An MTA conductor was hospitalized after being punched in the face by a man in Queens. Police are asking the public for help identifying the suspect.  

The incident happened when a man and an MTA employee started arguing on Sunday afternoon on a platform at the 74th Street and Roosevelt Avenue station. 

The fight escalated, and the man punched the 46-year-old conductor before taking off, according to police. The conductor was taken to a local hospital for minor injuries.

Police said the suspect was last seen wearing clear glasses, a black ski mask, jacket, pants and shoes. 

A similar incident happened three days prior when officers said a man punched a 37-year-old working on a subway in Far Rockaway. 

Anyone with any information is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). You can also submit a tip via their website or via DM on X, @NYPDTips. All calls are kept confidential.  

New York officials say subway crime is down 

Gov. Kathy Hochul, the MTA and the NYPD said in December that crime in the transit system is at its lowest in 16 years. Major crime in the subway was also down from the year prior.

Hochul said 2025 was on track to be the second-safest year in terms of subway crime ever, with the exception of the pandemic. 

New York is also investing $77 million in 2026 for increased police patrols. Platform barriers have started to pop up in stations to prevent falls and pushes. 

Federal officials previously threatened to withhold funding for MTA

The Department of Homeland Security tried to strip the MTA of nearly $34 million in counterterrorism funds.

But, a judge ruled FEMA and the department couldn't cut funding because New York is a sanctuary city. The law requires grants to be based on security risks rather than politics, the judge said.