Assemblywoman Aravella Simatos (Astoria)
Sept. 29, 2015 By Jackie Strawbridge
Subway masturbators will face harsher sentences starting in November, now that a new law has been signed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
Currently, first-time offenders who subject another person to sexual contact on public transit can receive a maximum sentence of ninety days in prison or one year of probation.
The new legislation, which was introduced by Assemblywoman Aravella Simotas, raises that sentence to one year imprisonment or three years’ probation.
“I have been riding the subway my entire life and have seen my share of disgusting and objectionable behavior,” Simotas said in a statement. “The law must reflect that these crimes on public transportation are particularly egregious because riders are essentially captives of their attackers.”
The legislation amends New York’s “forcible touching” law and applies to offenders who obscenely touch, rub up against or ejaculate on another passenger on public transit.
Subway masturbators have ridden through western Queens multiple times over the past several months alone, including alleged instances of groping, assault of a 12-year-old boy, and forcible grabbing of a woman’s buttocks.
The new penalties will take effect on Nov. 1.
Reach reporter Jackie Strawbridge at jackie.strawbridge@queenspost.com.
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29 Comments
what happened to the old saying. “Keep your hands to yourself”?
I hope this new legislation applies to the token booth guy as well
The token booth guy at 61st Roosevelt will be exempt.
Well that’s another picture the mta will have to add to the subway etiquette collection. Hopefully for the sake of the children the men are green!
Oh, come on!!!
About time one of these politician’s instead of spouting hot air, finally went and done a hands on job over these wankers and gave them their just desserts, It’s been a long time coming.
You are evil.
los subway masturbatorz, this mught be a good name for my band. Thanks SSP
Legalize it. Don’t criticize it.
How old is Assemblywoman Simatos? She looks about 14 in that photo.
Does this law apply to the transit workers’ union? They have been seeming to masturbate for quite some time. Certainly, they have jerked our “collective” chain with regard to the “repairs” and “improvements” of the last 10 years on the 7 line. Anyone ever see them doing actual work?
they are all jerkoffs.
They want to rob us of the one joy from an otherwise miserable commute.
This is politically incorrect. You have offended masturbators everywhere with his article.
“The new legislation, which was introduced by Assemblywoman Aravella Simotas, raises the sentence to one year imprisonment or three years’ probation.” Which just raises costs to the tax payers in higher incarceration numbers and “jacks” up the money allocated to the New York State Division of Justice Services. That’s alright they’ll just increase our property taxes…again to cover the new expenses and women won’t be any safer. How about just posting the names and photos of convicted offenders on the internet and in subway stations, hit them with a hefty fine and bar them from using the subway system. Why do all of these politicians wonderful solutions and ideas come at the expense of us tax payers? Yeah, Assemblywoman Aravella Simotas is a hero.
Fine them and bar them from using the subway system? Do you think it’s the N train that’s getting off? These are sex offenders, genius. And how exactly do you plan on banning individuals from using the subway?
@Bliss St “Genius” they’re also not rapist. Diddlers gropers flashers and chronic masturbators are not rapists you imbecile. The new politically correct narrative is to lump everyone in just one category “sex offenders”. Not everyone needs prison and not everyone needs to cost the tax payer. Go back and reread my post imbecile. Photos are used to identify the convicted. You’re spotted and arrested and charged with trespassing (usually an aggravated charge) . How do you think we identify convicted “sexual offenders” who are apprehended and arrested for being too close to a school or playground. You’re the first loudmouth who starts crying when their is no money left in the budget for the basics and politicians start looking for tax increases. This is how it always begins new laws and penalties because suddenly the old laws and penalties “just aren’t working.” Those who don’t know history are just doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past. .
John You’re absolutely correct. I just think your idea should go one step further and ban the perverts from all public transportation, This way the only way they can get to work is on foot or drive which in this town can be very expensive. Those who can’t will just have to move to make a living. It’s a very cost effective way of handling these creeps and we still get them out of the system. Don’t waste your time with people like Bliss St. Those people aren’t the thinking type.
Arresting someone for trespassing is not the same as banning them from the subway. So please explain your plan to ban public masturbators from the subway. And if even if you could effectively ban them, then what? They stop masturbating in public? It’s not the subway that gets them off – it’s the power they feel by making (almost exclusively) women feel vulnerable and powerless. They will continue to do this in public spaces.
No one said they were rapists and no one said that their punishment should be the same as a rapist. I think a sentence of up to a year in prison makes a little more sense than a slap on the wrist and taking away their Metrocard.
And if you think that people that are willing to masturbate publicly don’t have a predilection for more aggressive and violent crimes, you’re either extremely naive or astoundingly stupid. I have a feeling that you’re not that naive.
If you want to save tax payers money by decriminalizing lesser offenses and keeping people from being tied up in the system, I’m all for it. These are not the crimes to focus on, though.
The comments section is like riding the train with one of these guys because there sure are a lot of jerk offs.
Bliss St. John came up with a fairly concise and detailed solution. That has a solution that meets the objective of removing these people from the transit system at a much lower cost to the tax payer then expanding cost and the size of Gov’t agencies and increasing taxes.Where are your ideas? Come up with at least a suggestion on where the new money is to come from to subsidize the changes to the penal code made by Assemblywoman Aravella Simota? The law is specifically about offenders on public transit system. Queen of Angels is absolutely correct about you being Fox News watching ignorant blowhard. Your post is nothing but attacks on someone else’s ideas, conjecture and flat out incorrect information and definitions. You’re the one who labeled everyone “sex offenders” so it was you who said they were rapist only you’re too emotional and stupid to realize it.Frankly you’re the jerk off and a complete imbecile to boot.
@Bliss St. To quote the article “The legislation amends New York’s “forcible touching” law and applies to offenders who obscenely touch, rub up against or ejaculate on another passenger on public transit.” How long before this newly amended law is taken out of its context or “spirit” of the law? How long before this newly amended law is used against kids horsing around on the subway? Used on boys and girls alike..Yes, girls have been known to grab a butt or two..Lets see now we criminalize teenagers with sharing explicit photos of each other with laws that were created for adult predators. Google North Carolina High School Quarterback Cormega Copening, 17, and his girlfriend, Brianna Denson. We criminalize teenagers with draconian marijuana laws. We now charge people who don’t make an airline employees job easier or complains about shoddy service with provisions of the Patriot Act. Yes it cost money to criminalize someone who is now unemployable, not just the expense of arresting, prosecuting, monitoring, and (or) incarcerating but the added expense of health, food and housing subsidies that are needed to sustain an unemployed or low wage convicted criminal outside of the system. I haven’t seen any study or evidence that states these crimes are on the rise just that there are now more documented cases because of the existence of cell phones. My grandmother, aunts and mother all spoke of flashers and gropers on the subway as far back as the 1920’s. These people brought attention to these creeps and along with the other passengers ran these people off and publicly humiliated them by themselves. If you honestly believe this “amended” law and expensive “solution” is going to make you or anyone else safer then, you’re more naive then what you say I am. Queen Of Angels don’t waste your time feeding this over emotional loud mouth facts she won’t go out the penal code to read the correct definition even though you provided the penal code number. Facts truth and history don’t matter to these people. You are right!!
-bliss st just because you feel powerless and vulnerable doesn’t always mean you’re unsafe. John is absolutely right there are better ways to get back at people who make you feel powerless and vulnerable then constantly looking to expand the reach of law enforcement and the Gov”t at the expense of the tax payer. More and more of our budget goes to mass incarceration and parole and probation monitoring. That’s just a fact. So maybe you should show a little more understanding to people who are tired of constantly flipping the bill because people feel powerless, vulnerable and disgusted.
Yeah let’s all support bliss st. in relinquishing more of our liberty and giving the govt more rights and power over us and our children all because the poster called Bliss St. feels powerless and vulnerable.
– Bliss St. You may want to check your definition of “sex offender” and reconcile it with NY State Penal Law. section 130.00. You are so way off and should be the last person to try and mock anyone. You sound like a Fox News Blowhard. Your own definition of truth fact and history now you idiots are branching out and creating. your own definition of penal law.
Bliss is correct. This would be sex offender covered under “forcible touching” as it says in the article. The raise in sentence is for forcible touching which includes masturbation ON someone. That would make them sex offenders. Now if you mastrubate not on someone it would be a different offense then Not a sex offender.
Bliss St is actually a registered business name please stop using it.
Public masterbation is disgusting public nuisance and a clear indication of mental illness for which one year in jail at a cost of 50-60k is simply not a treatment or cost effective solution. But it does allow Assemblywomen Simotas to claim a hollow legislative victory. One would think that legislators would seek the counsel of qualified mental health professionals, behavior criminologist and seasoned prosecutors before opting for the easy and costly heavy handed ‘solution’ with the expectation that praise from an uniformed public will follow a ‘photo op’ at the entrance of the subway station. It would be nice to know that before more of our tax dollars are committed to this mythical more jail time solves all problems approach that an effort was made to determine whether mandatory counseling, at the offenders expense, was an effective means of reducing recidivism rates.
@Gary You’re absolutely right.
Don’t grope me, bro!