NYC Mayor Eric Adams urges commuters to stop using headphones on subway to stay vigilant amid rising crime
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: As a result of New York City's skyrocketing crime rates, authorities are under intense pressure. To avoid becoming a victim of the city's escalating crime, the mayor of New York City has advised subway riders to put away their phones and headphones while using the increasingly risky public transit system. NYC Mayor Eric Adams, who is under great pressure to take crucial action to make the subway safer, spoke to Fox News on Friday asking commuters to stay vigilant.
Transit crime in America's largest city is up 41% year on year, with eight people murdered on the subway so far in 2022. In comparison, there were only three subway murders in 2019, one in 2018, and none in 2017, as per a Daily Mail report.
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According to Adams, there has been a 47 percent increase in subway arrests. When Bianca Peters, a Fox 5 news anchor, told Adams, "I haven't put my AirPods in for over a year, because I feel like I need to be very much aware." Mayor replied, "Well first, I think that you were right about, you know, not having your iPods in – not focusing on the phone. And I say yes to that. I do the same, and we put out a video and information telling people about being aware of what's around them and what's taking place. I encourage New Yorkers to do that."
Every day, millions of New Yorkers use the subway and the Staten Island Railway, according to data from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. On Thursday, a total of ridership 3,815,617 was counted, as per a Fox News report.
Adams also said in the interview, "It's the combination of ensuring that we deal with the actual violence, but also people must feel safe in the city of New York."
A Houston woman once spoke to Fox News and shared her horrifying experience of being tracked through Apple AirPods recently. She said, "I start freaking out because I’m like to wait somebody’s following me, and not only are they following me, they are actively watching every step I take."
Airpods are Bluetooth-enabled wireless headphones that can connect to your Apple device without any additional hardware. Subway riders can easily distracted and lose awareness of what is happening around them. The technology had reportedly prompted crimes in the past.
In one of the shocking stories reported earlier by KHOU, Raven Lemon in Houston area recently alerted others after she claimed that an Apple AirPod headphone, which uses Bluetooth technology, tracked her location for hours. Apple admitted on its website that it has received a report of criminals using AirPods and AirTags for malicious purposes, but claimed they are collaborating with law enforcement to try to stop it. An AirPod was used to track the Houston firearms instructor who claimed to have been a victim of the crime in July after leaving a restaurant next to the Galleria. Lemon's phone began receiving alerts from Apple while she was driving.
She initially didn't pay attention, but when she did, the message revealed that an AirPod had been tracking her for 17 minutes.
An alert map revealed that the restaurant is where the tracking started. Lemon said, "No one ever prepares you for these kinds of things. At least I was able to calm down and think of a plan. But, at the same time, I didn’t know what to do. I’m like, do you call the police?" "I don’t know what their motivation was, but I’m pretty sure I’m lucky to be here," she stated.
New York Attorney General Letitia James issued a consumer alert on February 16, 2022, with safety recommendations to protect New Yorkers from bad actors who use Apple AirTags to track people's locations and possessions for malicious purposes. Unknown AirTags have been discovered attached to cars, as well as in purses, coat pockets, and other personal property. Others have reportedly received phone notifications that their location data is being shared, even when the targets do not have an AirTag or another connected accessory.
Attorney General James said, "Across the country, Apple AirTags are being misused to track people and their belongings to cause harm. Tracking people without their awareness or consent is a serious felony and will not be tolerated by my office. I urge all New Yorkers to pay close attention to their belongings and follow the tips provided by my office to stay safe. New Yorkers’ safety is my top priority and my office will continue to do everything in its power to protect New Yorkers."