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Komatireddy unveils plan to curb NYC subway violence
The proposal follows nine incidents of New Yorkers being shoved onto subway tracks this year.
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Jeffin T. Kaleekal - Tue, 07, Apr 2026
- 01:07 EDT
- 14
Saritha Komatireddy / Saritha Komatireddy via X
In her latest campaign pledge, Republican attorney general candidate Saritha Komatireddy said April 7 she would create a Transit Crime Strike Force, responding to the death of an 83-year-old veteran who was pushed onto subway tracks earlier this month.
In addition to that case, the city has reported eight other incidents this year in which victims were shoved onto subway tracks.
Komatireddy appeared with Assembly Minority Leader Ed Ra, state Sen. Steve Chan and Assemblyman Michael Novakhov as she called for stricter measures to curb transit crime and restore safety across New York’s mass transit system.
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Alleging lawlessness in the subways and citing assaults, robberies and drug trafficking, Komatireddy said, “This is not fair to the many hardworking New Yorkers who have no choice but to take the subway to get to work, go to school, and see their families.”
She added, “New Yorkers should not have to feel anxious and afraid just getting on the subway. This lawlessness on the subways is entirely preventable and can be stopped, with robust prosecution. New Yorkers should not feel trapped in an unsafe system. If we are going to ask people to rely on mass transit, we must make sure it is safe.”
Komatireddy proposed creating a Transit Crime Strike Force within the attorney general’s office, consisting of prosecutors who could support and, when necessary, supersede district attorneys to enforce transit laws.
She also called for a policy shift to ensure prosecution of transit crimes and to limit charge bargaining and plea bargaining in such cases.
Additionally, she advocated banning repeat offenders from the transit system and introducing new penalties for crimes committed on subways and buses.
“For millions of New Yorkers, mass transit is not optional — it is how they get to work, school, and care for their families,” she said. “Many cannot afford a car, especially with rising costs like congestion pricing, and cannot afford to live close to where they work. This proposal is about protecting hardworking, middle-class and working-class New Yorkers who depend on the system and deserve to be safe.”
Announcing the proposal on X, she wrote: “Nine New Yorkers have been pushed onto the subway tracks this year — this should never happen in New York.”
“We can prevent subway crimes by enforcing transit laws and banning repeat and violent offenders from the subways,” she said. “As attorney general, I will create a Transit Crime Strike Force to do just that, and I call on state lawmakers to enact penalty enhancements for transit offenses.”
Komatireddy is deputy chief of appeals at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York. An Indian American attorney and former federal prosecutor, she is the Republican nominee challenging incumbent Letitia James for New York attorney general in 2026.
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