NYC Transit boss Andy Byford attended the Manhattan arraignment of a deranged commuter who threatened a bus driver with a gun to show his support for MTA workers.
“My operators, our colleagues, the union members, do not come to work to get assaulted, they do not come to work to get threatened, they do not come to work to get spat at,” Byford, flanked by MTA bus chief Craig Cipriano, told reporters outside the courthouse.
He added that there were “just far too many assaults on transit workers: honest, decent, hardworking New Yorkers who at the end of the day are just doing their job.”
Earlier Wednesday, defendant Tony Burnett, 28, pleaded not guilty to two counts of criminal possession of a weapon for threatening bus driver Michael Haynes, 55, with a loaded firearm Aug. 9 because the driver didn’t pick him up.
Burnett, who has a lengthy rap sheet, was standing at West 85th Street and Columbus Avenue — a full block from the nearest M11 bus stop.
Police say Burnett was so enraged by the perceived snub, he hailed a taxi, pursued the bus and allegedly pulled a .38 revolver on the driver as he railed, “Why didn’t you stop for me?”
Assistant DA Monica Narang recommended the maximum of seven years in prison. Justice Maxwell Wiley adjourned the case to Oct. 2 for the results of a psychiatric exam and ordered Burnett held without bail.
After the proceeding, defense lawyer Reginald Sharpe said, “Mr. Burnett has some mental issues we’re trying to get to the bottom of.”
Byford said he met with Manhattan DA Cy Vance Jr. prior to Burnett’s arraignment. “He [Vance] agreed with me that this case needs to be treated with the maximum possible severity,” the transit honcho said. “There should be no plea bargains, there should be no applications for bail.”
Byford conceded that “traveling on public transport can be frustrating” but that in no way excuses violence against MTA workers.
He said it was important for public leaders to take these crimes seriously and set the tone that attacks on public servants will not be tolerated.
Byford said Haynes, who has not returned to work yet, was deeply shaken by the incident. Haynes exclusively told The Post last month, “This guy [Burnett] doesn’t need to be out on the street like that. Someone could die with him out here. They got to do something to help us. People are out of control.”
