Convicted creeps shouldn’t be able to ride a bus or train in New York City for at least three years, according to Governor Andrew Cuomo.
A day before his State of the State address, Cuomo announced Tuesday his plan to temporarily ban repeat and high-risk sexual offenders from the MTA’s transit systems. This includes individuals found to have committed repeat sex-related violations of the MTA code of conduct and registered Level 3 sex offenders.
The governor said the matter comes down to public safety.
“MTA riders deserve to feel safe, and we have an obligation to ensure they will not be targeted by sex offenders,” Cuomo said. “Enough is enough. If we want our public transit system to improve, we need balance between someone’s right to access public transit and the riders’ right to safety, which is why I am proposing a three-year ban from the MTA transit systems as a penalty for individuals who repeatedly engage in this abhorrent behavior.”
The governor’s plan also includes a new bill that would enable judges to impose temporary bans from transit systems against any offender accused of a transit-related sex crime before their trial. Anyone who violates the ban would be at risk of facing charges of transit trespass, which is a grade A misdemeanor.
The Riders Alliance, however, doesn’t think Cuomo has the authority to keep any New Yorker out of a public space such as the transit system — regardless of the offense.
“Public transit is public space. People shouldn’t be banned from public space,” according to a statement from the Riders Alliance. “We oppose banning New Yorkers from subways and buses.”
