New York Governor Kathy Hochul was trolled for a “tone deaf” tweet bragging about her improvements in subway safety, just hours after a sleeping straphanger was killed while boarding a Brooklyn train on Sunday. fire was set.
The Democratic leader was blasted from both sides of the aisle after her office posted a social media post celebrating the subway’s decline in crime, even in the wake of the gruesome sacrifice and double stabbing on the 7 train in Queens in which one passenger was killed.
“In March, I took action to make our subways safer for the millions of people who ride the trains every day,” Hochul said. Wote on X Sunday afternoon alongside photos of her on public transportation with law enforcement officers and riders.
“Since deploying the @NationalGuardNY to support @NYPDnews and @MTA safety efforts and adding cameras to all subways, crime is down and ridership is up.”
The tweet was quickly vilified, including by Rep. Ritchie Torres, who has been critical of his fellow Democrat in recent weeks and is eyeing a possible run for governor in 2026.
“Two hours ago, Kathy Hochul took a victory lap for making the subway ‘safer’. “She congratulates herself on the fact that on the same day in Queens, two subway passengers were stabbed (one in the face and one in the chest) and another was barbarically burned alive,” he says. wrote on X.
“Has there ever been a more tone-deaf governor in the history of New York?”
Another Democrat, Assemblyman Robert Holden, called Hochul’s tweet “incredible timing.”
“Kathy Hochul’s incompetence is costing lives – she must leave public office immediately before more New Yorkers suffer,” he said. wrote on X.
Republicans also expressed outrage over the shocking snafu on social media.
“Are you kidding??? You’re really posting this after a woman was set on fire and died on a train in Brooklyn this morning and two people were stabbed (one killed) on a train in Queens yesterday,” Rep. Nicole Malliotakis posted online.
The two fatal incidents on public transport occurred just hours apart on Sunday morning.
In the first, a 37-year-old man was killed and a 26-year-old man was injured during a stabbing on a southbound 7 train at the 61 Street-Woodside station around 12:30 p.m. after getting into a dispute with another person. according to the police, a rider.
A person of interest, who also suffered lacerations, was taken into custody, police said. No charges have been filed so far.
Then, a Guatemalan migrant allegedly set fire to a sleeping subway passenger on an idling F train at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue station around 7:30 a.m., police said.
The victim was pronounced dead at the scene and a suspect was arrested hours later.
The governor’s office did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment on the criticized tweet Sunday evening.
But she appeared to address the outrage in a pair of messages Sunday evening, emphasizing that every transit crime is “one too many.”
“A suspect is now in custody for the horrific incident on the F train. Our brand new security cameras helped the police find and arrest the suspect. I am grateful to @NYPDnews and @mtapd for their aggressive response,” she said wrote.
“Make no mistake: one crime is one too many, even if crime in the metro is declining. We continue to dedicate staff and resources to making our subways safer.”
