Subway window-smashings continue months after MTA offers $12.5K reward
Subway window-smashing incidents have continued unabated in the two months since the MTA and NYPD offered $12,500 for info on a culprit, The Post has learned.
Records show 156 broken glass incidents on subway trains, or 1.7 per day, during the two month period between Aug. 26 and Oct. 26.
All told, smashed windows have delayed or canceled nearly 300 trains since the agencies put the money offer on the table, the records show.
The spate of incidents represents an increase compared to the summer smashing spree that began May 8 and culminated with the Aug. 25 reward offer, during which the subways saw 1.4 broken glass incidents per day.
The summer vandalism got so bad that the MTA nearly ran out of glass.
Authorities alleged that the most destructive incidents — which occurred primarily on the 7 line — were the act of a single culprit, whose photo was released along with the reward announcement.
The suspected vandal has yet to be apprehended, according to police.
An MTA source said the 7 train culprit has not been seen since the transit agency and NYPD put up money for more information.
The internal records show the 7 train has accounted for a smaller portion of overall broken glass incidents — from nearly a quarter over the summer to just over 10 percent in the two months since.
At the same time, the number of individual windows smashed has dropped significantly, according to publicly-available MTA stats — from 104 during the week of Aug. 24 to just 16 the week of Oct. 12.
“The reward that we put up was not in general for anyone who was smashing glass. We put up a reward for a specific individual who was wanted by the NYPD,” the source said.
“The number of incidents on the 7 train is down, and sightings of this individual have not occurred in the meantime. That is likely not a coincidence.”
Additional reporting by Craig McCarthy
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