Cracking the case: MTA calls on New Yorkers to ID glass-smash vandal

At least one vandal has smashed 400 subway windows since May. Photo courtesy of MTA NYC Transit

By David Brand

A spiderweb of fissures crept along the window of a No. 7 train at the Hudson Yards station Monday, the by-now familiar mark of a glass-smashing vandal who has shattered windows and delayed rides along the Queens line all summer long.

The MTA is calling on New Yorkers to help them crack the case.

The transit agency has a photo of a suspect and is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the vandal’s arrest.

“This person has caused over $300,000 in damages, and has caused our customers on the 7 line — working people in Woodside and Sunnyside and Corona and Jackson Heights and Elmhurst —delays,” said MTA Chairman Patrick Foye. “And there have been scores of incidents.”

More than 400 subway windows have been smashed in at least 70 incidents since May, according to the MTA. The majority have taken place on the No. 7 Train in Queens. 

Each vandalized train is taken out of service for repair with new windows installed at the Corona Maintenance Facility.