The Biden administration accuses the MTA of what it believes is a growing safety problem for workers on the subway tracks.
Marc A. Hermann / MTA New York City Transit
The Biden administration has ordered the MTA to improve safety protocols for workers on the subway tracks after a transit officer died on the job last year and there was a significant increase in near-misses.
The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) launched an investigation last November into safety practices at MTA New York City Transit, the sub-agency that operates subway and bus services. The incident occurred after the death of Hilarion Joseph, an inexperienced track worker who was signaling a crew to work when he was struck by a D train on the subway near the 34th Street-Herald Square station in Midtown Manhattan.
What the government found, however, was an agency with a growing safety problem for its employees. The government counted 38 individual incidents in 2023 in which an employee was nearly hit by a train, 58% more than in 2022 and 65% more than in 2021.
In half of those near misses, regulators determined that the cause was workers’ failure to follow proper marking procedures. This contributed not only to Joseph’s death, but also to an incident in June 2024 when a track worker was struck and seriously injured by a train near Hoyt Schermerhorn Street in Brooklyn.
Other causes of alarm include improper radio communication, “improper road safety” and “inattention of the train driver”.
The government also found that the number of near misses for passengers increased by 46% in 2023 compared to 2021. For example, passengers could be put at risk by power rail explosions or doors opening on the wrong side of the train.
“FTA has identified an increasing pattern of safety incidents and concerns in New York City Transit’s Roadway Worker Protection program,” the report said, “as well as noncompliance with key NYCT safety regulations designed to protect workers and riders in NYCT operations.”
The directive, signed by FTA executive director Matthew Welbes, requires the MTA, among other things, to conduct a “comprehensive safety risk assessment” of its track worker safety program within 60 days and to undergo weekly monitoring of the program by the state’s Public Transportation Safety Board.
If the MTA fails to meet its obligations, the Biden administration could potentially cut the agency’s federal funding by up to 25 percent.
The Transport Workers Union, which represents NYCT’s 30,000 subway workers at the bargaining table, sharply criticized the transit agency in response to the audit.
“The federal guidelines make it clear that MTA CEO Janno Lieber and New York Governor Kathy Hochul are asleep at the wheel because the agencies they control are doing nothing to address the safety concerns of workers and the traveling public,” said John Samuelsen, president of the TWU and a member of the MTA board.
“Instead, bosses blame workers for safety problems rather than addressing their poor system management,” Samuelsen continued. “The FTA’s policies should be a wake-up call to every New York passenger. We demand that Lieber and Hochul be held accountable for these damning safety findings. Lives are at stake.”
In an August 14 letter to Joseph DeLorenzo, FTA’s chief safety officer, NYCT interim president Demetrius Crichlow stated that he intends to appeal the federal government’s decision.
He said the agency “strongly disputes the findings,” citing a “safety efficiency rate” of 99.97% for the track work, and said the FTA issued the orders before the National Transportation Safety Board determined the final cause of Joseph’s death and the Hoyt-Schermerhorn incident.
“In short, we strongly refute FTA’s view that NYCT has been in any way negligent when it comes to the safety of track workers, one of our top priorities,” Crichlow said. “The agency has comprehensive safety protocols in place for the more than 1.5 million work operations that occur along the rights-of-way during the active operation of our 24/7 subway system.”
