State senate passes Savino ‘subway grinder’ bill
Legislation would make lewd acts a felony
Riders have a tough enough time dealing with delays and crowded trains in the subway, they shouldn’t have to put up with perverts performing lewd acts, said a state senator who is going after the so-called grinders.
Democrat Diane Savino (D-Coney Island-Bensonhurst-Staten Island) is the sponsor of a bill the senate passed 58-4 on June 7 that would make forcible touching on public transportation would become a felony punishable by up to seven years in prison. The crime currently carries a misdemeanor penalty of one year in prison. Most offenders wind up with little to no jail time, Savino said.
The bill would also increase the criminal penalty for an act of public lewdness on public transportation from three months to one year in prison.