Cold Weather Turns New York Subway Into Crime Hotspot

New Yorkers noticed a sharp rise in subway trouble during February’s icy spell.

The police said crime climbed almost 20 % after they stopped ejecting rule‑breakers because temperatures dropped below zero.

In the month, more than 190 offenses were logged underground—about 18 % higher than in January.

When the city’s transit police paused ejecting passengers, they handled 61 % fewer incidents than the month before.

The surge coincided with a record cold wave that shifted how people used the system and made officers wary of confronting passengers in harsh conditions.

Of the 192 reported crimes, roughly one‑quarter were violent assaults, while just over half involved non‑violent thefts.

Among the serious incidents was a fatal shooting of a 41‑year‑old man on a southbound platform in the Bronx, and an assault of a 20‑year‑old Yeshiva student at a Manhattan stop.

Attacks on police officers in transit jumped 42 %, rising from twelve to seventeen incidents compared with January.

The cold front brought below‑freezing temperatures for 19 days and ended with a blizzard that buried the five boroughs in almost two feet of snow.

The city’s mayor faced criticism for the outdoor deaths that followed a previous winter storm, while police highlighted low numbers of shootings and murders earlier in the year.

Despite the spike in subway crime, overall major crimes fell by about 8 % compared to last year’s February.

Police leaders said the data shows targeted, evidence‑based policing is helping keep neighborhoods safer.