NYC has one of its safest summers ever, but subway assaults and hate crimes are up

Colin Mixson, New York Daily News on Sep 3, 2026

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NEW YORK — New York City has seen one of its safest summers ever, NYPD stats show — even as hate crimes and subway assaults rise.

Between June 1 and Aug. 31, cops investigated 195 shootings, 32 fewer than during the same three months last year, which at the time was a record low, police said.

Only 66 murders occurred during those three months, 12 fewer than the previous record low of 78 set in 2017, the NYPD said. None of the murders happened in NYCHA public housing this summer, cops noted.

NYPD officials touted the impressive stats just days after new mom Erin Piacenti, 32, was killed by a mentally ill woman amid an unprovoked double stabbing in Times Square.

The summer months follow an eight-month trend in crime reduction, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said.

“The NYPD delivered both the safest summer and first eight months of the year for shooting incidents, shooting victims, and murders in recorded history,” said Tisch. “These historic lows all happened while managing an unprecedented series of high-profile events, including the NBA Finals, the World Cup, Sail 250, and the largest Fourth of July celebration in the nation.”

Through the end of August, there were 538 shooting victims compared to 611 during the same time frame in 2025. And there were 173 murders, 18 fewer than the previous record low of 191 set in 2017, NYPD officials said.

Murders are down 24% this year, with 173 homicides as compared to 228 by this time last year.

The NYPD also saw drops in auto theft, robbery, burglary, and grand larceny compared to last year, cops said.

Felony assault was up by less than 1%, with 20,200 incidents this year compared to 20,065 in 2025.

But the NYPD is fighting a 10% jump in felony assaults in the city’s transit system as of Aug. 23 compared to the same time frame last year. The NYPD declined to provide updated stats through Aug. 30.

Cops have investigated 429 assaults in transit this year through Aug. 23, compared to the 388 reported by that time last year. While assaults in the subways are up, random attacks are down by 8%, from 69 last year to 63 this year, police said.

Overall major crimes in the city’s transit system have held steady, with only a less-than 1% decrease in 2026 as compared to last year.

The number of hate crimes in the five boroughs are up for the year — by 15%, with 58 additional confirmed incidents this year compared to last, cops said. Of the 45 confirmed hate crimes in August, close to half, 19 cases, were antisemitic incidents.

The number of rape reports the NYPD took this year citywide has climbed by 3%, with 1,423 complaints filed, up from the 1,379 cases by this time last year.

Cops noted that just over a quarter of the complaints were of sex attacks that happened in prior years. The increase was also linked to the 2024 passage of the Rape is Rape Act, a law which broadened the definition of rape.

The Bronx, where the NYPD deployed an additional 200 officers and opened a new Borough Command in May, has led the city in major crime declines, with an 11% decrease this year.

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