Subway pain in the glass strikes again
New York’s serial subway window smashers are apparently undeterred by the MTA’s $10,000 bounty for their arrest.
Transit workers reported another 39 broken windows in two separate incidents on the 7 line Monday — just hours after the MTA announced the big-bucks reward for information leading to a collar, according to the agency.
Workers spotted the cracked glass — 19 windows at 5:22 p.m. and another 20 at 8:51 p.m. — at 34th Street-Hudson Yards station, the 7 train’s Manhattan terminus.
Video from the crime scene by one subway operator shows a trail of car windows with multiple cracks.
“Ok now I’m really concerned for the safety of the #TrainCrews on the 7 Line,” the worker, who uses the Twitter handle @TripleG_RTO, posted with the video.
“[Enough] is enough its time to catch this guy before he #Hurts somebody.”
The incident brings the total number of windows smashed since May to around 450 — and the total cost of repairs to more than $300,000, according to the MTA.
Monday’s vandalism alone caused $19,500 in damage, agency spokesman Tim Minton said.
On Monday, the MTA said there were 70 window-smashing incidents on subway cars between May 8 and Aug. 18. The trail of destruction has been so extensive that the agency is on the verge of running out of glass.
“We’ve been resupplying, but the manufacturer has had difficulty keeping up with the extent of the vandalism that we’ve seen,” Minton said last week.
Police and transit officials remain tight-lipped about whether they think the crimes are being committed by one person or a group.
The repeated acts of vandalism have led to more than five hours in cumulative train delays on the 7 line, according to internal MTA records.
Trains on the 2 and 3 lines have also been hit.
Every train with broken windows must be taken out of service immediately for repairs. Officials expect more service impacts could be coming due to delays in acquiring fresh glass.
The NYPD is offering another $2,500 on top of the MTA’s bounty.
“It’s important that we have the public’s assistance here” in nabbing the suspect, NYPD Transit Chief Edward Delatorre told reporters Monday.
“There has to have been some witnesses to this vandalism over the last couple of months.”