\u201cI was trying to do something right,\u201d Nelson said. \u201cMy life was altered for doing the right thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
The man accused of the attack, Alexander Wright, has previously been deemed unfit to stand trial. But that could change.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, Bronx Supreme Court Justice Alvin Yearwood ordered Wright \u2014 who has at least 13 prior arrests<\/a>, including \u201csome\u201d in the subway, according to the MTA \u2014 to undergo a psychiatric evaluation to determine whether he is fit to stand trial.<\/p>\n MTA officials have previously pushed for Wright to be banned<\/a> for up to three years from the authority\u2019s subways, buses, commuter railroads and other facilities. In 2022, Janno Lieber, MTA chairperson and chief executive, sent a letter to Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark asking that a judge issue the first-of-its-kind ban<\/a> upon conviction.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s been done wrong, as well,\u201d Nelson said outside the Bronx courtroom where Wright made his latest appearance. \u201cWhen is the state going to say, oh, we got to help people and not put Band-Aids on situations.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The 38-year-old victim, who has worked for the transit authority for a decade, was among 711 transit workers who were victims of harassment or assault in 2022, according to MTA data<\/a>. While overall subway crime fell last year<\/a> to its lowest level in more than a decade and a half, a top official with Transport Workers Union Local 100 said workers remain leery of being attacked while on duty.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the end of the day, there\u2019s a lot of assaults that take place that\u2019s not reported,\u201d said Robert Kelley, a vice president with TWU Local 100. \u201cWe have people that perform lewd acts, people that spit on our members and things of that nature.\u201d<\/p>\n The latest step in the long-running case against Wright came as Nelson arrived in court hopeful of getting \u201canswers in concrete\u201d long after an attack whose physical and mental fallout continues to keep him out of work.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re just running the same race, it\u2019s been going on three years now,\u201d Nelson said. \u201cThe same answers for the same thing: How many times do you gotta go through this?\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Transit](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/012126_subway_assault_court_hearing-2.jpg\")
Transit worker Anthony Nelson speaks to reporters before a court appearance for the man charged with battering him nearly four years ago outside of a Bronx station, Jan. 21, 2026. Credit: Jose Martinez\/THE CITY<\/p>\n