A FARE FIGHT
Hundreds protest scheme to fi ght fare beaters
with overwhelming police presence
BY BEN VERDE
Hundreds of straphangers took
to the streets of Downtown
Brooklyn on Friday to protest
a Metropolitan Transportation
Authority scheme to crack
down on fare evasion by hiring
500 new cops to police the subway.
One activist slammed offi -
cials for squandering taxpayer
money on a scheme that endangers
and disenfranchises the
poor, instead of making a sound
investment in new transit infrastructure.
“They aren’t doing anything
good for our community by policing
people who are evading
the fare just because they don’t
have 2.75,” said Lillian Gooden,
a protestor. “That money could
be better spent improving the
system, improving the tracks,
improving the signals. Fare
evasion is not the main concern.”
Protesters gathered at Metro-
Tech Commons off Jay Street at
around 6 pm, where they rallied
against the increased presence
of law enforcement in the borough’s
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transit network, which
has been rocked by two violent
police actions caught on camera
last week.
In one, a cop from the 84th Precinct
is seen punching a teenager
in the face during a brawl
in the Jay Street–Metrotech
station. The teen, who was
charged with assault, plans to
sue the city for $5 Million.
In the second incident, a 19-
year-old at the Franklin Avenue
stop was held at gunpoint
and arrested by a dozen offi cers
after a gun report that was determined
to be false. The teen
was later charged with “theft of
services” for fare evasion.
Following the MetroTech rally,
the protesters marched through
the streets fl anked by hundreds
of cops, carrying banners,
chanting slogans such as “Ante
up – punch that cop!” and participating
in a mass fare–beating
at the Hoyt–Schermerhorn
Street station.
A protester was arrested for
vandalism after allegedly
scrawling “PIGS” on the side
of a cop car, the New York Post
reported. Another man was issued
a summons for allegedly
spitting at cops. Other protesters
were seen pelting a cop car
with garbage, leading one former
cop to condemn the protesters.
“I’ve protested against aggressive
policing for decades,” said
Brooklyn Borough President
Eric Adams, a former cop and
current mayoral candidate.
“What I saw last night went beyond
an acceptable protest.”
However, Queens Congresswoman
Alexandria Ocasia Cortez
went to bat for the protesters
on Twitter, claiming the MTA’s
plan to attack the city’s poorest
commuters will only make the
subways more dangerous.
“Arresting people who can’t
afford a $2.75 fare makes no
one safer and destabilizes our
community,” the lawmaker
tweeted. “New Yorkers know
that, they’re not having it, and
they’re standing up for each
other.”
Protesters demanded police presence
in the subway be scaled back
drastically. Photo by Ben Verde
Scores of protesters gathered at MetroTech before marching through
Downtown Brooklyn. Photo by Ben Verde
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