The emergency-brake-yanking scoundrel who has been scuttling subways during rush hour is responsible for hundreds of commute-crushing train delays since March alone, according to a report.

The rail reprobate, who sources say has been using an MTA master key to sneak into conductor cabs and grind trains to a halt, has caused 747 delays or cancellations in the last three months, Jalopnik reports.

His subway-stopping antics caused bottlenecks that rippled through the system and caused delays on other trains, the report said.

The MTA is investigating “dozens of incidents” since the beginning of the year, officials confirmed to The Post.

In some instances, he was able to delay more than 100 trains in a single spree, Jalopnik reported.

Incident reports shared with The Post show just how nefarious the subway saboteur can be.

In one instance, on May 15, he managed to personally cripple two trains within two minutes of one another, the papers show.

At 9:10 p.m., he slinked aboard a southbound No. 2 train at Brooklyn’s Winthrop Street station, unlatched security chains on the back car and popped open the storm door to gain entry to an empty conductor cab, where he pulled the emergency brake and scampered off.

While the train’s conductor and motorman were scratching their heads over the inexplicable stop, the rogue was tearing over to a northbound train at the same station — which he halted at 9:12 p.m., records show. The M.O. was the same: He unchained a back door, cracked it open and yanked the brake before vanishing.

Regular service resumed 10 minutes later, but the damage was done.

Police released security footage of the suspected delay-causer Thursday showing the man — wearing a black shirt with red and white letters that read, “SWAG DON’T COME CHEAP” — riding on the outside of a northbound No. 2 train near 14th Street and 7th Avenue on Tuesday night that was later delayed when he pulled the e-brake.

The NYPD is investigating the pattern, and NYC Transit chief Andy Byford on Wednesday pledged: “We’re going to hunt them down. We intend to nail them.”

Original

Many sellers across New York City cut prices on their homes this February as winter brought a chill to the sales market. In Manhattan, more than 1 in 10 homes had their prices cut, and inventory increased by 11.7 percent from last year. With inventory levels and the share of price cuts high across the borough, prices cooled, too. The StreetEasy Manhattan Price Index [i] dropped 4.3 percent to $1,119,183, its lowest level since July 2015.

Even with prices down and an abundance of inventory, buyers continued to hesitate to make deals. Manhattan homes spent a median of 117 days on the market — up 27 days year-over-year, and the highest level in seven years. This trend appeared in all areas and price points across the borough. Downtown Manhattan [ii] saw the largest increase in median days on market — up 31 from last year, to 117 days total.

“With a strong economy and home-shopping season right around the corner, plenty of New Yorkers are well-positioned to buy this spring. However, many are willing to walk away from deals that just aren’t financially attractive and continue renting instead — creating a market poised to punish sellers who don’t price their homes sensibly,” says StreetEasy Senior Economist Grant Long. “When the inevitable wave of new inventory hits the market this spring, interested buyers should expect to see an uptick in price cuts as the market forces ambitious sellers to accept reality.”

Original

New York City is officially the most financially distressed metropolis in America, according to local debt counselors and financial analysts.

The city’s credit card delinquency rates and level of bad personal debt are the highest in the nation, which saw household debt and credit soar by $219 billion, or 1.6 percent, to $13.51 trillion, in the third quarter of 2018 — a record $837 billion more than its previous peak in 2008.

Facing an environment of mounting personal bankruptcies and financial meltdowns, unprecedented numbers of local residents are just one paycheck away from total monetary disaster.

The latest surge in toxic debt is blowing a huge hole in New Yorkers’ personal finances, these experts say. Forty percent of Americans recently said they could not cover a $400 emergency — and that proportion may be even higher in New York City, analysts say.

“It’s really bad right now,” Kelly Figueroa, a consumer debt counselor in New York at GreenPath, a national nonprofit, told The Post.

“Like the rest of the nation, most New Yorkers are living paycheck to paycheck,” she added. “But in New York, the situation is even worse because of the city’s higher — and rising — cost of living.”

From low-income to highly paid consumers, Kelly says, local clients’ unsecured distressed household debt ranges from an average of $20,000 per individual to as high as $100,000.

Credit card debt troubles in particular have jumped in New York City, from 30 percent of client caseloads at GreenPath to 40 percent in the past few years, even as housing and mortgage stress cases stemming from the financial crisis have ebbed.

New York City is now its No. 1 metro market, followed by Atlanta and Los Angeles, as measured by the sheer volume of distressed consumers seeking assistance and relief, according to Money Management International, a nationwide credit-counseling network.

“New York has the second-most expensive housing market in the US; rents are rising along with interest rates and credit card and other debt, including auto loans,” said Thomas Nitzsche, a consumer debt expert at Money Management International, citing some of the nonprofit’s latest findings.

A large population with average wages well above the national average — and a low unemployment rate — can give residents the courage to take on large credit card balances and debt, analysts say.

However, since 2010, rents in New York City overall have jumped 31 percent — and even as much as 45 percent in some neighborhoods, according to the StreetEasy Rent Indexin late 2018.

This may explain why many city consumers are sinking in card and other debt, say analysts.

A New York Fed study shows average credit card balances alone in Manhattan hit $7,400 by 2016, compared with the nation’s $5,400.

Credit card delinquency rates for holders 90 days late on payments reached a stunning 15.1 percent for the Bronx and nearly 10 percent citywide, compared with 8.3 percent nationwide.

Analysts figure those balances and delinquency rates have since ticked up further in New York.

Original