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Komatireddy calls for transit cime crackdown
The Republican attorney general candidate unveiled a series of proposals following the latest subway pushing in Manhattan.
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Malvika Choudhary - Sun, 19, Jul 2026
- 15:11 EDT
- 203
Saritha Komatireddy / Saritha Komatireddy via LinkedIn
New York attorney general candidate Saritha Komatireddy on July 18 called for tougher transit crime enforcement after a 70-year-old woman was pushed onto subway tracks in Midtown Manhattan.Komatireddy said the incident marked the 15th reported subway pushing in New York City this year and argued that residents should not have to fear for their safety while using public transportation.
"This morning, a 70-year-old woman was shoved onto the tracks by a stranger in Midtown Manhattan and hospitalized with a head injury. No one should have to fear being attacked simply for standing on a subway platform," she said.
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The Republican candidate criticized the state's current approach to transit safety and renewed her campaign proposal for a broader crackdown on transit crime if elected attorney general.
Her plan includes creating a Transit Crimes Strike Force to prosecute transit-related offenses and intervene when local prosecutors decline to pursue charges. She also proposed working with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to ban repeat and violent offenders from the transit system, increasing penalties for crimes committed on public transit, creating a new felony offense for pushing someone onto train tracks, and supporting legislation allowing judges to detain individuals accused of violent transit crimes.
Public safety has emerged as a central issue in New York's attorney general race. Komatireddy, a former federal prosecutor and former chief of staff at the Drug Enforcement Administration, has made combating violent crime a key plank of her campaign, frequently criticizing incumbent Attorney General Letitia James over crime and public safety policies.
"We have the tools to solve this problem. What we've been lacking is leadership. As Attorney General, my mission will be simple: Just Fight Crime," Komatireddy said.
The statement came hours after the woman was allegedly shoved from behind onto the tracks at the 57th Street-Seventh Avenue subway station shortly before 11:30 a.m. According to the New York Police Department, bystanders pulled the victim back onto the platform before she was taken to a hospital with a head injury. Police later arrested a suspect, identified as a known emotionally disturbed individual.
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