Police are asking for the public's help identifying a man accused of exposing himself and performing a lewd act aboard a Brooklyn-bound G train, according to investigators. A woman riding the train as it approached the Greenpoint Avenue station on August 10 reported the incident, which police say caused no injuries. The suspect got off the train and fled, according to police.
The incident was first reported by News12 Brooklyn, which said investigators are working to identify the man, who left the train and fled. The Greenpoint Avenue station sits along the 11.4-mile IND Crosstown G line, which links 21 stations between Queens and Brooklyn without ever crossing into Manhattan, according to background compiled from Wikipedia.
How Investigators Build These Cases
Cases like this one typically hinge on video evidence pulled from inside the train itself. By December 2024, the MTA had finished outfitting every New York City Transit subway car with security cameras, deploying more than 15,300 units across the entire fleet, according to the Office of the Governor of New York. That footage gives detectives a starting point even when a suspect flees before officers arrive.
Public tips remain the other major lever investigators use to close out these cases. The NYPD Crime Stoppers program, run in partnership with the New York City Police Foundation since 1983, offers anonymous cash rewards of up to $3,500 for information submitted through 1-800-577-TIPS or online that leads to an arrest and indictment, per NYC.gov. Police have asked anyone with information about this incident to come forward.
What Charges Could Look Like
Under New York Penal Law § 245.00, public lewdness is a Class B misdemeanor, applying when someone intentionally exposes private body parts in a lewd manner or performs a lewd act in a public setting, according to the Law Office of Lance Fletcher. A conviction can carry up to 90 days in jail and up to three years of probation.
The charge can be elevated to public lewdness in the first degree, a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in prison, if the suspect is 19 or older and intended to be observed by a minor under 16, or if they have a prior public lewdness conviction within the previous 12 months, according to the New York State Senate. The report does not say whether any charges have been filed in this case.
Part of a Broader Pattern on Brooklyn Trains
This is not the first time this year that NYPD Crime Stoppers has sought a subway flasher in Brooklyn. In April, investigators sought a man who exposed himself and performed a lewd act in front of a 27-year-old woman aboard a northbound 6 train, a case Hoodline previously covered. Earlier this month, police also sought a man accused of exposing himself to a 22-year-old woman aboard a southbound F train near Coney Island.
Despite these isolated incidents, transit crime overall has been trending downward across the system. The MTA source includes other crime figures, according to the agency.
The MTA has also described safety measures and outreach programs in recent years. Its clinician-led Subway Co-Response Outreach teams, which pair mental health clinicians with police officers, were part of a plan aimed at bringing the total number of SCOUT teams to 10 by the end of 2025. Anyone with information about the G train incident is urged to contact police.
