Credit: Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA)
Jan. 27, 2020 By Allie Griffin
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) launched a new ad campaign today to combat an uptick in hate crimes on the New York City transit system.
The “Hate Has No Place in Our Transportation System” public awareness campaign will promote kindness, respect and solidarity across digital screens in subways, buses and commuter railroads.
The campaign follows a year spotted with hate crimes within the city’s subways and buses. There was a 42 percent increase in hate crimes last year from 53 reported in 2018 to 75 in 2019, according to NYPD Transit Bureau statistics.
Often the hate crimes are graffiti and vandalism that spreads messages of hate, the MTA said. However, the launch comes after a physical attack on a transgender woman on the C line in Harlem over the weekend.
The MTA launched the campaign on the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp today.
“New York City Transit has zero tolerance for bias-motivated threats or harassment in our subway or bus systems,” said Sarah Meyer, New York City Transit Chief Customer Officer. “The increase in incidents we have witnessed is appalling. Let’s show our fellow New Yorkers how much we care and work together to combat these incidents.”
The ads share the message that “hate has no place” in the MTA network, along with the tagline “New York rides together.” They also provide information on how to report hate crimes.
Credit: Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA)
The ads will appear on more than more than 4,000 digital screens across the subway system, 2,600 screens on buses, and 550 screens on the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad.
“New York is built on diversity, openness and inclusion,” said MTA Chairman and CEO Patrick Foye. “Every New Yorker should be able to travel free of harassment and feel safe while riding with the MTA.”
“We hope that our campaign will not only help reduce bias activity but will remind everyone of the core New York values of kindness, respect and solidarity.”
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