N.Y. transport strike brings crime lull

Press, 9 April 1980, Page 9

N.Y. transport strike brings crime lull

NZPA-Reuter New York The week-long publictransport strike in New York has led to a big reduction in crime, except murder, the police have said. They said serious crimes such as assaults, bank robberies, and burglaries were down by 20 per cent compared with the previous week.

This was owing to the extra police on duty directing traffic and to the crowds Df people on the streets walking, jogging, and cycling to work. The police said, however, that 30 murders were reported in the city during the

strike, compared with 22 the week before.

The strike by transport workers in support of demands for a pay rise has halted the ■ city’s underground trains and buses. The Mayor of New York (Mr Edward Koch) has likened the seven-day transit strike to the Battle of Britain and vowed again that 35,000 striking bus and sub-, way workers will not bring! New York to its knees. But with thousands of | commuters returning to; work after Easter and Pass-1 over holidays, the Mayor’s determination faced a serious test.

“They (the transit workers) thought they would

bring us to our knees. They won’t,” Mr Koch said during a television interview. “The battle of New York City rivals the Battle of Britain. New Yorkers are not capitulating.” But authorities feared the worst as the city’s 5.4 million daily commuters scramble for rides after the 'holiday lull — a situation i the “New York Times” said 'would likely cause scenes of i chaos. I Authorities said that if ;any more than 550,000 cars I— more than double the normal number — tried to enter Manhattan, it could create a traffic knot that would take hours to untangle.