[chimeracoder]

> Your first point seems to be something that our local leaders still are not taking seriously enough. If I have to listen to or read warnings all around me to "keep my eyes up and my phone down", I am not going to get a strong vibe of "I am safe and this is a nice time I am having".

This is a difference between perception and objective reality. Public officials began this campaign of "educating" people about the "dangers" of public transit years ago, coincidentally right when crime was at its all-time historical low. The perception that the subway is unsafe was not actually grounded in any objective facts, but rather a response to the feedback loop generated between the media and public officials.