AOC Tells Cuomo To Give Up Subway Cop Surge

NEW YORK CITY — Opposition mounts against Gov. Andrew Cuomo's plan for 500 new MTA police officers as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and a group of elected officials align themselves against the proposal.

"Punishing the poor does not create a safer environment," wrote Ocasio-Cortez Tuesday. "Instead it threatens the very foundation of our community."

Ocasio-Cortez, the Queens and Bronx Democrat representing Congressional District 14, came out against the controversial fare evasion crackdown one day before the MTA is set to vote on its annual budget.

Congress members Jose Serrano and Jerrold Nadler, New York state Senators Michael Gianaris, Luis Sepulveda Jessica Ramos issued a joint letter on Dec. 17 asking Cuomo to redirect the funding toward capital improvements instead of increased policing.

"In our view, desperately needed resources would be better invested in subway, bus, maintenance and service improvements, as well as protecting riders and transit workers from assault rather than in the over-policing of our communities," the elected officials wrote.

"We are urging the MTA to divest from this current model of criminalization and invest desperately needed resources in our buses and subways."

MTA officials argue new officers will protect New Yorkers from what NYPD data show is a 167 percent increase in subway harassment, a 50 percent increase in subway hate crimes, a 11.5 percent increase in subway robbery, and the Transit Worker Union's reported 39 percent increase in assaults against MTA staff.

“We will not engage in politics when it comes to public safety," said MTA Chairman and CEO Patrick Foye. "New Yorkers deserve to have reliable service and feel secure on our system – these priorities are one and the same."

The four-page letter calls on the MTA to address its self-professed "dire" financial situation by redirecting cash toward infrastructure instead of a policy critics fear will target commuters of color.

Viral video of violent arrests of teens, an accused fare evader and churros vendors have sparked mass protests and an underground resistance against subway policing.

"We would like to remind you of the historic racial discrepancies in enforcement and the way communities of color, both MTA riders and workers, bear the brunt of over-policing," the electeds wrote.

"Arresting hard-working people who cannot afford a $2.75 fare is, in effect, the criminalization of poverty."

Cuomo's office did not immediately respond to Patch's request for comment, but this story will be updated upon receipt.

Read the complete letter here: