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NY1

UPDATED 12:07 PM
PC Kelly, MTA Head Discuss Recent Spike In Subway Crime

Subway crime is on the agenda today as Police Commissioner Ray Kelly and MTA Chief Joe Lhota meet to discuss the recent spike in crime underground.
Lhota has already met with all five district attorneys looking for ways reduce subway crime, which is up 20 percent over the first quarter of the year.

The meeting comes as police search for two men wanted for separate lewd incidents on the subway.

The first incident happened around 4:30 p.m. last Wednesday on a Manhattan-bound L train.

A woman told police the man seen here was performing a sex act on himself while staring at her.



She was able to take a picture of him before he walked off the train at Union Square.

He's described a being between 20 and 25 years old, six feet tall and weighing 175 pounds.

He was last seen wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt, navy pants and a black hat.

Just a half hour earlier, another woman told police someone snapped a photo up her skirt while she was riding a Brooklyn-bound 4 train headed toward Union Square.

That man is described as being between 30 and 40 years old, 5'5" tall with brown eyes, short black hair and a mustache.

He was last wearing a black and orange sweatshirt.

Subway riders who spoke with NY1 say even though they've seen and heard just about everything underground, the latest incidents are concerning.

"The crime that is going on you sometimes have to be very careful whoever you come near," said one straphanger.

"I try to be alert watch my surroundings. I used to be a security guard so I am always observant," said another.

The MTA says if riders do encounter lewd behavior on the train they should contact an MTA employee or a police officer.

Anyone with information about the latest two lewd attacks should contact the Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS, or text CRIMES and then enter TIP577, or visit www.nypdcrimestoppers.com.

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