Category: Crime

110th Street (Columbia University area) Multiple Stabbing

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 110th Street

I was up at Columbia this afternoon, and heading to the train on my way home.  I happened to be closer to the 110th Street station, so I headed in that direction (versus the 116th stop).

Quickly, realized that was a bad idea.  The place was crawling with NYPD and rescue.  From the look of it, I thought for sure there was a jumper or something.  People standing around said there was a fight.  Looked like there was way too many cops and EMT’s for a simple fight.

So I went back to 116th thinking that the train would at least roll by 110th where I could get a better look. Well it did roll by…without stopping.  The police had closed the stop.

So I went home not really knowing much more than that.

Just moments ago, I found out the real story thanks to Newsday.  It turns out that there was a multiple stabbing that involved three teens.

The kids started fighting at 59th Street/Columbus Circle.  The fight eventually spilled out onto the street at 110th.  Two of them ended up stabbed or slashed.  The other was beaten with a cane.  (Are kids carrying whipping canes these days?)

I love this quote from a witness:

“This is a grassroots problem,” said Shira Dicker, 45, of Morningside Heights. “Anybody who rides the rails knows that the kids are a real menace.”

The AP reports that non-caned were slashed in the face.  Sweet, at least that will build future “street cred.”

However, there were no arrests made, which seems a little odd.  Perhaps there’s more people involved that didn’t get catch the business end of a blade…or cane.

(Editor’s note:  I know 110th isn’t technically Columbia.  However, if you are familiar with the area, then you know that from 110th – North is definitely college territory.)

Surf the Web — Not the Train

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Words of wisdom from the MTA that escaped some dude recently.

AMNY Tracker reports that today’s morning Q train snafu was due to a subway surfer.  No, not some idiot riding inside the train pretending to surf down the middle of the isle.  No, instead it is usually a rider on top of (as in the outside) the train or clinging to the side.

This practice is discouraged, hence the MTA Subchat campaign pictured above.

Who in the hell would actually do something like that?  Well, just last month, SUBWAYblogger posted a video clip of an entire train’s worth of idiots riding on the outside of the train.  Of course, that was a different country, but you get he point.

It took 45 minutes to get the guy off the top of the Q train which stopped between stations.  If I were stuck on that train, it wouldn’t have mattered if the guy got off alive because I would absolutely killed him anyway.  He would have had a better shot at surviving the trip on the roof.

“It’s happened before and usually when it happens, the person gets killed,” said Transit spokesman Charles Seaton.

Uhhh…yeah.  No shock there.

For that matter, do kids that live in New York have any right to complain about being bored?  I mean are these kids that bored out of their minds that they have to train surf for entertainment?  You essentially live at the center of the modern universe, yet you cant find anything better to do with you time than this kind of crap?

Friendly Fire in Subway Cop Shooting

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So it seems that the NYPD needs to spend a little more time on the firing range working on aim.   Ok, just kidding.

However, it turns out that at least one of the shots Officer Annmarie Marchiondo took the other night came from the gun of another police officer.  The wound her foot was determined to be friendly fire.  It is still unclear if the other two shots came from officers or the suspect they were attempting to take into custody.

Marchiondo was still in the hospital today.

Newsday reports:

After the officers took [Juan] Calves off the train at the 176th Street station and began searching him, he grabbed Marchiondo in a head lock and pulled out a stolen 9mm gun, police said. When she broke free, he opened fire on the other officers; they returned fire and killed him.

Hey, one less crazy, repeat felon on the streets.

Police Shoot and Kill Armed Suspect in Subway. Officer Wounded.

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Officer Annmarie Marchiondo NYPD

Crazy story. So crazy it sounds like something out of a movie.

Suspect Juan Calves, 51, was detained by by plainclothes police officers when he and another man were spotted riding between train cars. The officers removed him from the train onto the downtown 4 train at 178th Street in the Bronx.

All of a sudden, Calves allegedly went nuts, and put Officer Annmarie Marchiondo into a headlock. While she struggled to get free, Calves apparently pulled out a stolen 9mm gun and started firing shots at the platform.

The other two officers returned fire, killing Calves. The officers fired 13 shots (here comes Al Sharpton). Officer Marchiondo was shot in the foot, ankle, and just under her bulletproof vest. She is in stable condition.

Why nutcase Calves was on the streets is another issue all together. He’s apparently a career criminal. According to the AP:

Calves was freed on parole from prison two years ago after serving time for manslaughter, robbery, and attempt to promote prison contraband. The manslaughter conviction involved the killing of a fellow prison inmate at Attica Correctional Facility, police said.

That’s a pretty crazy story. The officers must not have had a chance to frisk him yet. They usually don’t do that until they get a suspect off the train.

The truly scary thing is that each one of us probably rides the train with someone like Calves every day. Thanks to our justice system, there are people with manslaughter and multiple other felonies standing right next to us on a crowded train. Maybe they aren’t doing anything wrong…but how are we supposed to know that they aren’t just a ticking time bomb?

(Photo from the NYPD of Officer Marchiondo)

19 Year Old Shot in Queens Subway Station

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queens.jpg

Jose Sierra, 19, was shot in the head and pronounced dead at the scene. Witnesses say that they heard multiple shots, then saw Sierra laying on the ground with a large hole in his head.

Hopefully, the token booth clerk wasn’t asleep (like this woman) (and this guy) (and this guy) (and this guy) (and this guy) (and don’t forget this guy). WOW. I’m a little nauseous now after seeing all those TWU bastards sleeping on the job. They should be stripped of the union raise that is just handed to them, and it should be given to other workers that actually manage to stay AWAKE during their shift.

Police have no suspects but are looking for some people that were seen running from the scene. No arrests have been made.

This makes us wonder if there was a camera in that station. Wouldn’t you think that there should be a camera at every subway entrance/exit? Is that asking too much? That way, if a crime happens, you know you are going to catch the suspect on film when they enter or exit the station.

This whole topic is just making me too pissed off.

And I thought I’ve seen some strange sh*t

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I saw this posted on a group board in Facebook.  The question:  What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever seen on the subway?  Here was one guy’s answer…

I saw:

1. An Eastern European man get beatdown by a bunch of teenagers on the N train for yelling racial epithets at them just for playing their stereo.

2. A handpuppet play that took up the whole car.

3. A man with a bag full of chihuahuas in a car full of happy on-looking Mexicans.

If you take the train everyday you’re bound to see something!

Only 1,944 People Said Something?

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Here’s a new SubTalk poster I love…

“Last year 1,944 New Yorkers saw something and said something.”

First of all, this must be false. Of that low number, I bet they weren’t all New Yorkers, but we can let it slide.

What I find hilarious is that all year long, there were only 1,944 people who actually said something. That’s only 5.3 people a day.

How many millions of people ride NYC Transit every day? Only 5 saw suspicious shit and reported it.

There’s easily that many people passed out in the middle of a hallway every day. That alone can account for all the reports in a year.

Here’s an idea. Maybe if cellphones worked in the subway, people would actually call to report things! What good is an 800 number when you’re cellphone doesn’t have a signal?

Oh and I love when they say “Tell an MTA employee.” Because that’s sooooo easy. Let me tell you, there’s only 3 MTA employees remotely near you. The train operator, door operator, and the person sitting in the token booth. None of them are easily reachable.

Live from the subway, back to you in studio…

Subway Pervert Caught on Camera

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As the Post reports in their story headlined, “Victim Nails Perv,” (perhaps a poor choice of words) a woman managed to snap a camera phone image of a creepy guy who kept exposing himself.

Some creepy dude followed a woman around from train to train.  On each train, he took out his “basket of goodies” to expose to her.  At one point, he even lit a cigarette first!

She tried changing from train to train, but he kept following her.

What’s even more disturbing is that no one helped her.

She tried to get a fellow rider to help her by yelling, “Mister! Mister!”

But the straphanger just looked up, saw the fracas and promptly stuck his nose back in his book.

Finally, she decided to pull out her cellphone and catch him in the act.  (photo here)  She then got off the train and called 911.  The police came and arrested Jay Arungah, 24, for a variety of sexual offenses.  He’s held with a $2000 bond.

This Just In: The Subway Smells Really Bad

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A Bottle O’ Pee

So there’s been a buzz around the blogs lately about the subway smelling really bad. Old news? Yeah, like who didn’t already know that?

Never fear…as per usual, AMNY is on the case of obvious news. They did a story about straphangers having to hold their noses at some subway stops. (BTW, AMNY.com has a new look. Glad to see Newsday finally made the move out of the early 90’s.)

So as we all know, this kind of story is the bread and butter of papers like Metro and AMNY. Since their entire existence depends on the city’s transit system for circulation, stories like this are good for a slow day I guess. However, it seems that the blogs have picked up on it for some reason.

Blogs like SUBWAYblogger, Subway Tracker (an AMNY product ironically enough), SAS, and Gothamist have long been tracking the subway stink. So what’s all the buzz about?

It seems that Herald Square (34th Street) seems to get the award for smelliest station. That’s no surprise to anyone that has gone through there. There’s one stairwell to the 1 train that always smells like a dead body that got pissed on.

Cleanliness is a serious subject for New York City Transit, and as part of a new customer service initiative, about 350 more cleaners will be on the roster by fall to keep stations fresher, trains cleaner and platforms and tracks clearer and safer. They’ll also be able to respond to specific stenches faster. (AMNY)

Uhh…no. That’s not the problem. The trash, dirt, etc is not what’s causing most of the smell. It’s the homeless bums using the subway as a toilet. Just the other day I was standing on the platform on my way to work. Just 8 feet away, a bum steps up to the edge and whips his schlong out, and lets loose. He then proceeded to yell at everyone standing around him.Read More »

We’re Back! And all we missed was a murder

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SUBWAYblogger’s back from vacation, and apparently the only big news that we missed was a murder yesterday on the 5 train. So not all that much while we were away.

Rayquon Smith19-year-old Rayquon Story was shot and killed on the 5 train between 180th Street and Dyre Avenue. 3 of his homies were also shot, but they are in stable condition.

Apparently, the teens got into some sort of fight at a neighborhood BBQ party. This group of 4 guys headed to the subway, but were followed by the other teen gunman. There another fight ensued, but obviously the gunman won that round.

Shockingly, there are no arrests or suspects at this time.

I say shockingly because of the whole “stop snitchin‘” code of ethics in those communities. Even if there were eye witnesses, it is against the rules to cooperate with police to find the shooter. Basically, under no circumstances what-so-ever should anyone ever tell the police anything about what they see happen in their communities. So that’s why it’s highly unlikely that a suspect will be caught in these situations.Read More »