Asian man survives NYC subway shove

The NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating the pushing of an Asian man onto subway tracks Monday in Queens.

The victim, 35, was at the 21st Street-Queensbridge F train station around 7:45 am when another man pushed him, the New York Post reported.

The train went into emergency mode and managed to avoid hitting the man.

Police said a Good Samaritan came to the man's rescue and pulled him off the tracks, CBS News reported. He was taken to Mount Sinai Medical Center with a cut on his forehead.

The suspect said something under his breath before he pushed the victim, the New York Daily News reported, but the victim didn't understand what was uttered.

The suspect, who fled to the street, is described as a black male between 20 and 30 years old, about 5 feet 11, last seen wearing a mask over his face, and black clothing. The NYPD has released a surveillance image of the suspect at a subway turnstile.

According to the most recent NYPD statistics, through May 2 this year there have been 80 anti-Asian hate crimes in the city, a 400 percent increase over the same period last year.

Mainly in response to the rise in anti-Asian incidents, the NYPD established a Hate Crime Review Panel in April.

"Try to stay safe, be alert, never get close to the edge of the platform, be on guard. Unfortunately, that's the times we live in," an unidentified rider told CBS.

"There is no higher priority for the MTA than the safety and security of our customers," MTA spokesperson Michael Cortez said in a statement after Monday's incident. "We continue to call on the de Blasio administration to partner with us and do more to address these incidents in the subway and the ongoing mental health crisis in the city."

Mayor Bill De Blasio and MTA officials have frequently exchanged barbs over subway crime. MTA officials also have announced plans to hire private security officers.

Facing persistent pressure about public safety as the city approaches a full reopening, the mayor last week announced 250 more officers would be deployed to the subway system, which he said would make it the largest NYPD transit force "in over 25 years", giving the underground network 3,250 officers.

At his news conference Monday, de Blasio said the city is "going to keep doing whatever it takes, including the mental health services in the subways, the homeless outreach in the subway".

"All of this adds up and we'll keep adding up. But we also know, and the public safety experts say the recovery itself is going to have a huge impact on safety."

De Blasio has frequently cited lower subway ridership as a reason for the increase in crime, relying on larger numbers as a natural deterrent. He said Monday that increased ridership would have a "positive impact" on safety.

Those riders are starting to return.

The MTA in a statement said that on Friday more than 2.3 million riders were on city trains, a record high since the COVID-19 pandemic took hold in March 2020.

But New York also is experiencing violence aboveground.

Twenty-seven people were shot over the weekend, including an 18-year-old man who died after being shot, according to the NYPD.

The city also has seen a surge in anti-Semitic violence recently, as clashes have unfolded during the recent deadly fighting between Palestinians and Israelis in the Middle East, as Hamas and Israeli forces unleashed rockets at each other. The two sides reached a cease-fire last week.

"We're going to protect the Jewish community and make sure people feel that that protection is there for them. … And I've been really clear about the fact that anti-Semitism has been growing in recent years around the world. We have to stop it. And one place it needs to be stopped once and for all, it's right here in New York City, and we will do that. We will stomp it out."

In April 2021, overall crime in New York City rose 30.4 percent compared with the same month in 2020, including a 66 percent increase in grand larceny and a 35.6 percent increase in felony assault, according to the NYPD.

Robbery increased 28.6 percent, and shooting incidents increased 166 percent. Burglary was the only index crime to decline, down 26 percent compared with the previous year.

"The NYPD is relentless in its mission to maintain public safety for all New Yorkers," Police Commissioner Dermot Shea said in the recent crime stats report. "The selfless work our officers carry out — day after day, night after night — is one important part of the entire criminal justice system's process, a process where all pieces must work together to be wholly effective."