A scowling maniac stabbed a 40-year-old stranger on the R train, cops said Monday — in one of four transit slashings since Gov. Kathy Hochul bragged about how safe the subways are.
The latest transit chaos unfolded at 2 a.m. Saturday, when the attacker approached the victim, and the two started arguing as the train traveled by the Steinway Street station in Astoria, police said.
The stranger stabbed a 40-year-old man on board a southbound R train passing through Steinway Street in Astoria around 2 a.m. Saturday, police said. NYPD
The nutjob pulled a knife and stabbed the victim three times in the ribs and once in the leg — but the victim managed to stumble out of the train and was taken to Elmhurst Hospital Center, where he was listed in stable condition, according to the NYPD.
He was uncooperative with investigators, sources said.
The NYPD released unsettling images of the alleged attacker — seen grimacing in a close-up photo. The slasher had stayed on board the train after the stabbing and was still on the loose late Monday, cops said.
The clash was part of a violent spurt in the subway system that began just a day after the governor announced that subway crime had dipped to its lowest level in 16 years, and overall transit crime is now nearly 15% lower than in 2019 before the pandemic shutdown.
The victim was knifed a total of four times, police said.
Hochul boasted the drop in crime came after a sustained effort that put more cameras into the subway, an outreach effort that rousted the homeless into care from the trains and a surge of cops.
The governor touted the record lows as she announced she’s committing another $77 million toward keeping NYPD officers in the subway system during 2026.
“These funds will support over 600 officers per day and keep riders safe and surge patrols where they are most needed at the discretion of our police commissioner to help cover overtime for those who are doing above and beyond,” she said. “To make sure that people can ride the subways without fear.”
A day after her announcement, at 7 p.m. Friday, a 23-year-old man was knifed in the back on the northbound No. 1 train platform at 96th and Broadway, cops said.
That assault also stemmed from a clash with another rider — a stranger — and the victim was hospitalized in stable condition, police sources said.
Saturday saw two more attacks in Midtown, just an hour apart.
A 38-year-old man was stabbed in the torso on a crowded 6 train at Grand Central Station around 5 p.m., cops and sources said. The two had been arguing over how packed the train was, sources said.
The violence followed a celebratory announcement by Gov. Kathy Hochul, who said that subway crime has dipped to its lowest level in 16 years. freelance
The attacker was still at large as of Monday.
Then, around 6:10 p.m., a 15-year-old boy was slashed in the arm by another teen wearing a brown jacket at the 42nd Street-Port Authority Bus Terminal station on the A/C/E line, cops said.
Sources said two 17-year-old boys had approached the victim and asked him, “Are you in a gang?” The two were arrested on the scene and charged with assault, menacing and reckless endangerment.
An NYPD spokesperson said November was the safest in recorded history outside of the pandemic. There were 167 crimes reported that month, compared to 222 — a 24.8% drop, the spokesperson said.
“This was the safest July, August, September, October, and November combined on the subway in recorded history, excluding the pandemic year,” the spokesperson added. “Robberies in the transit system reached their lowest levels ever for November and the first 11 months of the year, including the pandemic years.”
Through Dec. 21, major crimes are down 4.6% while there were 570 assaults in transit in the five boroughs — the same total for 2024, according to the NYPD. Of the felony assaults in transit, 30% were against cops and MTA workers, the spokesperson said.
Most straphangers The Post spoke to Monday are taking the recent uptick in subway crime in stride, saying dealing with the occasional lunatic simply comes with the territory in a big-city transit system.
Jayden Gonzalez, 16, who was slumped on the bench at the downtown track at the Fulton Street station, says, “You can’t expect much from NYC” when it comes to subway safety.
Bronx resident Jacob James, 19, who had set up a three-piece Conga drum set next to the Dunkin’ kiosk, said he’s been playing the “war drums” with his father and brother for nearly a decade in a bid to “boost morale” in the city.
In the subways, however, James says, “it can be a little ridiculous at times,” given the cast of characters riding the rails.
He said the city’s priorities are “not straight” regarding subway crime, and criticized law enforcement’s focus on fare beaters vs. more serious crimes.
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Other passengers said they were in a state of heightened alert after the series of bloody attacks.
Sharon, from Brooklyn, has been riding the subways since the 1980s, but said this year was the first she felt like she needed to “brace for impact” after a passenger acted violently on a train she was riding.
Overall, she said she grades the subway service a “B-” and that she always has her trusty cane handy for protection.
Yaron and Roni Benayoun, a married couple visiting the Big Apple from Netanya, Israel, admitted they were a bit uneasy taking the subway after seeing media reports on Israeli TV about last week’s attack against a Jewish man, particularly as religious Jews.
“If my husband is not next to me, I feel scared,” said Roni, 24, as the couple hopped on the 4 train to Bowling Green.
A 25-year-old man from Crown Heights who asked not to be identified offered the advice to subway riders, “you gotta be careful and not be scared,” adding that people shouldn’t be discouraged from taking public transit.
“Don’t stop getting on the train because someone might get in your face.”