September 18, 2006
NYC Transit Sued Over Subway Platform Rape
Last year, a 21 year old art student was raped on the G platform at 21st Street in Hunters Point. Then it turned out that the token booth clerk did see the victim and rapist, but he stayed in his booth and pressed the panic button - as per NYC Transit procedures. Now, the victim, now 23 years old, is suing NYC Transit for negligence claiming that it "failed to meet the standard of care owed . . . to their passengers." "Nicole" spoke to Post and recounted what happened:
The NYU grad was attacked during the early hours of June 7, 2005, as she rode a Queens-bound G train. The pervert first began to stroke her feet. Disgusted, Nicole got up and moved - only to be pursued by the creep.Nicole added, "Every time I think about the token-booth guy ... it just makes my blood boil. I really feel like he is not someone I can forgive." She does, however, forgive her attacker (believing that he is "sick"), who is still at large.She got off the train at the next stop, 21st Street in Long Island City, not realizing he had followed her until she felt his tongue on her foot.
"It freaked me out so much that I started running up the stairs," she said.
The creep caught up with her and began pulling her down the stairs as a screaming Nicole made eye contact with booth clerk John Koort.
"I had this thought that, 'Finally, I am safe, there is another person in here, I am not alone, I can get out of it,' " she recalled.
Instead, she was dragged down the steps and sexually assaulted on the platform before the pervert forced her into a filthy toolshed and fled.
She later learned that train conductor Harmodio Cruz had witnessed the crime as he rode by and pressed his own panic button but, he said, couldn't stop in time to help her.
This crime is definitely horrible, but one thing we remember from last year's coverage is that the NYC Transit said the token booth clerk needs to stay in the booth, because he wouldn't know if he was being set up. Right - but what about the token booth clerks that now work outside of the booths? Would they just run, then? The attack occured around 3AM, which probably means there weren't any other people around, but had there been, we're sure some other passengers would have tried to help the victim.
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Sue the union for every penny they have!!
Wait a sec...how could the guy get close enough to lick her foot without her noticing? I don't get it.
It sounds like she got out of the train and was going to wait for another G, but the attacker ended up getting out also. Very scary stuff.
How is that negligence?
Not only was she failed by the booth clerk, but also by the cowardly MTA and TWA officials who had nothing but praise for the way the situation was handled.
i don't know how she can 'forgive' her attacker even though she thinks he was 'sick'
i hope they find the guy and cut off his scrotum
MTA employees are notoriously known (for decades) for doing nothing. They do the bare minimum of what their job desciptions are. Beyond their job descriptions, helping a rape victim, a robbery, anything outside their daily duties should come as no surprise.
After finally receivng their contract as of recent, in turns out they settled, basically on the original proposal pre strike. MTA employees are the laziest of all union workers out there. Not only should this woman sue the union, but she should also sue the individual booth clerk for not doing anything to help her. A basic class action lawsuit should do the trick.
wasn't the G always known as the 'Rape Train' prior to this unfortunate incident?
Here's some standard NYC PR, the subways are safe.
Yes, that may well be but 3 am is still 3 am. And, the G Line Eastbound? That's like going into a time warp back to 1983.
Too much opportunity out there at that time.
The G train isn't safe to ride late at night. Take a cab instead of the G after midnight....especially given the low ridership that late and the barren stations. I live on the G and I was bummed when I heard about this. It's the most neglected line on the MTA system, yet MANY people rely on it during the day - and that's when it's safe.
That station on the G (21st Street - Van Alst) is one of the loneliest stations in the entire system. It's often used at night by prostitutes who turn their tricks there. I'm not blaming the victim, but I can't believe a woman would be riding the train alone, especially the G train, at 3 AM. And if she absolutely had to ride the train alone, why wasn't she in the conductor's car? He could have summoned help for her. Overall a very sad story, but preventable if proper precautions had been taken.
Sue the MTA. It should be part of their job to stop a crime if they see one. How can they live with their conscious knowing they let a young girl get raped as they sat in their protected glass booth and tried nothing to stop the crime? Couldn't they even yell into a loudspeaker that police were nearby and on the way? Pressing an alert button and sitting there quietly is not good enough if you ask me. All this does is allow criminals to make sure they rob, rape or kill any innocent victims they grab and drag them to a subway where it's quite obvious no one can stop them-- and those that can won't.
Last night, I was taking the N home to Brooklyn from Manhattan. I kind of nodded off while reading, but woke with a start at the Jay St./Borough Hall stop--at least that's what I think it was; I was a little distracted. Thinking I might need to transfer, I got up and stood in the doorway to look at the train across the platform. Just then, I saw a young and/or diminuitive Asian guy sprint down the platform past my car's door with 4-6 African-American teens (~12-14 years old) hot on his heels yelling that he would get what was coming to him.
I have no idea what it was all about, but I do know that I was essentially frozen in place for about five seconds before the doors closed and we rolled out of the station. Everyone else in the car just averted eye contact with each other. I was near the front car, so there's no way the driver didn't see what was happening. Out of guilt and shame, I approached an NYPD patrol car and told them what I saw when I got to my stop, but that was about 15 minutes later.
The will to do nothing can be pretty strong. Perhaps that's cowardice, but apparently it's nearly universal.
I don't understand why everyone is blaming the token booth attendant. He is NOT ALLOWED to leave his booth. Had he gotten out, perhaps the rapist would have beaten/shot/killed him. Token booth attendants ARE NOT cops.
but you, adam, can ride the train alone at 3 AM?
Drop the double standard. If you can take the risk of being mugged at 3 AM, I can take that and other informed risks. This is a horrible event, but the likelihood of this happening doesn't statistically rationalize women not being to get around the city like men, ie., at 3 AM and alone on the train. Using that logic, and based on actual sexual assault stats, its more dangerous for women to be alone with their boyfriends or a guy they know. IE, you're more likely to be sexually assaulted by someone you know.
By the way, all my creepiest subway experiences riding the subway alone have occured during the day, with lots other people around.
Here's a question:
Why is assaulting an MTA employee on par with assaulting a police officer?
Clearly, there's a distinction between what their "responsiblities" towards the public are. One protects and the other sits in booth where they are supposedly encouraged to passively assist instances of assault? I mean, talk about a contradiction right there!
Clearly, they are regular joes and janes who have little inclination to do anything other than the bare minimum of their pretty mundane job. Why such protective status? It irks me in situations like this. But then just about everything regarding the MTA irks me.
And no, I'm not advocating assualting anyone.
14-
Maybe that is part of the problem. Maybe it's time to fire all the token booth attendents and replace them with officers or even "rent a cops". Yeah, rent a cops might be less likely to stop an assault (if they do anything at all), but it's still better than having someone locked behind their glass cage all day...
That story is frigging terrible. The token booth clerk didn't know if he was being set up...for what? Isn't that true of all of us? Jesus Christ, use your judgment.
Ace - very interesting argument about transit workers reaping the benefits of enhanced protection under the law without undertaking as many of the burdens as police officers do.
we need to bring back Bernie Goetz
Since when is a clerk a cop? I don't see how she could have expected more from someone who doesn't carry a weapon, cuffs.
Matter of fact, with today's ridiculous legal system, a good samaritan can be sued by the criminal they apprehend.
It's unfortunate that it happened to her, but the clerk is the wrong person to put the blame on. The train has always been moderately dangerous, common sense would tell you that with less agents on the trains and with less stations being staffed 24 hours a day, you assume some risk when you use it on the fringes of off peak service.
And to the person who thinks it's a man-woman thing, I was on a train around 3:30 in the morning 12 years ago on a dead line (The L train), dozing, and I woke up to a loud commotion. A bunch of teens were taking turns holding the doors open and each was running in and kicking this big guy who was wearing a janitor's uniform. Each one got a couple of kicks in and then they were gone.
He was an adult, big, who could take care of himself, but crazy things like these happen. As expensive as a cab may have been to her before the incident, I don't doubt that will be her after hours mode of transportation from now on.
There is no law that says that you have to risk anything at all, anything, even a minor scrape to help someone. It's being pointed out that the attendant is not a cop, he pressed the panic button and he followed his department's regulations.
Forgive me for being cynical but this MORON forgives her attacker but blames the MTA. Why? Because she is going after the deep pockets of the MTA. of course, she didn't mean to get raped but now that it happened her liberal guilt makes her wnat to get attacker psychiatric help but to wish a beating on the attendant.
Unfortunately, those deep pockets are us, folks. Just like the drunk who fell on the tracks or the would be suicide who both sued the MTA because of their own actions, we will end up paying unless jurors stop the pity party and realize that following the rules doesn't make you a bad guy.
I would also be in favor of eliminating most token booth clerks and replacing them with security personnel. The union should stop claiming that token booth clerks make the stations safer - they obviously do not.
A few years ago some homeless guy cracked a woman over the head with a cement block in midtown, in the middle of the day, remember that? My spouse is actually convinced that she saw the guy smoking crack in a subway stairwell the week before - she tried to tell the token clerk, and he didn't believe her.
hmm... if you see something, say something...
It wasn't a cement block but a brick he found on the sidewalk, probably a paving brick that borders those tiny trees some streets have.
I like all this talk about what the booth clerk "should of" done. did no one read SD's post?
this is the subway, we are almost conditioned to do nothing.
You're damned if you do and you're damned if you don't.
IF YOU SEE SOMETHING, SAY SOMETHING...
unless you work for us, in which case you are REQUIRED to stay in the booth while passengers are raped. Thereafter, you can expect to be blamed, sued, and live with constant guilt. Either way, enjoy our next fare hike!
For chrissakes, if Nicole is telling the truth, then the token booth clerk saw her being dragged backwards down the stairs! They made eye contact! Don't tell me that the look on her face was anything but sheer terror. He's is a coward. As a small framed woman I would have impulsively stood up and at the VERY LEAST yelled into the speaker that the cops were coming IMMEDIATELY. I probably would have ran out my booth automatically if I saw a woman being dragged down the stairs. Most of the male MTA employees I have seen can at least manage to APPEAR surly and mean and I absolutely believe that a MAN running out of the booth and at least shouting down the stairs would make a difference. The rapist was lower down on the stairs and probably thought that neither him nor Nicole had reached the clerk's line of vision yet. I don't care what the MTA's rules are for its employees. It's our duty as human beings to do all we can in a situation like that.
sorry, it was dave h.'s post.
NOT ALLOWED TO LEAVE THE BOOTH - ALLOWED TO WATCH A CRIME BE COMMITED AND DO NOTHING.
It's nice knowing the next time all you "look the other way" people are getting robbed that it's my civic duty to decide whether or not I should watch you or your sister get raped or killed.
Fuckin' cowards.
#19's right. Although Bernard Goetz's gun was legally his, but unlicensed, he had the right idea. Sadly, one of his attackers used our legal system for to help his injury. He sued Berny Goetz for this injuries and pain. Does anyone know what happened to the other two men Bernard Goetz shot?
The other two men Berny shot were jailed and released. After they were released one of them raped and murdered a woman, the other killed two people and then was killed himself. If the other man (the man who sued Goetz) was not paralyzed, I'm willing to bet he would have ended up dead or jailed for murder.
These men and or women, but typically men who commit violent crime such as armed robbery, rape, assault etc... get the minimum sentence, are released and then commit, usually a more heinous crime than their first, second or third crime.
A good example of this is Daryl Littlejohn...
also, to help stop a crime from taking place you do not have to approach it physically, using a block of wood or garbage in the area or whistling or any noise for that matter, will usually stop an attacker from his actions.
TOUGH GUY!
You'll do nothing and you'll like it. Is what hacksaw says.
bernie goetz? gotta be kidding me?
He dug himself a big hole.
Hey, when's the Navy Seal guy with his pencil coming to the rescue?
Unless you are on a busy line, you get what you pay for if you are on the subway between midnight and 5am. Take a taxi if you value your life. I've seen people getting beaten on subway platforms and wouldn't even think of getting involved. Nor have I seen anyone else try to help in this situation. How do I know that it's not two jerks who just started fighting? I hope the MTA sues this dumb bitch right back.
The lawsuit's a bit loopy - suing a company/employee for following company policy? Sounds nonsensical. I wasn't aware that NYC Transit "owed" any "standard of care" above and beyond transportation.
Which is not to say I wouldn't like to think that a different person might have done something a little more valiant, or at least screamed a lot into the intercom (presuming it worked). But to repeat: the employee was following policy.
That said, it seems a bit crass that people are judging the young woman in question (e.g., "dumb bitch" and antiquated rhetoric about "getting what is coming to you"). Pardon me? If you leave the house, you're taking a calculated risk. No one deserves to be on the wrong side of that statistic, gender, age, sobriety, and so forth notwithstanding.
And we should take her comment about forgiving the attacker with a grain of salt. I don't think it's about liberality or money necessarily, but probably the cloying end result of crisis therapy, which at least in my experience encourages that kind of conclusion. Sort of a hate the sin, not the sinner rationale, especially if the sinner is a psycho foot-licking subway rapist.
Even so - a really good use of everyone's time here would be to concentrate on apprehending this lunatic. Forget expecting a perfect stranger to pitch in and save a life, and let's just make sure this person (who apparently has several eyewitnesses in addition to Nicole) doesn't get the chance to do it again.
You are a dumb bitch if you are a woman who takes an empty subway at 3am and then complain about the results. At some point, people need to take responsibility for their foolishness.
K -- Yes, it is a double standard. Women are much more vulnerable than men are, especially alone at 3 AM on the subway in a sketchy part of town. It's sad, but true. You don't read of men getting raped, do you?
Only in Chelsea.
did anyone see "HEAT" again on TNT,
You can get killed walking your doggie!
That Slick's no joke.
Hey for me, the action is the juice.
No "Navy Seals" in that movie, only convicts.
(unless you count Dennis Haysbert who was in Navy Seals and Val Kilmer's ex)
The comical part about this is the fact the art student was undoubtedly some liberal feminist.
The attacker was black, and if the token booth operator had been a woman, we wouldn't even be having this discussion.
If this girl was at some anti-war post-1960's rock concert, she would totally deny that blacks have a penchant for rape and that women are just as capable as men when it comes to combat and defence.
Wake up call people: this city is no more populous than it was 75 years ago. THis crime, however, would not have happened. What is the difference? Think!
It easy to call the token booth person a coward, but they are told to stay in the booth for a reason. What if a man and woman team mocked a rape and the token booth guy valiantly came out only to see a gun in his face? The booth gets cleaned out and the booth guy possibly ends up dead.
It's horrible that she got raped, but MTA workers are not security guards. Outside that booth is like a zoo, get out of that cage and you're in danger of getting attacked by the animals out there at that hour. That worker did what he was trained to do, others might have came out to resue the girl, but it's easy to sit here and type that you would be a hero in that situation.
Really, use some common sense and don't use the subway at 3am and don't EXPECT the help of a token booth operator like it's their job to protect you with their lives.
Perhaps the MTA should reconsider what happens after the panic button is pressed. Perhaps the NYPD should patrol the G-line a little more, given that it is widely known to be unsafe.
"Matter of fact, with today's ridiculous legal system, a good samaritan can be sued by the criminal they apprehend."
You can get sued for anything - doesn't mean the person's going to get even close to winning. Please read and comprehend NY's Good Samaritan law before you start spouting off about our "ridiculous legal system."
At the risk of being pedantic, the MTA is getting sued, not the token clerk. One could argue that having a single attendant who can't leave the token booth at a subway stop at 3:30 in the morning is negligent on the MTA's part. It's not that crazy an argument.
For those of you who feel that it's as normal as blueberry pie to sit and watch while a woman is terrorized and frigging raped, I really hope that the same thing doesn't happen to a woman in your life. This guy chose to cover his ass instead of intervening in a sexual assault and he'll have to pay the consequences of many people in the public disagreeing with his choice.
More talk. Many of us cannot affort an attorney on retainer so being sued is the last thing we want.
Many use the threat of a lawsuit as a tool and it works. See mayor bloomberg and his suit against gun stores.
So, If you want to call me a coward. Go ahead.
They're just words.
Till then, stay off short desolate subway lines at 3am. You're only responsible for yourself and don't rely on anyone else. Look up that law.
the po po are not required by law to protect an individual.
Are we all forgetting about the blind girl that got raped in the elevator of the A,C,E line? Should that girl have used "common sense" while taking a subway while being blind? Nobody deserves something like that happening to them, regardless of where they are. Being out at 3 am is inadviseable, especially if you're a woman, but for lots of us (including me, a male) it's simply not viable, nor in our budgets to take a cab simply b/c it's late. Case in point, my girlfriend works late nights in the city and we live off the G. She gets off around 12am - 1am and the closest train to her is the L. Now, you don't have to be a genius to know that the L that late is unbelievably unreliable add to the fact that she has to transfer to the G, she's looking at over an hour to get home, by herself. Some might say take a cab, but the cab could be b/t $15-20. Now that might not seem much to many, but it's a lot to me and sometimes we just don't have it. This girl lived in Queens and she most likely was coming from the city. A cab from Manhattan to Queens can easily run $30 and people just can't afford that. So, clearly the "take a cab" theory is flawed.
A cab ride would not run that high because at that time traffic is clear. I've clocked in a low of under $20 for a ride from LGA to the LES.
Of course, taking a cab does not mean you won't get harassed.
The G train goes from Brooklyn to Queens but you knew that.
You roll the dice, you take your chances.
Ask a cop off the record what they think about riding the subway alone at 3AM.
Nice...we have "dumb bitches" and "liberal feminists" "getting what is coming to them." You guys are a classy bunch.
I'd still like to see the token booth defenders explain why it's OK to not help a rape victim, yet still enjoy the same protection as police officers. If I actually made eye contact with someone in a booth who refused to help, knowing they are more "protected" than I am to begin with, I too would be suing their assess off.
I'd also like to see police officers explain why so many resources are dedicated to "quality of life" offenses when these kinds of incidents happen under their noses.
If it's so widely acknowledged that the subways are nothing but unsafe at 3am, why are they being run? Any time the MTA wants to cut down on service, people complain.
Solution: stop running them and reduce the metrocard rates. There's a premium for being social in this city - like it or not - and part of that might have to be pricing a cab into your evening out.
Honestly, I feel more unsafe getting in a cab alone. Then I am trapped in a car with a (usually) male driver, who can take me anywhere and do anything to me. I always feel more safe in the subway, where there are other people around, it runs on a set route, and I can get off at any stop. But then, I'm not a G train rider...
This story (and some of the comments) turns my stomach. I enjoy such a false feeling of safety in NY, even late at night.
Touch your foot? LICK your foot! Kick him in the f'n face!
I am a crazy woman beast so I probably would of been stabbed
before even exiting the train..
Rules to live by :
Stay on the train..
Always sit near the train operator..
Don't depend on ANYone to help you..
I don't get it. 15 years ago in the wee hours of the morning, with lots of uniformed police riding the subways at those hours, people were getting mugged on subway lines and the advice was be careful, be smart and avoid riding late at night while you are alone. Whether you are a man OR a woman.
Now it happens again and some of you are saying that the booth clerk was a coward and that the victim has a right to ride the subway lines at 3am and not hold at least a little fear that something might happen?
Grow up. Would you let your wife, or your mother, ride the subways alone at 3am? I wouldn't. It's easy to try to rationalize the ideal subway system but there are sick people who gravitate to a system that traverses the whole of the city (good and bad neighborhoods) and where the police presence is low.
I don't let girl friends of mine travel home alone after hours. I see them into a cab or offer them the couch specifically because of the nutjobs that are out there. Why? Because the number of incidents that happen in livery cabs, or on my couch, is a hell of a lot less than what is out there on trains and even buses.
Someone posted that I had a dim view of our legal system. I have a dim view of any system where a lawsuit against a CLERK with no gun or handcuffs is considered more liable in this situation than the system that either let this clown roam free or didn't catch him in the first place.
If you take nothing else from my rant, ladies, please, if you are going to be out late, stow away an extra 20-30 dollars and make it a HABIT to take a reputable livery cab home. You can be morally indignant all you want, but do it from home and not a hospital emergency ward.
If you take nothing else from my rant, ladies, please, if you are going to be out late, stow away an extra 20-30 dollars and make it a HABIT to take a reputable livery cab home.
That can be rather difficult with the wage gap and all...or are you saying poor women shouldn't have fun?
Where do you get that?
I hope she loses her shirt on this suit and the MTA fight it all the way. No settlement, No deals.
Where do you get that?
I hope she loses her shirt on this suit and the MTA fight it all the way. No settlement, No deals.
Where do I get what? I was making a joke about the wage gap, but I guess that went over your head.
Why should women be expected to carry around more cash than men if we want to go out at night?
I'm sure if someone you cared about actually made eye contact with a token clerk as she (or he) was raped, you'd be singing a different tune.
"I have a dim view of any system where a lawsuit against a CLERK with no gun or handcuffs is considered more liable in this situation than the system that either let this clown roam free or didn't catch him in the first place."
THE LAWSUIT ISN'T AGAINST THE CLERK. It's against the MTA and will likely allege that the agency was negligent by staffing the station with only one clerk who is unable to leave the token booth in case of an emergency.
That can be rather difficult with the wage gap and all...or are you saying poor women shouldn't have fun?
Yes - if you can't afford your safety, you can't afford to go out. Would you walk through a Safari on foot?
I'm sure if someone you cared about actually made eye contact with a token clerk as she (or he) was raped, you'd be singing a different tune.
If my wife were in the subway at 3am, unless you're a cop with a gun, I do not expect her to be saved. Yes, I would be eternally grateful to this hero that risked his life to save her. But the MTA worker choose not to help, fearing for his own life, that's his choice, I'm not going to sue him or the company he works for. I might wish he were a hero, but not everyone is.
Wow 37, I didn't know that this was "Birth of a Nation-ist."
That written, I think that this suit is dubious. NY Transit cops were given 9mm's to "serve and protect." When subway token booth operators have the same deadly force at their hands, then they should be held liable for failing to stop a violent crime. Of course, when booth operators receive 9mm's, we should ALL be very afraid.
Nobody deserves to be raped. At the same time, each time I read about a violent crime committed on some (presumably) white kid (usually a student or recent transplant to NYC) in a tough neighborhood, I shake my head. I shake my head because it seems that too many people have a false sense of security in this city. Despite all the Disneyfication and gentrification, NYC is still a large city and there are still cold-hearted, dangerous people out there. I just wish people would exercise better judgment.
It's not wise to ride the G train late at night. I used to ride it all the time, in a suit and tie with a laptop case that screamed, "please assault me." I was fortunate - especially the time that I was locked out of my apartment at 4 a.m. and foolishly rode the train back and forth until the sunrose and my roommates woke up. I slept in the train and the only thing missing was my scarf.
Later, I reflected on just how stupid it was for me to be alone on the G-train eastbound at that hour anyway...and I'm not a small guy. The point is, I hope that someone can learn from her unfortunate situation and use more caution. My heart goes out to her in her recovery efforts.
Subway/Cab/Bus after midnight = not that safe for females traveling alone. A friend of mine was nearly assaulted when her cabbie (a yellow cab!) decided to take a little detour to an industrial part of town. Luckily, she had the good sense to realize something was wrong once he made one weird turn. She was able to fight him off but not everyone may be that lucky. I've had cabbies that were high/drunk/crazy - just because it's not the subway doesn't make it safer. You're still in an enclosed space with a stranger. The best thing is to remain aware.
Besides, you can't tell people that they need to take a cab after a certain time. I used to live in the Bronx and would take a cab whenever it got late. That 20-30 bucks adds up.
The MTA needs to wake the hell up. I doubt that panic button was even functioning properly. Does anything work properly in the subway system? We've had so many reports shoved in our faces about new security procedure and it's all garbage. If you see a stray bag and tell a conductor, they could care less.
Yes, it was sick that the clerk didn't leave his booth or even attempt to yell but have any of us been in that situation? The clerk may have been too shocked/scared. It doesn't forgive his inaction but it's a theory.
Marvelous. Thanks, will spread this among my friends!
Marvelous. Thanks, will spread this among my friends!