Myran Pollack, center, flanked by Brooklyn DA Gonzalez and President Chiarello

Train Operator Myran Pollack Sees his Assailant Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison

DECEMBER 15—Train Operator Myran Pollack spent 16 days in the hospital last October recovering from 11 stab wounds inflicted by a man who later pleaded guilty to attempted murder. On Monday, he told his story to the court and saw his assailant sentenced to 15 years in prison plus five years of supervised release.

The October 8, 2024 unprovoked attack on the 4 platform at the Utica Avenue stop in Crown Heights was every transit worker’s nightmare. Jonathan Davalos, 27, nodded at the veteran Train Operator, who was trying to clear his train at the last stop, and then swung at him with a knife, stabbing him repeatedly as he tried to run for his life and to ward off the attack. Without the swift intervention of NYPD officers, Pollack believes, he would have died right there on the platform.

“As the customer stepped off the train facing me, he pulled out a large kitchen knife. No words were spoken. No sounds were made. There was no fight. No confrontation of any kind. Just the blank look from the customer. It was like looking at the face of a mannequin," said Pollack to a hushed courtroom full of people hanging on his every word.

Results of TA Surface Special Elections

DECEMBER 11—The results of the special elections for leadership positions in TA Surface were announced today, with three formerly vacant spots being filled.

Eager candidates gathered in Manhattan for the ballot count, conducted at the American Arbitration Association. Word of the tallies soon reached the Executive Committee as they held their meeting in Brooklyn, and the names of the newly-elected were announced.

Andre Armstrong, Chair of Fresh Pond Depot, will become Division Chair, replacing Gary Rosario, who was sworn in as TA Surface VP in September. With 24 years on the job, Armstrong served as Chairman of Fresh Pond since 2016. Armstrong won his office with 386 out of 689 votes.

Thomas Hopkins, who works as a Bus Operator out of Ulmer Park and has been with transit for eight years, will be the new 1st Vice Chair with 404 out of 689 votes.

Tanya D. Johnson, a Bus Operator from the Flatbush Depot with 18 years on the job, was elected onto the Executive Board with 386 votes out of 689 votes.

This will be the first time Hopkins and Johnson have held office. 

John Chiarello talks to the press saying he would have wanted a harsher sentence for Banks

Assailant in Stabbing of Off-Duty Cleaner Sentenced to 10 Years in Jail; 5 Years Probation

DECEMBER 8—A Bronx judge today sentenced Jamar Banks, 53, to 10 years in prison and five years probation for the January 2 stabbing of an off-duty NYCT Cleaner. The cleaner, 48, was on the northbound No. 6 train platform at the Pelham Bay station when Banks started an argument with him and then attacked him with a knife, stabbing him multiple times.

Banks pleaded guilty to the attempted murder of the cleaner in September, said Bronx Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Doty in court.

The sentence is to run concurrently with an identical one Banks received earlier this fall for another stabbing he pleaded guilty to, which took place the day before on the 2 train at 14th Street. 

Outside the courtroom, Local 100 President John Chiarello said that the sentence may sound severe, but "what happened to our member is that he was nearly killed. This was an assassination attempt." Chiarello noted that Banks had multiple previous arrests, "and there's no reason why he should be on the street."