Category: Live Blogging On the Subway

Veteran’s Day is the New Start to Christmas

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Seriously folks?  Is this what it has come to?

I know it has been a couple days since I last posted (company in town), but I take my eye off the ball for one second and we’ve got Christmas music in the mall.

I enjoy holidays like Veteran’s Day because it usually means I can get a seat on the subway.  Which I did…in both directions.  However, when I got off the train today the holiday was crushed.  It was crushed by Christmas.

There it was.  The start of holiday decorations.  Holiday music playing outside.  It is the official start to the holiday season.  Let the cash registers ring.

Subway Spillage

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seat.jpg 

We’ve discussed on previous occasions that eating on the subway is a little odd.  Not completely unheard of, but a bit strange nevertheless.  Hand in hand with eating on the train is the much more common practice of drinking on the subway.

No, I don’t mean funneling beers and body shots.  I mean coffee, soda, herbal teas, etc.  Every now and then, you find a huge puddle in a seat or series of seats.  It happens at a somewhat alarming rate.

It just goes to show that there are a lot of idiots that ride the train.  The only way I can think that the entire contents of a beverage could end up on the seat of a train would be if the owner placed the open container on the seat.  Some rocket scientist must place their open container on an empty seat so that they can have two free hands with which to show their cheeseburger in their face. 

Shockingly, the train hits the brakes!  Then the unattended drink goes flying down the row of seats. 

It’s even more annoying are the people fighting to get to the wet seat.  Then, they get there and see the puddle.  They look around at the others standing there as if we had something to do with it.  Meanwhile, grandma has knocked down people to get at that seat only to be sorely disappointed. 

As if we were all packed like sardines onto this train, and none of us wanted to sit down.  Yes, I am pressed up against the woman in front of me so hard I can feel things that I really don’t want to feel.  Yet none of us feel the need to sit in an empty seat?  Yeah, think about it.  It could be one of many things, not the least of which include a mess in the seat, a fat person on the left or right, a smelly guy, etc.

And there I am without my squeegee.

“Jumper” at 72nd Street on Uptown 1 Track

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SUBWAYblogger can pretty much confirm that there were was most definitely a jumper at 72nd Street (and Broadway). And let’s just say it wasn’t pretty.

Today’s uptown trips on the 1, 2, and 3 line were a nightmare. You had to catch a train somewhere below 42nd Street. Then, most of the trains went express to 96th Street and points north.

As I rode by on my train, you could see over to the other tracks. Police detectives on the tracks wearing rubber gloves just about explains it all.

Anyway, our sources say that the call went out on police radios as a jumper. Later the code went out for a body removal.

Maybe someone “fell” or was “pushed,” but it was most likely a jumper as initial reported.

Have you ever been a witness to something like this?

UPDATE:  Turns out someone did witness it:

My wife was on the 1 train when this happened. She said the train slammed on its brakes so hard that many people fell over. They had to stay on the train for 20 minutes before they were let out. My wife saw emergency personnel on the tracks with a stretcher, but not body, blood or parts.  (from the comments)

Honestly, how long does it take to lay some tile?

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Entrance Construction

Honestly, how long should a subway platform renovation really take? Entire 10 story buildings have been built in the time it has taken for them to set up partitions at the 59th Street/Columbus Circle station.

Ok, I can understand that the physical platforms where the trains arrive can be a little tricky. Clearly, you have to be very careful, precise, and safe. Otherwise, someone could get hurt, or service could be interrupted.

But what’s the excuse for the rest of the station?

Trump’s GlobeThe areas not near the platform are a f*cking wreck. Since last winter, they’ve managed to set up lots of blue, plywood walls, and rip down facades. Congrats gentlemen.

Every week there’s a new sign about asbestos and lead removal. They even kicked out that goofy little barbershop and convenience store. It’s like they have 20 different projects all going at once that never get finished.

They’ve been tiling random sections of floor for months. It does NOT take that long to lay some damn tile. Read More »

Page Six Ads Just Plain Stupid

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Ok, I just have to get this off my chest. The New York Post has these f*cking stupid ads up on the subway for “Page Six.” They are taking their already lame section and turning it into a Sunday magazine.

“It’s Free in the Sunday New York Post.” Which means it’s not free at all because you have to buy a copy of the post. Yes, I want to wake up Sunday morning and enjoy a fresh cup of coffee while browsing the latest shots of Britney Spears’ cooch.

Besides just being a lame marketing ploy in the first place, the ads themselves drive me nuts because they are trying way to hard to be funny.

“Feeling Six-y”

“Six on the brain”

“Put more Six in your Sunday”

For those that don’t know, Page Six is the gossip section of the post. Historically, the paper always put the dirty laundry on that page. Eventually, people started saying, “Did you see the story about _________ on page six?”

The lameness was born, and now it has been turned into a sub-brand.

It should be called, “Page Keep this Shit Out of the Newspaper Because There’s More Important Things Happening in the World.”

Now, we have to stare at these things all the way to work. Is that fair?

Long Metrocard Lines Today

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Ahh the joy of coming back from a long holiday weekend only to be hit in the thighs by the turnstile because your Metrocard has expired.

That’s the joy that many New Yorkers experienced this morning. Lines at the Metrocard machines this morning were very long. It’s funny to see how many people buy their card right at the begining of the month.

Perhaps people are fueling up their cards today to avoid the rush during tomorrow’s taxi strike? Although, how many more riders in the system could that possibly mean? A few thousand? More on the taxi strike later today.

In the mean time, it’s back to work. Summer is gone. People are buying fresh Metrocards. The kids are back to school. All seems right in the world…at least for today.

Live from the subway, back to you in studio… .

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…

Fire Trucks at the Subway

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Ugh…you know it’s not good when you get to the subway and see 7 fire trucks parked around your subway entrance, you could be in for a long morning. In this case, it was a little suspicious.

As I entered the subway, I saw firemen and police officers, but they did not look like they were “in action.” So I asked what was going on.

“There’s signal problems and trains might stop running, so you better try getting on the next one quick,” said the police woman.

Ok, signal problems. Annoying as all hell, but certainly nothing unusual. If it is signal problems, what’s with all the fire trucks?

I’d understand a slew of MTA trucks, but not really fire crews. If it truely was a signal issue, then I guess I give them credit for having rescue on site while they send MTA Workers onto the active rails. Still, the number of firemen there was a little alarming.

So far, the ride has been fine. No hangups. We’ve been held an extra minute at a couple stops, but that’s about it.

Live from the subway, back to you in studio…

Mr Met Says

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Mr. Met Says, “Please don’t let good manners slide. Keep your stuff off the seats for a better ride.”

That’s what one of the most annoying signs on the subway says. Are we all a bunch of 5 year olds or something? It’s like some goofy lesson in an episode of Mr. Rogers or something.

But there he is, giant baseball head and all. You’d think after all these years Mr. Met would have a better contract. I have to assume he’s made millions and could afford his own driver. Times must be tough in the mascot world because there he is doing endorsements for the MTA.

“Courtesy is a winning play…” Says Mr. Met. Yeah well teaching manners to a bunch of self-centered adults is like trying to pitch a perfect game.

Live from the subway, back to you in studio… .