Month: April 2007

Strollers + Bum + School Group = Suicidal SUBWAYblogger

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OMG.  I don’t even know where to begin to describe my morning commute today.  It was so stressful, that I couldn’t even write about as I was witnessing it.  Not to mention, it was so crowded that I could barely move my arms.  If I had managed to pull my BlackBerry out to write, I would have thrown it as a weapon.

Here’s the rundown:

Homeless Bum:  I get on the train, and it is somewhat more crowed than normal.  However, I’m looking around over people’s shoulders, and I know I can see open spaces.  So how crowded could it really possibly be?  Ok, I squeeze into the train.

We get to the next stop and a bunch of people get off.  Then I see it.  A huge bum taking up 2 or 3 seats.  Stinking up the place.  Might be drunk…who knows.

The plot thickens…

The Stroller:  The homeless guy has an old baby stroller stretched out in front of where he is sitting.  It is literally sticking straight out from his legs, essentially road blocking the isle.  So that’s why there was so much space.  He was blocking people out.  Also, on top of the stroller was two milk crate things with lord knows what inside.  Then, there was something big rolled up in a large plastic bag on top.  This thing was the size of an RV. 

Here comes more trouble…

The Kiddies:  We get to the next stop, and there’s a field trip of 8 year olds standing there.  They flood onto the car using all the available doors, including the one where the bum was sitting.  The come streaming on board with another 15 adults trying to get on too.  Now we’re packed, and no one wants to be near smelly homeless guy.

Then the kids start bitching that they are being squished.  “Don’t worry kids, no one else is going to be able to get on at the next stop.”  “YEAH RIGHT!” I said out loud to the woman.  Sure enough, half a dozen more people packed in at the next stop.

Finally, one of the teachers started telling people that there were “kids” on board that couldn’t be “crushed” anymore. 

The fallout: The three things I hate the most…all happening right in front of me…on the same train.  Ohh it’s 9am and I already need a drink. 

Daniel Boggs: MTA Employee Killed by Subway Train

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Daniel Boggs, 42, was struck by a train near 59th Street/Columbus Circle when he was working on the tracks. It was about 11:30pm when a downtown 3 train struck Boggs who was working on placing “flagging lanterns.”

The lanterns are designed to warn train operators that workers are on the tracks. I guess it is safe to assume that the lanterns Boggs and a partner were placing were not activated in time. It’s sort of an ironic (but sad) death. That’s like getting run over by a car while installing a stop sign.

Apparently, Boggs and his partner thought that this train was the last one scheduled to come through the area. There is speculation that the train was actually running a little late. So, the two men thought it was clear to begin setting up the red stop lights.

Second Avenue Subway Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM)

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Ladies and gentlemen, may we present the latest MTA employee, the TBM.  I wonder if it’s in the union?

Anyway, this machine is the workhorse of subway tunnel system.  It’s going to do most of the Second Ave tunnel digging.  They can even be fitted to lay the concrete roof structure and tracks!  So they can do a heck of a lot of the work in an automated fashion.  Also, they should cause the least amount of disruption up on the street level.

Check it out.

New NYC Subway Map: Keep it or KICK it?

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Have you seen the new (sorta) KICK map for the subway. It’s a new subway map concept by a design firm that thinks they have a better way to demonstrate how the subway lines run.

Regular Subway Map

KICK subway map

So you get the basic idea by seeing the side by side comparison above. The KICK map has a “line” for each line…go figure. This is supposed to make it more obvious where each train line runs and branches off.

So what’s the deal with “KICK” ? That’s what we wondered too. We thought it was going to be a catchy acronym for something. Turns out the design company’s name is KICK. Minor let down.

In any event, the MTA quickly cut down the idea three years ago and again recently. They think the map isn’t geographically correct. We can see that. The lines do get a little “fat.” It kinda makes it look like the subway line is a few blocks wide when we all know it isn’t.

Eddie Jabbour, (the designer) is sticking with it. He’s going to keep tweaking it until it’s something the MTA will be forced to seriously consider. With all the Internet buzz, who knows, maybe there will be a big push behind it.

Although, I don’t see many New Yorkers having trouble with the current map. Maybe the KICK map could be the tourist version? A Subway for Dummies version perhaps.

Turnstile Traffic Jam

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Just when I thought I’ve seen everything, I see something new.  Here’s the setup…

I’m walking down the stairs to the subway.  Already I can see that there’s a ton of a people down there for some reason.  The crowd is really thick.  Keep in mind, this is a major transfer hub, so it has tons of entrances/exits.

So I finnally squeeze my way to the turnstile to find that the line is 12 people deep at each gate.  10 gates wide, and a line 12 deep at each.

“Son of a bitch…a tourist group,” I thought to myself.  That must be why all these people are here.  Some idiot tour group is trying to get through the gates all together.  But, that wasn’t it.

I got closer to the turnstile and saw people swiping over and over again.  Wonderful!  There’s 4 or 5 people swiping all these peolpe through?  You’ve got to be kidding.  That wasn’t it either.

I finally make it up close.  Turns out, all of the gates stopped working at the same time!!  Every turnstile said, “Please swipe again,” no matter how many times you tried.

Of course, idiots in the back of the line think that us at the front are complete morons.  So of course they are yelling for us to get out of the way.  Finally, I let one a-hole get in front of me to try his magic touch.  Of course, it didn’t work.

“MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE!” I yelled back at this jerk.  “I thought you knew how to do it, so WHAT’S THE HOLD UP CHIEF?!?”

People started jumping over, and that finally got the police officers to react.  Not the growing, angry crowds…just the jumping over the turnstile.  Can’t have that now can we.

Eventually, they opened up the service doors and let people stream through.  It was funny to see people hesitate going through the door because a cop was holding it open.  They were afraid, as if it was a trap or something.  Can’t say I blame them.

Soak it in while it lasts

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It’s mornings like these that prove why people want to live in New York City. The weather is perfect! Even your mundane morning walk to the subway is a joy.

I found myself strolling my way to the subway. After I get off the train, I’d imagine there will be even more of that as I walk to the office.

Another nice thing is that the subway itself isn’t 104 degrees…yet. So, there’s no sweating standing still.

So the next few days of warm, but still mild temps are rare, but it does make riding to work seem a little less like a chore.

Live from the subway, back to you in studio…

Ooo that smell…

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I think that’s a song.

Stumbled across another interesting blog today.  This might become an addictive habit of searching for blogs to which I can relate.

Anyway, the blog in question,  The Odd Broad, had a post about subway smells.  Obviously, SB was attracted immediately.

Do you play the “What’s that smell game?”  SUBWAYblogger sure does.  However, it’s not always that easy to play.  During peak commute times, it hard to move around to explore and trace down the scent.  However, on a not-so-crowed morning, it may not be that difficult to locate where your local bum has taken a leak on the platform.

In case you didn’t know, the drains along the platform (usually where the wall meets the floor), bums use as their private urinals.  Also, they tend to head to the ends of the platform.  They will walk all the way to one end or the other and let loose off the edge.  Just an FYI for the next time you stand near the platform edge or near a drain.

So yeah, playing “what’s that that smell” can be fun.  However, when all you want to do is get away from people after a long day at work, smells can push you over the edge.  Nothing like standing face to face with a sea of humanity on a hot summer day with the smell of rotting Indian food lingering in the air.  Yum.

Ooo that smell…

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I think that’s a song.

Stumbled across another interesting blog today.  This might become an addictive habit of searching for blogs to which I can relate.

Anyway, the blog in question,  The Odd Broad, had a post about subway smells.  Obviously, SB was attracted immediately.

Do you play the “What’s that smell game?”  SUBWAYblogger sure does.  However, it’s not always that easy to play.  During peak commute times, it hard to move around to explore and trace down the scent.  However, on a not-so-crowed morning, it may not be that difficult to locate where your local bum has taken a leak on the platform.

In case you didn’t know, the drains along the platform (usually where the wall meets the floor), bums use as their private urinals.  Also, they tend to head to the ends of the platform.  They will walk all the way to one end or the other and let loose off the edge.  Just an FYI for the next time you stand near the platform edge or near a drain.

So yeah, playing “what’s that that smell” can be fun.  However, when all you want to do is get away from people after a long day at work, smells can push you over the edge.  Nothing like standing face to face with a sea of humanity on a hot summer day with the smell of rotting Indian food lingering in the air.  Yum.

Funny New Discovery: I hate Duane Reade

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It looks like a fairly new blog, but I hope it stays around. It’s so funny, that there’s probably no reason it won’t take off: I Hate Duane Reade: Service From Hell.

Basically, the blog rails on how poor the service is at DR, and how absolutely trashy the people are that work there. It’s one of those, “It’s funny because it’s true” blogs.

I stumbled across it because the author also sprinkles in a few NJT bashes every now and then. So of course, SUBWAYblogger loves those too.

As far a Duane Reade…yes, they are as bad as the blog says. I think the only reason they stay in business is because there’s one every 3 step in NYC. They have almost as many locations as Starbucks. Also, if you are a Chase Bank customer, there’s an ATM inside every DR location.

Other than that, the place is a complete nightmare. The stores are nice, but the people are morons. Here’s what you need to work there:

-A pulse
-One working eye
-Really long, fake nails
-A bad attitude
-Pants 3 or 4 sizes too small (women). Pants 3 or 4 sizes too big (men).
-Preferably no work ethic or customer service skills whatsoever
-5th Grade diploma (optional)

If you have any of the above, you’re in. Give it 3 weeks, and you’ll be regional manager.