By Eric Jankiewicz
In the latest reaction to the copper thieves who crippled the A and C train lines last month—leaving thousands of commuters in the Rockaways and other areas scrambling for alternatives—Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder (D-Howard Beach) is trying to make meddling with the train a felony that carries considerable prison time.
Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) proposed a similar bill earlier this month that would alter federal laws. Goldfeder’s bill would amend state laws.
The bills follow the theft of 500 feet of copper wiring in May that halted all train service for Rockaway residents and other morning rush-hour commuters who rely on the A and C trains. The MTA responded by using shuttle buses, but with only two bridges leading out of the Rockaways morning commuters were stuck for several hours.
“Our families in southern Queens and Rockaway rely on limited transit options. Criminals who knowingly tamper with our vital transportation infrastructure just to make a buck deserve more than a slap on the wrist,” Goldfeder said. “By increasing penalties for this shameful crime, we can help protect our infrastructure.”
Police are still looking for the thieves behind the transit nightmare. They estimate that the value of the copper wiring taken from a dozen sites around the Howard Beach station to be about $1,000. The thieves a could be charged under current state law with criminal tampering of public services—a misdemeanor with a sentence of anywhere from 15 days to a year in prison to a probation period of three years.
But Goldfeder wants the crime to carry a sentence of up to seven years in prison.
Schumer proposed federal laws that would require people who sell metal to scrap yards to provide proof of ownership and cap the sale of copper at $100. If passed, the law would also require metal sellers to be paid in checks. Similar to Goldfeder’s proposal, it would make it a federal offense to steal metal from “critical” infrastructures such as the train system.
Schumer said that the legislation is meant to “combat the rash of metal theft occurring here in New York City.”
A spokesman for Goldfeder said that the current rules amount to nothing more than a slap on the wrist.
Schumer said that as the price of copper rises, there has been a significant increase in scrap metal burglaries and larcenies in New York City. Along with MTA rail lines, industries and residents in New York City have been targeted.
Reach reporter Eric Jankiewicz by e-mail at ejank
