Asian man survives NYC metro shove

The New York Police Department Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating an incident where an Asian man was pushed Monday onto subway tracks in the borough of Queens.

The victim, 35, was at the 21st Street Queensbridge F train station around 7:45 am when another man pushed him, the New York Post reported.

The train went into emergency mode and managed to avoid hitting the man. Police said a good Samaritan came to the man's rescue and pulled him off the tracks, CBS News reported. He was taken to Mount Sinai Medical Center with a cut on his forehead.

The suspect said something under his breath before he pushed the victim, the New York Daily News reported, but the victim did not understand what was uttered.

The suspect fled to the street. He is described as a black male between 20 and 30 years old, about 1.8 meters, last seen wearing a mask over his face, and black clothing. The NYPD has released a surveillance image of the suspect at a subway turnstile.

NYPD statistics showed that through May 2 this year, there have been 80 anti-Asian hate crimes in the city, a 400 percent increase over the same period last year. The NYPD established a Hate Crime Review Panel in April mostly in response to the rise in anti-Asian incidents.

"Try to stay safe, be alert, never get close to the edge of the platform, be on guard. Unfortunately, that's the times we live in," an unidentified rider told CBS.

Safety as priority

"There is no higher priority for the MTA than the safety and security of our customers," Metropolitan Transportation Authority Spokesperson Michael Cortez said in a statement after Monday's incident. "We continue to call on the de Blasio administration to partner with us and do more to address these incidents in the subway and the ongoing mental health crisis in the city."

City mayor Bill de Blasio and MTA officials have frequently exchanged barbs over subway crime. MTA officials previously announced plans to hire private security officers.

New York is also experiencing violence above ground. Twenty-seven people were shot over the weekend, including an 18-year-old man who died of his injuries, the NYPD said.

The city also has seen a surge in anti-Semitic violence as clashes have unfolded during the recent deadly fighting between Palestinians and Israelis in the Middle East.

In April 2021, overall crime in New York City rose 30.4 percent compared with the same month in 2020, including a 66 percent increase in grand larceny and a 35.6 percent increase in felony assault, the NYPD said.