NYC criminal who has been rebranded as a 'justice-affected individual' complains about crackdown on subway fare evaders like him, as woke new mayor arrests more of them than ever

By NATASHA ANDERSON, US SENIOR NEWS REPORTER Published: 15:08, 30 June 2026 | Updated: 15:16, 30 June 2026 A convicted criminal rebranded by a charity as a 'justice affected New Yorker' has complained about the city's crackdown on subway fare evaders. Eduardo, identified by his first name only, shared his struggle with affording the subway in a Fair Fares campaign video released by the Riders Alliance. 'It's humiliating,' he said in the video, which showed him begging at the station barriers with his iPhone 16 in hand. 'Either you make the decision to hop the train or eat breakfast sometimes.' Eduardo was also wearing a pair of pristine white Nike Cortez sneakers, which normally retail for around $100.  A standard New York City subway ride is $3. The most anyone can pay for a full week of subway rides is $35 thanks to a fare cap, as long as riders use the same card to pay for all their fares.  Despite this, Eduardo argued that the cost of public transportation in the city remains unaffordable and creates a 'burden of hardship that no one should have to deal with.'  'When you deny New York City residents access to public transportation you limit their opportunities to improve their own circumstances,' he said. 'There have been medical appointments, there have been, you know, visits to my parole officer - all of these appointments allow me to stay on track and move towards executing my goals as I reintegrate.  'And when I'm not able to meet those appointments I could very well be at jeopardy of finding myself incarcerated again.' Eduardo, identified by his first name only, detailed his struggles with affording the $3 New York City subway fare in a Riders Alliance campaign video advocating for the expansion of the city's Fair Fares program Eduardo, with his iPhone in hand, is seen begging for help from other riders at the subway station barriers. He said it is 'humiliating' to ask for assistance and claimed the cost of public transportation in NYC creates a 'burden of hardship that no one should have to deal with' He acknowledged that he sometimes receives help from other subway riders, but said their kindness comes with 'stigmas' and condescension. 'You have to deal with people making comments if they decide to help you,' Eduardo told the charity. 'You know, everything from "get a job you loser," "he's probably a crackhead," you get all these stigmas because you can't afford to pay your transportation and you're asking for a little help.' Riders Alliance, a 501(c)(4) organization that advocates for bus and subway riders, shared Eduardo's story on their social media pages last week as they urged NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani to expand the Fair Fares program in the budget. Fair Fares is a city program that gives low income NYC residents a 50 percent discount on subway and select bus fares. City Council today expanded the Fair Fares program in its new budget. Mamdani agreed to the deal despite the woke socialist mayor apparently cracking down on subway fare evasions with his NYPD making a record number of arrests during the first quarter of the year. Officers made 3,188 fare evasion-related arrests between January 1 and March 31 this year, according to the force's subway fare evasion report. The NYPD also issued 26,267 fare evasion-related summonses during the first three months of the year.  Mayor Zohran Mamdani, at the NYC Pride Parade on Sunday, is seemingly cracking down on subway fare evasions with his NYPD making a record number of arrests during the first quarter of the year The force has made more fare evasion-related arrests in three months under Mamdani than it did in the last nine months of Eric Adams' Administration, The Legal Aid Society said in a report branding Mamdani's crackdown as 'aggressive.' The organization further claimed that the number of fare evasion-related summonses issued increased by 6,433 when compared to the last quarter of 2025. Philip Desgranges, Attorney-in-Charge of Criminal Law Reform, at The Legal Aid Society, claimed that City Hall was making 'unnecessary arrests' and 'doubling down on a failed strategy that imposes potentially catastrophic consequences for minor offenses.' 'This data makes clear that Mayor Mamdani is continuing the same aggressive enforcement approach as the Adams administration over a $3 subway fare,' Desgranges wrote.  'Arresting and jailing New Yorkers for low-level fare evasion does nothing to improve public safety - it funnels people into the criminal legal system and, for many immigrants, into the ICE detention and deportation pipeline.'  it's no surprise that Mamdani's stricter fare enforcement tactics have been met with skepticism given that the democratic socialist campaigned on a key promise of making city buses free. However, after just four months in office, Mamdani admitted that he would not be able to make buses free this year after he failed to include the measure in the city's $127 billion budget proposal.  A man jumps over the turnstile and escapes the fare as he enters a subway train station in the Manhattan borough of New York City on April 24, 2026 He was also unable to get state legislators, who oversee the taxpayer-funded Metropolitan Transportation Authority, to include it in their budget proposals. 'I'm absolutely committed to making buses fast and free, and we're encouraged by the conversations we're having with the governor and legislative leaders to take action on that in 2026 as a first step,' Mamdani told Politico in April. Riders Alliance, in a statement to the Daily Mail, said: 'Our experience with organizing subway riders is that many are forced to make impossible choices due to poverty. 'One of our earliest Fair Fares protest signs asked, "A Meal or a MetroCard?" As we pushed for a big Fair Fares expansion (which we won today!), we wanted to remind people of the high stakes of subway fare enforcement. 'Many social media users took that to mean that we condone all turnstile jumping. In fact, our goal is a public transit system with sufficient, targeted subsidies so that subway travel is affordable to all riders, regardless of income.' The Daily Mail has approached the Mayor's Office and The Legal Aid Society for comment.  The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? 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