NYC subway musicians fear underground crime as assaults surge: ‘You learn how to protect yourself'
Their fears strike a dark note.
Subway musicians said they're worried about violent crime as assaults surge underground — even while they vied for prime performance spots at MTA-held auditions Wednesday.
'Part of the grit of being a native New Yorker, you learn how to protect yourself. I try to pick stations with a police presence,' said Chanise Elife, 42, of Harlem, who plays 70 instruments.
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5 Trojan Horn Brass Band auditioned for plum spots at NYC subway stations.
Matthew McDermott
'The one I feel most comfortable in is 50th Street on the downtown one train. There is a man there whose job it is to stop fare evaders,' said Elife. 'He keeps [a] sharp eye and really makes me feel safe.'
A total of 54 buskers — ranging from opera singers to country crooners — auditioned at Grand Central Station for placement in the MTA's 'Under New York' music program Wednesday.
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Only 20 performers were given the coveted MTA passes, which allows them to play at some of the city's busiest stations, such as Times Square.
One musician said he's had close calls in recent months as subway crime goes off the rails — including with the case of a cellist who was attacked by an unhinged stranger last year.
'We had some experiences, let's just call them tests already,' said Tom Eaton, 24, who plays in a brass band started in Troy, New York.
5 The MTA held it's 'Music Under New York' auditions on May 14, 2025 for musicians to be permitted to perform inside the city's subway system.
Matthew McDermott
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5 Subway buskers said they fear crime underground as the number of assaults spiked this year.
Matthew McDermott
'Honestly, there are six of us and we're playing big heavy instruments. Plus we got our start in downtown Troy. We had some experiences, let's just call them tests already. Busking in downtown Troy is not easy,' he added.
'So, yeah, I guess we're ready for the big leagues.'
In April, data revealed assaults have spiked in the subway system this year with felony assaults up 9% — increasing from 168 to 183 over the same period last year.
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That's up a staggering 55% from before the pandemic in 2019, the data show.
5 Musician Nedelka Prescod said she'll keep playing is subway stations.
Matthew McDermott
But Nedelka Prescod, 54, of East Flatbush, said she has no plans to stop playing music underground.
'For me my music is my ministry…The human voice can heal community,' said Prescod, who teaches at the Berkeley College of Music in Boston. 'Everybody has some good.'
Prescod said she didn't have fear because she had someone upstairs watching her underground.
'I'm a praying person. I know it's about bringing light love and I have the intention that where I walk it will be loving and peaceful,' she said.
'I used to teach in Fort Greene projects during the 90s crackhead epidemic. I learned that everybody has some good in there and if you talk to that, the good, it comes forth.'
5 A subway performer auditioning for 'Music Under New York.'
Matthew McDermott
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In last year's subway attack a 23-year-old woman with eight prior arrests clobbered cellist Iain S. Forrest, 29, in the head as he performed in the Herald Square station.
Amira Hunter was busted a day after the attack, and after beining initally released, she was finally held on $10,000 bail.
Forrest, meanwhile was able to return to playing in the subway about a month later — and played the national anthem before a Knicks game he started an advocacy group for subway performers.
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