What began as an ordinary morning commute on the N train for Alex Rakitin turned into something more when the man seated next to him became agitated.
According to Eyewitness News, Rakitin has had similar incidents with train passengers, but this is the first assault.
“He’s being aggressive that apparently I sat too close to him, even though I wasn’t in an adjacent seat,” he said. “It’s just he felt that’s his personal space and he was being very aggressive. I told him to just chill out. Like, just chill. It’s 8:30 in the morning. Just going to work. Nobody needs this. Just chill out. And he just escalated.”
Monday’s incident occurred shortly after 8:30 a.m.
A witness video shows the man, identified as Timothy Barbee, slapping Rakitin across the face, sending his glasses flying.
The video may have ended at that time, but the argument continued.
“I got on top of him and I just grabbed ahold of him.” Rakitin said. “And I was thinking, like, ‘just don’t let go because he’s much bigger than me.’ I don’t know what’s on his mind so I was just holding him until the cops came.”
Rakitin claims The 34-year-old then began calling for aid, but he refused to let go, fearful of what Barbee may do next.
They had detained Barbee and charged him with assault. Rakitin was not gravely harmed.
This incident occurs while Mayor Eric Adams celebrates the decrease in subway crime.
“As you know, 10 straight months we have witnessed a decrease in crime. And even last month, on our subway system, we witnessed over 20% decrease in crime in our subway system,” he said.
However, for some, such as Rakitin, those numbers do not reflect their daily experiences.
“Everybody that gets on the subway in the morning knows they’re going down into a dangerous place,” he said. “That’s just the reality we live in.”
