NEW YORK CITY — The MTA is updating its public safety campaign to get more people to speak up about suspicious activity, officials said Monday.
The new print ads will feature photos of riders who have reported something suspicious and a new tagline: “New Yorkers Keep New York Safe.” The previous slogan, “If You See Something, Say Something,” will still be displayed. There is also new video for the campaign.
“Working together, New Yorkers have kept us safe from terrorism for the last 15 years,” Joseph Giulietti, president of Metro-North Railroad, said in a press conference in Vanderbilt Hall in Grand Central Terminal Monday. “While attempts have been made, none have succeeded.”
The new ads come as serious subway crime jumped by 17 percent in 2016, with 419 incidents as of last week compared to 358 during the same period of time in 2015.
Still, the new public safety campaign is not in response to any particular event but rather “is really about an anti-terrorism message,” MTA spokesman Aaron Donovan told DNAinfo New York.
“We are continuously trying to refresh the campaign to try and keep it new and interesting,” Donovan said. “If it were to become stale over time...people might become less likely to report suspicious activity or suspicious packages.”
The campaign, which has been going on since 2002, has been funded by $470 million in grants from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Donovan said.
Since its launch, 1.5 million riders have reported suspicious activity. Eight million people ride the MTA transit system daily.
Riders featured in the ad campaign said they were picked after filling out an MTA survey and were rewarded with a free 30-day unlimited MetroCard, which is worth $116.50.
Rolf Graeber, who reported that a bag was left behind on the Long Island Rail Road, said he agreed to be part of the ads “for the fun of it.”
“I tell my friends, ‘Wait, you might see me everywhere,’” the 47-year-old computer programmer from Auburndale, said.
