MTA Conductor Gets Face Stitches After FiDi Attack: NYPD

FINANCIAL DISTRICT, NY — The MTA conductor who was attacked at a Lower Manhattan subway station on Monday had to get face stitches after a straphanger pushed a door into his face, the NYPD said Friday.

Someone cursed at the conductor and kicked the door to his compartment into his face about 2:20 p.m. Monday, according to police.

The conductor had to get stitches at NY Downtown Hospital after the attack on a northbound J train during a stop at the Broad Street station, police said.

When the attack first happened, it was believed to have occurred at the Chambers Street station. Monday's fight came days after three MTA workers were assaulted and weeks after two other conductors were attacked in mid-November.

The assaults of transit workers has spurred officials to dispatch a squad of 500 cops from the MTA and New York Police Department to improve public safety as well as crack down on fare evasion. But that move has sparked mass protests against policing in New York City subways, particularly after viral videos of teenagers getting punched and tackled.

The MTA has said the 500 additional cops are needed, noting assaults against workers have spiked 39 percent in the first eight months of 2019 compared to the same period last year.

"We have an obligation to provide a safe and secure environment in the subways, on buses, on Metro North and Long Island Railroads," MTA's chairman Pat Foye said at a City Council oversight hearing last month.