City on Trial

A riveting investigation of the killing of Jordan Neely, the trial of Daniel Penny, and the limits of tolerance in contemporary America—from the bestselling author of Hurry Down Sunshine.

On May 1, 2023, 30-year-old Jordan Neely boarded an F train at the Second Avenue subway station in Manhattan. Slight of build, Black, and with a stench of neglect about him, he took off his jacket and threw it dramatically on the floor. He then paced through the car, saying in a loud voice, “I don’t have any food. I don’t have any beverage. I don’t care if I die. I don’t care if I go to jail.”

As the train lurched northward, a passenger named Daniel Penny grabbed Neely from behind, wrapped an arm around his throat, and pulled him to the floor. Penny maintained his choke hold for almost a minute after Neely died. The medical examiner ruled his death a homicide, and Penny was charged with Second Degree Manslaughter.

The case has sparked a heated debate about vigilantism, mental illness, extreme poverty, and the nature of public fear. At what point is sympathy for the indigent, the sick, the have-nots withdrawn? When does a collective atmosphere of fear upend our ability to distinguish between the discomfort caused by a person in distress and mortal danger? In a panoramic narrative, acclaimed journalist and writer Michael Greenberg uncovers what Neely’s death and Penny’s trial tell us about who we are now.