MTA chair and CEO Janno Lieber shrugged off mounting fears over subway crime Monday, dismissing the very real concerns of New Yorkers as little more than paranoia. As congestion pricing forces more commuters into the transit system, Lieber’s tone-deaf remarks during a Bloomberg Surveillance interview seemed to imply that the wave of recent violence is more psychological than factual. “Some of these high-profile incidents… have gotten in people’s heads and made the whole system feel unsafe,” Lieber remarked casually, as though a string of stabbings and a woman being burned alive in full view of horrified riders were mere figments of public imagination. Lieber attempted to soothe listeners by citing crime statistics, claiming a “12.5 percent reduction in crime” compared to pre-pandemic levels. But numbers ring hollow to commuters who have witnessed — or worse, experienced — the surge in brazen attacks. His solution? A billion-dollar investment to combat fare evasion. While New Yorkers are dodging knives and flames, Lieber appears more concerned with turnstile jumpers than the safety of those paying their way. “Walls for safety will come later,” he assured, offering little comfort to those relying on the subway to navigate the city. Lieber’s dismissive attitude comes in the wake of several horrifying incidents. Just last week, 57-year-old Debrina Kawam was torched to death on an F train, and in the days following, multiple commuters were slashed across various stations. Among them, a 52-year-old man was knifed at Myrtle-Wyckoff, a 48-year-old was attacked at West 50th Street, and others were stabbed in broad daylight. One commuter was even shoved onto the tracks at a Manhattan No. 1 train station, barely escaping with his life. Even the Guardian Angels, a volunteer watchdog group formed during the city’s crime-ridden past, have returned to patrol the subways — a clear signal of just how “safe” the system feels to the public. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)