"Man, if I had known I would have beat his ass."
FROM THE NEW YORK CITY SUBWAY...on my way home from work the other day I witnessed a near incident. When the F train pulled into the Delancy/Essex Streets station it was unusually crowded, even for a PM rushhour. I got in the train at the second set of doors. To my left, near the first set of doors, I could hear some yelling and what appeared to be a small scuffle. Keep in mind the train was packed. "Just someone trying to push their way off of the train," I thought to myself, "just look down and ignore it." But it continued, and I became curious. The shouting was getting louder and it was coming from more than one person now. I looked over to see a tall Asian man in his mid-20s who looked pissed (and annoyed) and was swinging at someone/something. Then I noticed a very perppie looking short guy trying to squirm his way out of the train, get violently pushed, and then walk down the platform, just as the doors closed and the train began to move.
"He was trying to take your wallet."
"That dude was gonna rob you."
"Yes, Yes, I saw him."
"What was he doing? Oh my."
"He had your wallet, I saw him. You stopped him."
I could hear all of this coming from the near end of the train. The victim was silent and still looked annoyed and pissed. And then I heard a middle-aged black woman who was about 8 feet from the victim say, rather loudly, "He was trying to pickpocket you? Man, I wish I saw him. I wish he was still here. Man, if I had known I would have beat his ass."
Sometimes civilian mobs may be the best form of crime prevention.
The 6 Wins Again
The
Straphangers Campaign, a subway-consumer activist group, released its annual "State of the Subway" report. The group compiles statistics given to it by the MTA and ranks the subways lines on a number of different categories, such as regularity of service, breakdowns, getting a seat, cleanliness, etc. Check out the New York Post's coverage of the report and the MTA's reactions
here.
And yes, the staff attorney for the Straphangers Campaign is always in a hurry to get off to work.
"Highways just don't happen."
President Bush signed the Highway's Bill today. The bill also gives money to train and bus systems.
If I were in charge...
One of the reasons for this blog is the authors' respect for the smooth operation of the very complicated transit systems in
NY and
DC. The over 106 miles of track and 86 station in the DC area and the 840 miles of track and 468 stations in New York City are truly a remarkable feat and usually run very efficiently. However, there are always those little things that make me wonder..."What are these idiots thinking." That is when I am full of ideas for the MTA.
Last Saturday night I was trying to get from downtown Brooklyn to the Upper East Side. I decided to walk to the Borough Hall Station. One of the two central hubs in Brooklyn (8 trains stop there). I wanted to take one of the two Lexington Avenue express trains that stop at the station. As I approached the turnstile a hand-written sign read : No 4 or 5 Service. I had to walk about 50 feet to a big wall with a bunch of red and white paper signs marked: Service Advisories on it. I found the one that said "No 4 service between Brooklyn Bridge and Franklin Ave" and looked to see my alternative to getting to the UES. It said to take the J to Chambers Street. Now, I don't frequent the Borough Hall station that often, but I know that the J train does NOT go into Brooklyn. But, I followed the red and white paper signs pointing me to the J train. I walked past the 4, 5 platform--no trains running; the 2,3 platform--no trains running and eventually entered the Court Street station (which is connected underground to the Borough Hall station) and waited for the J train. When it finally came I got on and exited at Chambers Street like the paper signs instructed and went to the 4,5,6 platform. And to my surprise a 4 train came rolling down the
local track. Do I take it, do I wait for an express 4? I quickly looked for a red and white paper sign to instruct me. None. I got on. I least I would be going in the right direction and could always transfer to an express train if we met one. Well, that never happened. The 4 trains were running local. I found out when my 4 train passed 14th Street-Union Square. There were red and white paper signs stating there was no 4 express service.
Now, what would I have done if I were in charge for the day? First, I wouldn't have been doing construction on every single train line on the same day. Second, why was the "J train" the alternative to the 4 when it could have been the M train--since it runs there anyway. Why confuse people. Third, why not call the 4 local train the 6 train? If it looks like a 6, stops like a 6 and runs on the 6 track, it must be a duck, I mean 6.
Now, I am sure there is a good reason for all of that, but it is just not apparent to me.
And the winner is...
Caroline from Morningide Heights. The 2004
Ms. Subway. Read all about her and what she is doing for YOU.
Random bag searches
FROM THE NEW YORK CITY SUBWAY...for the past few weeks the New York City Police Department has been randomly searching passengers entering the subway system. These searches take place inside the station, but outside of the turnstiles. The police allow any one who doesn't want to be searched to not be searched, but they are also not allowed to enter the subway system. The New York Civil Liberties Union has filed a federal
lawsuit against the NYPD saying that the searches violate people's civil rights. The suit says that "the bag searches were almost useless in stopping would-be bombers, and therefore violated the Fourth and 14th Amendments allowing innocent people to move around the public streets without police searches." There are a few things wrong with that statement. First, the usefulness of the searches should not determine whether or not one's civil rights are being violated. Second, the subway system is not exactly a "public street." Have these people been in an airport in the last 30 years? We can save the constitutional rights arguments for a later date (like in the comments) but I heard an interesting alternative solution to the problem. If you do not want to be searched, fine, but you have to sit in the last two train cars. The last two train cars on each train would be designated as the cars in which "NYCLU Security techniques" have been used tp protect against terrorism. Let's see how many people decide to use those cars. I bet they will be empty.
