BILL NUMBER: S222
SPONSOR: PALUMBO
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the penal law, in relation to assault on a straphanger
 
PURPOSE:
This bill would make it a C felony to push someone onto the subway
tracks.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
The penal law is amended by adding a new section 120.80 which reads: A
person is guilty of assault on a straphanger when he or she strikes,
shoves, kicks or otherwise subjects another person to physical contact
that results in such person falling onto subway tracks. Assault on a
straphanger is a class C felony.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
There has been a spike in subway violence over the last two years,
including the tragic murder of Michelle Go and another more recent inci-
dent where a man was shoved onto the tracks. According to the NYPD,
there were 461 felony assaults and 8 homicides throughout the subway
system in 2021 and a 65.3 percent increase in transit crime year to
date. These violent acts and rising crime not only threaten the lives of
those who ride the subway, they actively discourage the use of this
vital public transit system. This all comes at a time when ridership is
already low and countless New York City offices remain vacant and under-
utilized. Increasing the severity of the crime of pushing someone onto
the subway tracks will help deter further acts of violence and make it
clear to subway riders that their safety is a priority.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2024 S.3154; 2022 S.8908
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately

Statutes affected:
S222: 70.02 penal law, 70.02(1) penal law