Tag: train

“Courtesy is contagious…”

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“…and it starts with you go f**k yourself.”

On the newer trains (like the 2 train), they’ve added some more public service announcements.  They aren’t especially new, but they seem to be playing them a lot more, and they’re starting to piss SUBWAYblogger off.

For the longest time, you only had a couple basic announcements from the voice in the ceiling.

“Backpacks and other large containers are subject to random search by the police.”

“Please do not block the doors while the train is in the station.”

“If you see a suspicious package or activity, do not keep it to yourself.  Tell a police officer or an MTA employee.”

Those pretty much summed it up for years.

Now there’s these obnoxious ones that say, “If you see an elderly, pregnant, or handicap person near you offer your seat.  You’ll be standing up for what’s right (pun intended).  Courtesy is contagious and it starts with you.”

First of all, lay off the “jokes.”  Standing up for what’s right?  Hey here’s an idea.  You hire staff that knows how to speak English when using the PA system.  That sounds “right” to me.  It’s not to much to ask to be able to hear and understand the more critical announcements.

If you want to stand up so that Mrs. Preggers or Grandma can sit down, fine.  If you don’t, who cares.  That’s life.  We don’t need you’re little reminders.

It’s almost as infuriating as President Obama having to hold a press conference to remind people to wash their hands in order to avoid swine flu.

Gents, let’s just stick to running the trains.

Your thoughts?

Does it also take a village to properly beat a child’s ass?

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A guest post from noisiestpassenger.com.

The post-work subway ride uptown on Friday is my favorite of the week. I can always get a seat from the Wall Street stop, as people tend to leave their offices earlier. Because we get to sleep late the next day or have fun weekend plans too large for a cubicle, everyone tends to actually look at each other and even smile.

I don’t consider my workweek over until I’ve tutored my last student, Jing, on Friday night. But I do feel lighter. There’s a zip of camaraderie among passengers, like we’re all in on the same joke or headed to some surprise party someone very high-strung doesn’t know about.

A few Fridays ago, I was sitting on the train, listening to music and feeling good. A couple boarded with their toddler, the human equivalent of a sticker burr, a few stops after mine. He clung to his exhausted mom and howled when put down in his own seat.

I locked eyes with the woman sitting across from me. She was coming from a workplace somewhere near mine and had an easy smile barely hidden by Stranger Face, the public “Just get me where I need to be” face. Neither of us needed to say anything to verify a wavelength. If that kid didn’t shut up, our Friday evening buzz would be seriously harshed, man.

The mom and dad bent over the toddler to shush him. Strangers shot knowing glances as the boy kept screaming. “Just hold him already!” every passenger silently chided. A 2 train hath more judgment than the pearly gates.

Once on his dad’s lap, the squirming child vine fell into a short-lived hush, the calm before the snotty, whining storm. Then he started to scream and thrash like the lead singer of a death metal band.

The woman across from me sent a blinking grimace my way, which I recognized from my days of teaching. In English, it translates to something like, “Do we really need to keep this one alive?”

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Person Killed by Subway Train at 116th Street

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Around 7:30am, a report of a person struck by a train went out across police radios.

The incident occurred around 116th Street & Broadway on the Uptown 1 line.  The thing we find odd is the report that the person was dead on arrival between 116th and 125th.  That makes it sound like the person may have been in the tunnel when they were hit.  That’s just an assumption.

Typically, people that jump or fall off the platform die right there.  There’s no report of the bodies being found “between” stops.

However, I suppose it is possible that he person was hit and dragged as the train pulled out of the station.

The incident tied up trains for hours right in the heart of rush hour.  Beyond that, not too many details are available.  That makes me think that it was probably a homeless person living in the tunnels that got hit.

Totally Off My Game

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Subway Doors Graffiti

Wow was I off my subway game today.

I swiped at the turnstile and walked right into the bar.  My Metrocard expired and I totally forgot.  So like an idiot, I had to squeeze back out and get one.

Then the Metrocard machine I went up to was not working for some reason.  It wouldn’t read any of my credit cards.  So I had to try another one.

When I finally got through, I got to the bottom of the stairs just as the train was leaving.

Once a train came, and I got on board, I was completely out of my normal position.  I kept getting caught in the flows of people getting off at each stop.  Normally I get into a spot where I can stand still all the way with minimal movement.  This time, it was in a different spot after each stop.  Annoying.

Then at my stop, I walked all the way to the end of the concourse only to find that my normal exit was closed off for construction.

It was an all around nightmare.  Glad its day one.

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.

Deal Drugs on the Subway?

subwayblogger8 Comments

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.

Subway Mariachi Band

subwayblogger5 Comments

The music is good and everything, but I’d tip them more if they were handing out margaritas.  I’m just saying.

If those kids can sell candy bars for their “basketball team,” these guys should be able to shake one up on the rocks for me.

Halloween Freakshow 2008

subwayblogger4 Comments

Well folks, we’ve survived (most of us) another Halloween in NYC.  It never ceases to amaze me how seriously New Yorkers take Halloween.

Even if you didn’t make it down to the Village for the parade, you can still see the “interesting” costumes underground.  The subway becomes it’s own parade all night long.

Most people take the subway downtown for two reasons:  1) it’s fast on a busy night like Halloween.  2) Seeing everyone else dressed up on the train is half the fun of the night.

Here’s just a very, very small sample of what you missed last night.

If you’ve got some interesting subway Halloween pictures, we’d love to see them.  Post a link in the comments or send them to submit [(at)] subwayblogger.com.

Photo Credits:  One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine