Editor's note: The video above aired on Jan. 12, 2025.
NEW YORK (PIX11) – Former MTA chair Peter Kalikow has offered to pay the teenagers who reported the suspect in the Brooklyn subway burning death the $10,000 reward amid reports that the teens may not get the money.
Because the teenagers called 911 instead of the Crime Stoppers tipline, they are not eligible for the reward, sources told PIX11 News on Friday.
However, a spokesperson with the NYPD said the case has not yet been reviewed.
“The NYPD remains grateful to these young individuals for their support on this case. These situations are reviewed and decided on a case-by-case basis, and no one has been denied any potential reward money in this case. This will be reviewed just like every other case,” police told PIX11 News in a statement.
Sebastian Zapeta, the man accused of setting fire to 57-year-old Debrina Kawam on an F train in Coney Island on Dec. 22, was spotted at the York Street subway station by the teenagers, who recognized him from surveillance photos released by the NYPD.
“If we are serious about enlisting the public in our critical fight against crime in the subways, we need to be as serious in rewarding this type of behavior,” Kalikow said in a statement. “It is, in a word, outrageous. This needs to be addressed and I will be doing it promptly.”
Zapeta was taken into custody and charged with murder and arson. The Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office will seek the maximum penalty of life in prison without the possibility of parole if Zapeta is convicted.
Erin Pflaumer is a digital content producer from Long Island who has covered both local and national news since 2018. She joined PIX11 in 2023. See more of her work here.
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