A bit of rain for the next few days. Will the trains hold up?

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I guess only time will tell.  When there’s back to back days of solid rain, it can cause some big issues on the subway.  For whatever reason, the subway and water just don’t mix.

It is kind of ironic that an massive system of underground tunnels build on an island at the mouth of a major river completely melts down when the water gets even the slightest bit high.  Poor planning?  I’m just saying.

Also, the manager of my home subway stop clearly cannot wait to start salting the stairs.  Either that or he has more bags of salt than he can store.  Everyday for the last week, there’s been obscene amounts of salt on the stairs.  It actually has made the stairs more treacherous because you feel like you’re walking down gravel planks.

It’s been fairly warm and dry so the salt just sits there.

A little sprinkle here and there would probably be a good idea when it gets below freezing at night, but it has been so warm lately.

Of course, we’ll get a foot of snow in January, and we’ll need to bring our own shovels to get down to the train.

Kid Slips in Gap

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This morning, right before my eyes, I saw a kids slip in the gap between the platform and the subway train.  I was standing about 6 feet away.

He came running down the platform as the doors were closing.  He stuck his foot out as the doors were closing but missed.  I’m assuming he was trying to get his foot in the door to keep them open because his mom was trailing behind.  He looked to be about 12 or 13 years old.  Tall and lanky.

So he came running up to the train (I was already on board facing the door).  He jumped with one foot out but it hit the outside of the door and slid down.  With that, he fell with one leg down in the gap right up to his hip.  The other leg and rest of his body were still on the platform.

A guy standing in the doorway also saw the whole thing and stuck his foot in the door when he saw the kid slip.  He fought the doors as he bent down to pull the kid back up.

The platform had a new plastic edge…the yellow kind.  He cut his hand a little bit on it as he fell.  Nothing major but that’s the only injury he complained of.

Almost by magic, two police officers were right there helping the kid get up too.  Eventually one put his foot in the door to to keep it open.

The kid ended up fine and got right on with us.  He joked about it with the guy that helped him get back up.

The kicker of it is the train door operator kept trying to close the doors!  Even with a kid’s leg in the gap, a passenger holding one door, and a cop holding the other, the dick running the doors kept trying to close them.  The second officer had his flashlight out trying to signal them to stop, but they never poked their head out the window like they are supposed to.

So if this ever happens to you, take note.  You’d better move it or lose it.

Naked Subway Guy

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You know, this isn’t even one of the more shocking things you’d see in the subway.  It probably wouldn’t even create much of a commotion.

However, walk your naked ass into the middle of a super crowded train car, and you’d have some issues.  The last thing any New Yorker would allow is some naked dude rubbing up against them.

Poll: How the Hell Do We Pay for this Crap?

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Mayor Michael Bloomberg said it best today when he summed up the state of the MTA.  He says the MTA does not have a single dollar for it’s 2009 capital plan.  Not just falling a little short…literally does not have a single dollar.

So now law makers are scrambling to find revenue alternatives.  They are getting very desperate.

Governor Paterson is throwing around things like East River tolls, fare hikes, service cuts, and on and on.

[poll id=”10″]

You can refresh and vote up to three times if there’s more than one you like.

There’s probably some ideas missing, so hit them up in the comments.

More Pointless Message Boards

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Looks like the MTA is still installing those pointless LED message boards.  The signage is designed to tell passenger when the next train will arrive as well as relay important messages.

The whole project has been a huge joke.  Some stations have had them installed for months if not a year or more.  The kicker…they’ve never worked.

Time was taken for them to be installed, but so far the system has only been tested.

I noticed that new ones were installed at my home station.  They are wrapped in plastic and duct tape right now, so I guess they aren’t ready yet.

Can’t manage to pay the electric bills, but we’re getting these epic boards.

Welcome to New York, Get Out of the Way

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Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back after a lovely Thanksgiving weekend.  SUBWAYblogger’s back in business, sorry for the lack of posts.

Without further adieu, we believe it is time for our annual public service announcement for tourists visiting our fair city for the holidays.  Here goes:

Get Out of the Way.  Thank you.

To harsh?  I think it is short and too the point.

First, you must wait for passengers to get off the train before you try to get on with all your shopping bags.  Yes, you will see other people doing it, but those are experienced New Yorkers that know when they can jump on a train early.  Do not attempt it yourself.

Stopping at the top or bottom of an escalator is not ok.  Take at least 10 steps off the escalator before you try to turn around and look for your friends/family.  Stopping at the top to put your mittens on will guarantee that you get mowed down.

Yes, he’s touching you.  Those other people on the train are going to be in your personal space and probably touching you.  Get over it.  Or take a cab instead.

Ask for directions ahead of time.  Waiting until the last minute to jump out of your seat and run for the door is not cool.  Pay attention to the stops, and don’t be afraid to ask someone.

If your 20 blocks or less away from your destination, just walk.  I know…exercise is not what you are used to.  Trust me, it’s not that far.  No need to pay the $2.00 for a ride and crowd the trains even more.

Last but not least, keep moving or get out of the way.  There’s very little area in the city (approximately 13 square feet) where it is ok to just stop and stand still.  So always keep moving.

Good luck.

A Little Subway Terrorist Chear for the Holidays

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Here’s  disturbing blurb from the AP I came across today:

Federal authorities are warning law enforcement personnel of a possible terror plot against the New York City subway system during the holiday season.

An internal memo obtained by The Associated Press says the FBI has received a “plausible but unsubstantiated” report that al-Qaida terrorists in late September may have discussed attacking the subway system.

Anti-terror agencies say they have no specific details to confirm the plot has moved “beyond aspirational planning,” but are issuing the alert out of concern that an attack could come during the holiday season,” warns the memo, which is dated Tuesday.

While federal agencies often issue all sorts of advisory warnings, the language of this one is particularly forceful.

Goooood times.  So in addition to battling the tourists on 5th Avenue, and trying not to kill yourself inside Toys R Us, you now have to work about getting blown up on the subway.

I have to say, I did not notice any additional security in the subway system today.

Would now be a good time for the terrorists to attack?  Probably.  The subway will be at it’s peak volume all December long.

Then there’s the Presidential transition.  Bush already has one foot out the door.  He’s in no position to be able to make long term decisions appropriately because he won’t have to deal with the consequences.  All he will have to do is make it through the following couple weeks and then it’s Obama’s problem to deal with.  It’s probably the time that the country will be weakest.

Ho ho ho.

Wish I could take the subway up state

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So tonight I had to go rent a car for Thanksgiving travel.  Unfortunately, I didn’t know that every garage in my neighborhood was going to be filled to capacity.

Where the hell did all these cars come from?  There’s no room in the garages, and there’s no room to park on the streets.  I drove around for an hour before I found a space.  It’s insane.

Makes me glad I don’t actually own a car in the city.  I don’t know what I would do if I had to deal with this crap everyday.

Now if only we could get the subway to run up state, I’d be in much better shape.  Instead, I’ll be battling the girdlock alert day.

I did see bleachers set up along the parade route already.  They have a bunch right outside my work subway entrance.

Anyway, Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Deal Drugs on the Subway?

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Or at least discuss strategies.  Yikes.

There’s two fairly large, old men that ride the subway every morning.  I see them at least a couple times a month together.  They’re already on the train when I get on, so they must live further uptown.

They have really distinct old-man gravely voices, and are quite round in the middle.  They usually sit across from each other on the train and chat about old men issues.

Today, I was close enough to be able to understand what they were talking about.

Turns out, they are old men drug dealers.  Good to know that age is just a number.

One was talking about a client that wants more than he’s able to get.  They were talking about it in a somewhat cryptic way, but you knew what they were talking about.

“He keeps asking for four, but i can’t get him that many.”

“Why not? I thought you got six when you go up there.”

“Yeah.”

“So you keep the rest for personal use.”

“Yeah, and my guy won’t sell me more than that.”

“How much you sellin’ for?  $15?”

“Uh huh.”

“So here’s what you do, you tell him you can get six but you’re gonna have to make two trips.  When you come back, say you could only get three.  Then when he makes a fuss about it, tell him you have a fourth, but that’s it.”

“I don’t know.”

“Or you sell him three today, and three tomorrow.  Then you still have six left over for the next time.”

So it was a meeting of the minds to say the least.  They then got into a discussion about people buying on credit and not paying up.  Good times.

iPhone & iTouch Subway Applications

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Here’s a pretty comprehensive list of iPhone & iTouch applications for subway riders.  They include NYC subway maps, directions, tips, and MTA information.  They all have their pluses, and are really cheap.

These are apps that you will find yourself using on a pretty regular basis, especially if you spend a lot of time traveling around New York City.

These links will open up iTunes on your computer automatically.  From within iTunes, you can see what the apps look like, and see all their features.

Now when you’re out in the Village on the weekend, you can easily navigate your way back home!

Tube New York is a superb interactive guide to New York’s Subway, Path, Staten Island railway & Air Train services along with an informative central New York street map.

With no need for a Internet connection Tube will display a clear scrollable detailed map of these transport systems uniquely overlaid onto an informative central New York street map.

Tube can calculate the quickest routes for all your journeys on these public transport systems and show a fantastic animated display of your route on the map.

Full details of your routes are provided including line changes, platform directions, direction of travel, number of stops and accurate journey times. The New York subway services change dependent on time of day and the user can select from 6 different schedules (Rush AM, Midday, Rush PM, Evening, Night and Weekend).

When an Internet connection is available “Live Information” on the current state of the transport systems can be viewed (and automatically saved for future reference) allowing you to plan your journeys in advance and avoid any potential delays.

Quick station search and station information such as disabled access and fare zones are just a few taps away.

A wealth of other information on places of interest, hotels & restaurants, museums & galleries, entertainment etc is also provided along with details on the nearest stations and the quickest route to get there.

With the iPhone’s inbuilt GPS system you can find your position on the central New York street map and easily locate the nearest station or place of interest.   A must have for anyone traveling in New York.

$9.99 Tube New York

The Kick Map is designed is to get more people to ride New York City’s subway system. Created with clarity and ease of use, it allows riders to navigate this vast system easily and without uncertainty. The subway map is the key to understanding this most complex subway in the world, which has 26 separate lines and 468 stations.

A well-designed map not only welcomes and empowers novices to use the subway but also encourages additional use for regular “home-to-work-only” commuters to use the subway for recreational destinations where they might otherwise take a car. For this reason the design of the subway map can directly influence ridership numbers and can indirectly have an effect on New York’s traffic congestion and pollution. In short, a better-designed subway map will make our subway system more open and accessible.

$1.99 NYC Subway 24-Hour KickMap

The iPhone game Subway Shuffle is a collection of puzzles set in a subway system. You have boarded a car on the Red Line, and your task is to reach your destination. The problem is, there are other subway cars in your way! Each subway car can move only on its own color line: the red cars on the Red Line, the blue cars on the Blue Line, etc. Can you shuffle the cars from station to station, eventually moving your own car to your exit station?

Subway Shuffle comes with 70 different layouts, of increasing difficulty. The early levels are fairly easy. They help you learn the techniques you will need to solve the later levels — which, though simple looking, are surprisingly challenging.

$2.99 Subway Shuffle

iTrans NYC Subway – Tell us From and To, and we’ll get you there.
Using a sophisticated algorithm, iTrans finds the fastest route between any two stations taking the current schedules into account, then guides you step by step. It even works when you’re offline underground.

Search – Find any station with a few taps.
Search is easy and instantaneous. iTrans shows you the lines that service each station, as well as the borough the station is in (New York City only). Select a station and iTrans scrolls right to it on the map.

Schedules – Tap on a station to see the next trains.
If you tap on a station, the Stop Info Pane shows the next departures for each line. Leave the office at just the right time to catch your train, or see which lines are running right now.

Maps – Beautiful offline high-res maps
Scroll around the interactive system map in stunning high resolution. Pinch or double tap to quickly zoom in or out—graphics are always sharp. It’s by far the best way to view the system map on iPhone.
Maps and Location Integration.

Go to a station in Maps; find nearest stations.
Tap “Show in Google Maps” to go directly to that station in Maps; it’s great for getting from your final stop to the destination. iTrans also has a Location button; it’ll find the nearest stop and scroll to it on the map.

Advisories
Info about delays and service changes.

$4.99 iTrans NYC Subway

CityTransit is a comprehensive guide to traveling through New York City. It includes official subway maps licensed from NYC’s MTA, line data, a GPS-based station finder and live service advisories. An expandable architecture will allow the future download of bus maps, commuter rail lines and more.

-Integrates with the Maps Application to show nearest stations
-Live service advisories from the MTA website

$2.99 CityTransit NYC Subway Guide

NYC Subway Maps – You ride the subway and want to be able to check a map from time to time. Being able to check the MTA website on your iPhone/iPod Touch is great, but if you are already underground with no signal you are out of luck.

Mapped New York’s underground with original illustrations, and many users feel they are easier to ready than the MTA’s own.

$2.99 NYC Subway Maps for iPhone and iPod touch