Subway Footlicker Gets Four Months

February 4, 2007 subwayblogger2 Comments

Joseph Weir, 23, was sentenced to four months in prision for sucking the feet of female subway riders. I guess that’s fair. He’ll have four non-stop months of big, hairy man feet to suck. That’s justice served, right?

I know, I know…back up, and tell the story.

Ok, so this guy spent the last three years going up to random women on the subway. He would grab their feet and suck on them while saying, “I’m not worthy.” Yeah, gross. Sometimes shoes on, sometimes not. We would assume that there was more direct toe contact in the summer with sandals and all.

Anyway, he was finally caught and now he’s off to prison. Plus plenty of probation and fines.

Fight on the PATH train

January 21, 2007 subwayblogger1 Comment

OK, so this isn’t the subway, but it easily could have been. There was a pretty funny fight on the PATH train. The funny part is the guys taping the fight. This is NSFW if you have speakers. Turn them down because there is some colorful language.

Thanks to AMNY Subtracker for tipping us off to this.

People Die on the Subway. But C’mon…what’s the big deal?

January 17, 2007 subwaybloggerLeave a comment

Officials apparently see deaths on the subway as standard operating procedures. amNY reports that on average in 2006, two people died a month.

In the eyes of the Transit Authority, that’s a pretty low number of people considering the millions of people that ride the subway everyday. So hey, two less straphangers a month is just the cost of doing business I guess.

Is that a little sick?

Of the deaths last year, 23 were categorized as “natural causes.” What the hell is a “natural” subway death? Isn’t dieing in your sleep a natural death? Then again, I guess that really is what happened to Eugene Reilly last year. As you may recall, Reilly had a heart attack and died on the subway, only no one noticed! He rode the subway for hours before anyone noticed that he was dead.

There were:

5 Accidents
5 Suicides
2 Murders
3 Unknowns

In case you were wondering, an “Unknown” is a case where investigators were unable to determine if the death was a murder, suicide, or accident.

Also interesting to note that the Transit Authority doesn’t keep track of this stuff. It must be the old “if we don’t keep track of it, we won’t have to report it” kind of mentality.

Random Stabbing on J Train in Brooklyn

January 9, 2007 subwaybloggerLeave a comment

Following up on what we posted earlier, there was a stabbing on the J train in Brooklyn. However, the victim is 17 years old, not 15 as we previously had heard.

At this point, there isn’t much else that is known. Police say they may have a suspect in custody.

The weapon was a scary looking filet knife, about 8 inches long and curved.

The kid that was stabbed is in critical condition.

How he got stabbed is anyone’s guess at this time. The police aren’t really letting much information out, so that’s it for now!

The cold is back and there is a stabbing on the “J” train

January 9, 2007 subwaybloggerLeave a comment

How’s that for a badly written headline?

Getting the formal business out of the way, there has been a stabbing on the J train. A 15 year old was involved. That’s all SUBWAYblogger caught before hitting the streets to head home. We will have an update later tonight.

Otherwise, the cold is quite the smack in the face, huh. The funny part is that is really isn’t that cold! It’s just a hell of a lot colder that it has been the last few days. Going from 73 degrees to 43 degrees in a day is a bit of a shock.

The subway had been empty during the warm snap. I guess many people just decided to walk instead!

Now things are getting back to normal, and the volume on the train is back to its normal “pack.”

All for now, and a follow up on the stabbing in the near future.

Live from the subway, back to you in studio…

Parents of kid killed by train while doing graffiti on tracks plan to sue MTA

January 7, 2007 subwayblogger14 Comments

This does not really qualify as a subway related post, but it is close enough because this is the crap that totally enrages SUBWAYblogger. Here’s the back story.

Ari Kraft was a 13 year old graffiti punk who was widely known for his talent. Yeah, we said it…punk. Sure, he was probably a nice enough kid, and word on the street was that he was a really talented artist. However, at the end of the day, he was a graffiti punk who went around illegally tagging walls. Ok, we’ll give him the benefit of the doubt and say that he might have done it on walls with permission from time to time. But like most graffiti artists, he often tagged areas that were not legal, such as along the LIRR tracks.

Ok, so Kraft and a buddy were out the other day tagging walls along the tracks and taking pictures of their work. Unfortunately, the Kraft tried to cross the tracks, and was struck by at train. He narrowly missed one train, but was then struck and killed by one he did not see coming.

SUBWAYblogger is by no means happy that the kid died. It is truely unfortunate.

However, the parents have taken it to the “are you fucking kidding me” level. They now plan to sue the MTA because they did not maintain the fences along the tracks!

Family friend and attorney Daniella Levi said the family plans to sue the MTA, the LIRR and New York City once it finishes sitting shiva for the boy. -NY Daily News

Are you kidding me?!?!?

They are going to sue the MTA because their kid, spray can in hand, found a hole in the fence, walked on to the tracks, tagged some walls, and got killed. How is that the MTA’s fault?

Here’s a thought Mom and Dad…maybe if you taught your kid that it was wrong to break the law, he would not have been on the tracks. Or maybe if you taught him it was wrong to tag property that did not belong to him, he would not have gone in the first place. The list goes on. This is the most ridiculous thing SUBWAYblogger has ever heard of.

If the MTA loses or settles, they should take the family to civil court and sue them for trespassing and destruction of property. They should sue for the exact amount that they lose to this family.

I think we all understand that parents can be upset when their kid is killed. Duh. However, don’t place blame on anyone but yourselves. Is it wrong to say that it was the kid’s fault? Because it was. He knew he shouldn’t be there. He knew it was illegal. And if he was as bright as everyone says, then he knew it wasn’t that safe. So guess what, it was your son’s fault that he was killed. Sorry, but that’s the truth. He made a bad decision that cost him his life. Plain and simple. A BIG mistake. So why take it out on the MTA?

Is SUBWAYblogger the only one furious about cases like these?

Is that bar really going to stop anyone

December 18, 2006 subwayblogger2 Comments

The bar that you push past in the subway turnstile…that’s just more of a suggestion huh. If you’ve ever paid slightly more that average attention to the subway entry process (SUBWAYblogger has), then you have probably seen people hop the bar.

It really is more of a suggestion, because who is going to stop you? No one. The only way you are going to get caught is if a police officer is watching. If they see you, you can count on getting a summons. Otherwise, nada.

SUBWAYblogger is NOT suggesting that everyone start dodging fares. Not by any means. It’s merely an observation.

Why don’t they put more of the “iron maiden” style gates in? I guess those cause more issues than they are worth. People always seem to mess up, and lose a fare with those.

Anyway, if they could perfect the system, they could phase out the bar style ones. Think of all the fare money the would be saving! People would be forced to pay. Plus, those 17 year old “kids” that parents swear are 12 years old would have to start paying.

Live from the subway, back to you in studio…

New subway rules not money in the bank

December 12, 2006 subwaybloggerLeave a comment

The MTA had predicted that the new subway rules started this year would result in a much higher rate of summons issued. As a matter of fact, when the new rules were implemented, many straphangers were pissed! The expected that the MTA Police would be handing out fines left and right.

Well, the complete opposite occurred. Overall, the summons rates are lower in just about all categories. Overall, the rates are lower year to date.

Strangely, tickets for “unauthorized animals” hit a high note. What the hell is that? And riding between cars, but SUBWAYblogger thinks that has mostly to do with the new rules that prohibit walking between cars when the train is moving.

L Train Slashing; Man Loses Pinky

November 8, 2006 subwaybloggerLeave a comment

In continuing coverage of the freaky crap happening in the subway lately, last night around 2am, a guy got slashed on the L train.

Apparently, some jackass guy with a beard started to taunt another rider. “You lookin’ at me?” Then the two got into it. The poor 19 year old guy was just trying to mind his own business.

The attacker pulled a knife and cut off the kid’s pinky finger! The kid also got slashed in the face and chest. The hospital attempted to reattach the finger.

If I had to guess, it sounds like a crazy homeless guy. I have been accosted by random crazy, smelly guys in the past. The best thing is to ignore them usually. In this case, it seems that wasn’t gonna “cut it”…excuse the cheap pun.

Subway crime hits 37 year low!

September 25, 2006 subwaybloggerLeave a comment

Subway crime is at the lowest it has been in 37 years! Even though we tend to hear about the crimes more often, the numbers actually show that things are much better.

Through the mass media and NYC blogs (like this 🙂 ), people tend to hear more about the crimes throughout the system. However, as the Daily News reports, things are looking up.

Did you know…

Today, there are about 7 felonies committed every day in the New York City subway.

Back in 1990, there were 49 a day!

So, obviously the situation is much better. You’ve also got to figure that 7 felonies doesn’t necessarily mean 7 felons. One guy could commit a few felonies at once. All he’s gotta do is rob someone at gunpoint (felony #1) and then punch the arresting officer as he tries to get away (felony #2).

A lot of the improvements also have to do with big brother. That’s right, you are on camera. There are more cameras today in the subway than ever before. In out post 9/11 times, the MTA has been installing new cameras all over the subway. This makes apprehending suspects easier. As soon as you start rounding up your repeat offenders through video tape, the crime levels are sure to show a dip.

Check out Gothamist too. They have a cute little graphic that spells out S-A-F-E-R in subway line letters.