven’t witnessed anything out of the ordinary.
"I've been told there are a lot of scary things going on, but I haven't personally encountered anything that's any weirder than normal," a woman named Bailey told Fox News Digital.
Another woman, Sarah, said that she's noticed crime against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders "picking up" but wasn't in a position to comment on it because she's "not a direct member of that community."
One rider suggested the solution to fixing subway crime won't be easy.
NYC subway rider Sarah in New York City.
"Right now, the police department is not really enforcing too many transit laws," said Rene. "It's going to take a monumental effort to change things around."
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New York City’s newly sworn-in mayor, Eric Adams, seemed to acknowledge this week that subway safety is a valid concern for many New Yorkers after earlier in the week insisting that the city maintained a "safe subway system" and that the real issue was simply the "perception of fear."
"Losing a New Yorker in that fashion, and just really doubled down on our concerns that our system must be safe, must be safe from actual crime, which we are going to do," Adams said Tuesday, clarifying his earlier comments. "And it must be safe for those who feel as though there's a total level of disorder in our subway system," .
Rene offered a simple message to Adams: "Do what you got to do to make it right."
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