Good times, and a collector’s item. The Mayors Office announced plans to release 1 million NYC Brand condoms. The city has the nation’s highest HIV/AIDS rate, so it makes sense.
The cool part? The wrappers will be branded with all the subway lines!
Bring on the dirty jokes:
So when you plan to pull into your mate’s “Grand Central Terminal,” be sure to bag your “S” train. Oh, and this may be the only time to avoid the express trains!
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?
Larry Reuter, the current New York City Transit Authority President has announced that he plans to leave NYC in February.
Ok, so maybe the headline is a little harsh. He sort of a good run.
-Introduced MetroCards with discounts and unlimited rides
-Eliminated “two-fare zones”
-Oversaw 31% increase in subway ridership
-2,502 new subway cars and 3,239 buses purchases
-116 subway station rehabbed
-NYC Transit received international recognition for sound environmental practices
But he did totally botch the A, C line clean up prediction. Back when there was a fire in one of the control rooms, he said it would put the A and C lines out for years. Aaaaaaaaand by years he meant a couple weeks.
Have fun in Florida!
A new article out on the AP Wire today says that women on crazy diets are actually causing subway delays. That’s right, women who skip meals are fainting on the subway, causing major backups.
Top Causes of Subway Delays
- Holding Doors
- Stalled Trains
- Sick Passengers
Coming in at #3: Sick Passengers. “Sick” covers a variety of situations, but according to EMT’s stationed at major transit hubs, many are caused by women who faint from low sugar, etc.
How is this possible? Well, a woman trying to shed some holiday weight maybe skips dinner and breakfast the next morning. On her way to work, she gets a little light headed and faints on the train. People around her contact the conductor, and the train is required to wait for EMS to arrive. Now do you see where this is going? And it happens more than you think.
SUBWAYblogger is going to start carrying a box of Powerbars around in case we spot some frail women about to drop.
When it comes to Women’s health issues one’s diet should be changed using moderation.
Somebody buy this guy a drink!
Wesley Autrey was waiting for the 1 train when 18 year old Cameron Hollowpeter suffered a seizure and fell onto the tracks. Autrey jumped down onto the tracks to try and move Hollowpeter off the tracks, but could not get his body back up on the platform.
WNBC has a raw video interview with Autrey.
Instead, Autrey laid on top of Hollowpeter to protect the young man’s body as the train rolled over BOTH of them! Meanwhile, Autrey’s daughters were watching from the platform.
Shockingly, neither one suffered major injuries. As a matter of fact, Autrey was treated and released from the scene.
Autrey said he shouldn’t be considered a hero, he was simply putting his military training to use.
SUBWAYblogger can’t even imagine being a witness to that. Could you imagine seeing the guy lay on top of the other guy as the train rolled over them? Whoa. That’s intense.
—————–
UPDATE
Turns out, Hollowpeter noticed Autrey having a seizure on the platform.
Autrey yelled to the station agent to call for help, and then used a pen to pry open Hollopeter’s jaw to stop him from biting his tongue. A few moments later, Hollopeter came to and stood up.
Basically, Autrey tried to save the guy twice! Once on the platform, and then again after the seizure was over and the guy fell on the tracks.
They made it! The guys that set out yesterday to beat the Guinness Book of World Record’s New York City subway riding record.
24 Hours, 54 Minutes and 3 Seconds puts them ahead of the old record by about an hour and a half. Their website: www.rapidtransitchallenge.com.
*****UPDATE*****
THEY MADE IT
******************
…for real this time. Allow me to clarify.
You’re probably saying to yourself, “Hey, didn’t a couple guys already break that record this summer?” Well, sort of. Yes, they broke a record, but it wasn’t the real record. They broke the amateur record.
They’ve caught a bunch of flack in the media for claiming to break the record, even though it wasn’t the official record. However, to their credit, they’ve never claimed to be official. Their website clearly states that they were just doing it for fun, and going after the amateur record. Click the read more link to see their route plan.
This group of dudes are attempting to break the…professional (?)…uhh…official subway riding record.
Let me break it down. There are two main subway riding record classes.
1. Full-system ride that requires you to stop at each station. (Class B)
2. Skip-stop ride that only requires you to pass through each station. (Class C)
The guys this summer broke the Class C record. They main distinction is that the riders can ride the express lines. In the Class C record, riders simply need to ride through a station for it to count. Therefore, they can ride the express trains for it to still count. With the Class B record, you basically need to take all local trains because you need to stop at each station, not simply pass through it.
Kevin Foster currently owns the Class B record, which he set back in October of 1989 with a time of 26 hours 11 minutes, and it is recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records.
So who are these guys? Well, they are pictured above. Stefan Karpinski, Andrew Weir, Bill Amaosa, Jason Laska, Michael Boyle and Brian Brockmeyer. They have a live blog and website for their attempt.
At this point, you are probably thinking, “Holy shit, this stuff is a bit too official sounding.” Well, it gets freakier. There’s actually an official group that keeps track of the subway riding record, the rules, rider logs, etc. I know…WOW.
This summer’s record breaking event attracted the world wide media. That’s right…world wide. AMNY, The Daily News, CBS, CNN, NBC, ABC, BBC, etc all covered their ride. Must have been a slow news day. So SUBWAYblogger is left wondering if this more official attempt will get any where near the amount of coverage that these guys got.
They did make the 11pm news on CBS2, but not their website. Looking at their site, it seems that the Daily News and HBO have caught up with them mid-ride too, so we will look for that story in the morning. AMNY did a preview story too.
See, SUBWAYblogger wasn’t full of crap when we said that the city was feeling more crowded than ever. Mayor Bloomberg just announced that the city had about 44 million tourists come to visit in 2006, and that’s a smashing new record. Last year was about 41 million.
Interestingly, NYC & Company (the company designated to help the city hit the 50 million tourist mark by 2015) is starting the city’s first international tourism campaign. The company is buying tons of advertising in Europe to attract foreign travelers.
7 Million of this years visitors were from outside the U.S. 1.2 of the visitors from abroad were from the U.K. alone! That explains the much of the subway crowding in the tourist areas. British travelers are familiar with “The Tube” so they are more likely to take the subway. (Probably the French too, but who knows how many of them are traveling to the USA these days.)
So with a new, aggressive ad campaign planned to bring foreign travelers into the city, one can only assume that the subway and other public transportation will become more crowded.
Hey, the hostiles hostels are probably getting a bit more business too with all the backpackers!
Well, here’s your answer. This chart shows their standard wages with the different proposed increases under the new contract.
Thanks to Gothamist for scoring the wage sheet.
TWU President Roger Toussaint is back in business, taking on his third three-year-term as President of the Transit Worker’s Union.
And not a bad way to start his new term, coming of the recently settled labor contract dispute. The dispute was placed under binding arbitration. So in other words, the final decision of the arbitrator is enforceable by law.
Good for Toyssaint why? Because regardless of the outcome, he had no direct control over it. His team representing the union workers needed only to present their case. In the end, he cannot be pinned for “giving in” to the MTA since the final decision is out of his hands.
Even if the new contract really sucks (turns out it is just like the first one proposed), that gives him something to spend three years fighting. If the Union ends up loving the new contract, then he’s a hero.
Talk about a Win – Win.
(Photo by Lindsay Beyerstein)
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