The MTA’s plan to wire the subway system for cellphone service is a recipe for disaster — and has already led to a spike in iThefts, police have confirmed.
“More signal in subway stations and platforms is leading to more robberies,” said Deputy Inspector Mark DiPaolo, commanding officer of Downtown Brooklyn’s 84th Precinct, where subway stations with cell service have become hunting grounds for digital predators.
“There’s a [rise] in electronic theft,” he told a recent community council meeting. “I gotta work a little harder now.”
The MTA has wired six stations in Manhattan below 23rd Street and plans to make it systemwide within five years.
NYPD Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne noted that subway grand larceny is up almost 22 percent, and robbery 7 percent.