By Yehudit Garmaise

     Mayor Bill de Blasio was asked this morning for his response to the letter he received yesterday from New York City labor leaders who came together to ask him, “at least temporarily” to provide more police officers to the subway, which many workers are scared to ride because they fear the increased crime on the rails.

   “When working people say they feel that they need more help, I always take that seriously,” responded the mayor, who then went on to minimize the safety concerns of so many New Yorkers who rely on public transit to get to work every day.

   The city recently added 500 additional police officers to patrol subway stations, but city workers and labor leaders feel that an even greater police presence is needed in the face of so many New Yorkers who are returning to work amid the recent series of violent subway crimes.

   The mayor, however, argued that the actual safety in the subways and the public's perception of the safety of subways are two different things. 

    New Yorkers should recognize, the mayor said, “that, clearly, having that kind of [increased] police presence does have an impact [on reducing crime in the subway.] What we have seen is continually increased ridership, so the people are voting with their feet,” which is corroborated by yesterday’s report by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority that subway ridership hit a high on April 23, when New Yorkers made more than 2.1 million subway trips.

   But just because New Yorkers are returning to the subway out of a necessity to return to work, does not necessary mean that they do not have fears about doing so.

      “I think it has really been important that the subways have been cleaner, which have had an impact,” responded the mayor, not really addressing safety concerns, nor committing to doing more than what has already been done, despite pleas for additional safety measures. “The additional police officers have had an impact. We are continuing to do a lot of outreach work to help with emotional needs on the subways, and that will deepen.”