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Yea, I was wondering about that. How come NYC subway is so filthy overall? Why such a mighty city cannot clean its main transit system? I'm originally from Moscow, Russia, and as careless as authorities usually treat things, amazingly the subway is almost shiny clean there. There are cleanup crews every day. Matter fact, NYC is really dirty overall, and I don't understand why streets are not properly cleaned either, comparing to Moscow again or other European cities, but I guess that's another topic.
Because there are so many people!
That's going to be the excuse, anyway.
A more acceptable reason would be that it would take more water than anyone wants to pay for or use. Plus, then you'd have to pay people to do the cleaning. And if you wanted to keep the place clean afterward, you'd be best off with a separate set of police, like transit police, whose jobs are dedicated to mass transit and who would enforce the laws. All of that costs money, and in a city as corrupt as New York, in a state as corrupt as New York, lotsa luck there.
But this is another reason to refrain from eating. The dirtier a system is, the more it says that the citizens don't care about it. The more run down and trashed up a system is, the more it becomes a haven for criminals. I remember the [URL="http://gothamist.com/2011/08/08/flashback_subway_graffiti.php#photo-1"]graffiti days[/URL]. The subway was just bad news all around back then. If New Yorkers can clean that up, they can clean everything else up, and you have to start somewhere.
I agree with you. New York is probably one of the dirtiest cities I know, and I've traveled all over the country, and to other countries. By the time I got to work, I felt like I needed another shower, and I hopped right into the shower when I got home at night. A quick swipe with some astringent on a pad revealed grime of a magnitude I'd never gotten elsewhere. It's just a compact, polluted place.
That's not saying the city is bad overall, or even that the transit system is bad. Indeed, the system of tunnels is really spectacular. You can get anywhere you want to go, and that's great. Just that the city is very dirty, particularly the subway.
Last edited by Yzette; 02-11-2012 at 12:15 PM..
Reason: fixed link
It's not everyone else's problem that you can't manage your time so that you can eat a substantial breakfast before you leave for work, and if you're hungry when you get off the train, have a snack on your walk to your workplace. Keep a nutrition bar in your purse and have it on break. That's what I did when I worked in Manhattan.
A more acceptable reason would be that it would take more water than anyone wants to pay for or use. Plus, then you'd have to pay people to do the cleaning. And if you wanted to keep the place clean afterward, you'd be best off with a separate set of police, like transit police, whose jobs are dedicated to mass transit and who would enforce the laws. All of that costs money, and in a city as corrupt as New York, in a state as corrupt as New York, lotsa luck there.
But this is another reason to refrain from eating. The dirtier a system is, the more it says that the citizens don't care about it. The more run down and trashed up a system is, the more it becomes a haven for criminals. I remember the graffiti days. The subway was just bad news all around back then. If New Yorkers can clean that up, they can clean everything else up.
I agree with you. New York is probably one of the dirtiest cities I know, and I've traveled all over the country, and to other countries. By the time I got to work, I felt like I needed another shower, and I hopped right into the shower when I got home at night. A quick swipe with some astringent on a pad revealed grime of a magnitude I'd never gotten elsewhere. It's just a compact, polluted place.
That's not saying the city is bad overall, or even that the transit system is bad. Indeed, the system of tunnels is really spectacular. You can get anywhere you want to go, and that's great. Just that the city is very dirty, particularly the subway.
Yea, NYC is a great place. It's just weird to me that the richest city in the richest country of the world can't find resources to clean itself proper. I don't think they should find any excuses. It's all about priorities. If there is a will, there is a way.
I lived in NYC for a year when Dinkins was Mayor....wow, that was interesting......used the subway a lot.
But this idea will never fly, never be enforced....probably never become law. New Yorkers specifically and Amerit**ds in general would never support this.
I would say that close to 70% of the Amerit**d population thinks that littering, vermin/rodents and living in filth is a not just a-ok....but a really good thing.....and I fully support their right to live the way they want.
I've been on the DC Metro. It's a very small system and the average ride is FAR shorter than an average subway ride from the Bronx or Brooklyn to Manhattan.
Same thing with the PATH. The average ride on the PATH is like 20 minutes. I've been on the subway for 2 and a half hours.
I know, I have too. Sometimes the commute can be very long. Since you know that maybe you should have a snack before you get on the train. I think you can do it. I have faith in you.
Yet -- there is a law that says you can't put your feet on the seat next to you, and that is regularly enforced.
Food on the subway is much worse than feet on seats because it attracts rodents and bugs, and the food trash often ends up on the tracks, where it starts track fires. Correcting these issues uses up resources and the track fires cause delays.
I recognize that not all bad behavior can be addressed with laws, but banning food would be a good start.
Yeah, that case was great. It caused quite a stir, with quite a few people saying, "Tough, the kid should have known better." That was my take on it. I might not have arrested her, but I'd have made her throw the food away. The kid can read, and if you start making exceptions, there is no point in having the law.
As for length of ride in DC, There are many, many people in the DC area with commutes of well over an hour on the Metro. They grumble about it, but they know it's better than sitting in traffic on the Beltway. Those who point out that people drive to the Metro and can scarf something down then, you have to walk to the subway and walk from the subway to your workplace, don't you? It's not everyone else's problem that you can't manage your time so that you can eat a substantial breakfast before you leave for work, and if you're hungry when you get off the train, have a snack on your walk to your workplace. Keep a nutrition bar in your purse and have it on break. That's what I did when I worked in Manhattan.
Honestly, I don't know how anyone could stand to eat in such filthy conditions to begin with. I wouldn't even have a meal on the LIRR, never mind in the subway. But that's not the point. The point is that your breakfasts, lunches, and dinners not only add to the overall stench of the system, they contribute to the filth and the vermin problem.
Really, this outcry is uncharacteristically whiny for New Yorkers. Aren't you supposed to be tougher than that?
I believe I am "those," as you almost quoted me verbatim. I was merely describing one set of peoples' behavior, not making excuses for another.
When I was a little kid and took the subway with my mother, I can't ever recall seeing people eat on the train. Now, it's a common habit.
My mother would carry around hard candy with her, Lifesavers, Charms, Butterscotch, and that would have to do. She would take the plastic wrapper from me and stick it in her pocket. And it was a long ride from Rockaway to the upper westside for a little kid. They used to have vending machines on the subway platforms in some of the major stations. They would dispense soft drinks dispensed in a paper cup. Once in a blue moon, if it was very hot out, my mother would spend 10cents to buy me a small cup of grape drink. She would tell me to finish it up before the train came.
For as long as I can remember, there have always been stinky, sleezy people on the subway and it was always filthy. I cannot imagine how anyone could touch one of the poles or the banister rail from a staircase or escalator and then use that same hand to touch food and then eat it. There isn't enough Purell in the world.
If people used common sense, there wouldn't have to be quality of life laws. But most people these days, have a sense of entitlement.
I shared a piece of cheese cake once on the N train. I could barely eat it because I felt like I was eating on the toilet in the bathroom. I'm all for the ban.
Well if this ban passes, I guess all of those candy and snack vendors on the station platforms will have to close their doors for good.
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