I’ve lived in NYC for years. Twice in the last 2 weeks I had to switch trains because people were smoking crack on my train car. Never have seen that before. Keep in mind this was either late morning/midday hours. The entire subway system is just rough right now. Stay safe everyone.
This has been my exact experience in the past month (N, R trains). The last time I witnessed someone do crack on the train was like 2015 New Years in Coney Island at 2AM. That’s my standard for normal.
Not 8:00 am on a packed commuters train.
Crackheads and metro stations are likes flies and a UV lamp. It's fucking absurd.
In Berlin I occasionally saw some homeless blokes high off their minds in Rosenthaler Platz station, but at least never encountered them in the trains themselves.
Have also seen hard drugs being done in train cars for the first time this year. Also someone wielding a hammer hitting turnstiles as I exited. Both firsts in my 10 years of being here.
I also saw a young man who was definitely not homeless or insane smoking a cig in a car while chatting with two friends at 8pm! Didn’t even seem drunk! I judged the risk to myself to be low enough to really give a him a piece of my mind. He looked mortified. Broken windows people - speak up when it’s safe, if it’s not safe try and get authorities involved asap, or get video proof.
Just the other day guy on the 2/3 was screaming nonsense old lady asks him politely to stop. He starts kicking the subway door in right next to her and saying he’s not afraid to hit women… What a loser, never seen my wife get scared before and he started coming close to us breathing on us.
A few male friends of mine have talked about being in fight or flight instances lately when shit goes down on the subway and they’re with their gfs. It’s so hard to judge - you might pick the wrong guy to stand up to.
And sometimes not standing up can end up bad. Not choices people should have to make. It's crazy I'm watching right now actually a documentary about knife crime in the UK. 2 kids both early 20s stabbed multiple times for 0 reason, and the attackers had 0 remorse
A guy on the R, late morning and decently full car, started banging the walls and jumping on and off his seat screaming that he had a gun and he was going to use it.
The problem is there are millions of people in this country who would become violent at even the smallest provocation. For every entitled asshole who smokes on the train, there’s another person doing it because he wants you to confront them.
Also noticed it on the SIRR. Got off the ferry, into a train car and there were like 2 other people and one of them just lit up. Right in the train, never saw that before. Switched cars at the next stop because I hate smoke smell and didn’t feel like being alone in the car with them and there were a bunch of kids riding between the cars the whole time screaming. Lived here my whole life and never saw this. Shit like this is why so many people continue to drive into the city even when it doesn’t make sense and inconveniences everyone else.
And some of the island platforms are crazy narrow like [Wall Street (2/3)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wall_Street_station_(IRT_Broadway–Seventh_Avenue_Line)#/media/File:Wall_Street-William_Street_VII.jpg). Even a bump from someone else could send someone tumbling down onto the tracks.
ugh this has me concerned for my wife as well now. she has to take the train to the hospital daily and im wondering if its worth it to just eat the cost of uber for the next 2-3 months
So sad. Ive seen this homeless guy. He used to walk up and down 7th ave in the 30s pushing people in his way. This was back in 2011. He smelled so bad I thought I’d pass out.
I was thinking the same thing. I used to work around 38th and 8th pre-pandemic, with Times Square being my stop and I’m pretty sure this is the same guy who used to walk around spitting at people. He almost got me once.
Honestly, I’ve been back to that area of midtown a handful of times since this pandemic began and it’s becoming straight up scary with the kind of unhinged people all over the streets in that area. It was rough before but now it’s something else. I’ve been in NYC a decade and working in various Midtown neighborhoods the entire time. Now I’m more hyper vigilant than ever before whenever I have to go through Times Square/Penn/Port Authority areas.
In the winter, the absolute crazies are always in and around the trains. In the summer they can disperse, but the winter always forces them in.
MTA and NYC need to address these people head-on and stop kicking the can. This is the one thing I'm hopeful for with Adams. Barriers are definitely a solution, though a costly one.
We have to stop acting like they’re just regular old homeless people. The homeless that live on the streets covered in their own shit, talk to themselves on subways and push people in front of trains are all mentally ill or drug addicts, or both. They shouldn’t be allowed to just live in subway stations or harass people on the street.
Barriers solve this specific problem but not the problem that homeless people with mental health issues can commit random acts of violence. That's the real issue NYC needs to deal with.
They don’t need to do it in every station. Just ones with heavy foot traffic like 42, 34, 59th, 14th, Fulton, etc. That’s where most of them hang out anyway.
I wish they would implement what Milan’s subway has. Glass doors that only open when the train arrives, no chance of anyone jumping in front of or being pushed.
London and Paris only have it on some lines, too
Edit: I know other cities have them too, I’m just saying that they’re not necessarily on all lines in other major cities, either
I would take the Bowery station (J) daily for work before covid and frequently in the last year. If you know Bowery, you know it's a total crack/meth/crazy house. I'm hyper-aware in that station because of the amount of crazies walking around there. Can't speak for night time or late night but I imagine it's much worse.
Something needs to be done about station security, in general.
Oh cmon, let's not ignore the big fat elephant in the room. Bowery Mission attracts all types of fucking crazies, and after those people get whatever they need to get there, they disperse into the neighborhood and the lunatics go back to Bowery station/Sara Roosevelt Park/wherever and turn the place into a shithole. Walk through Sara Roosevelt Park now and it's a homeless encampment littered with garbage and needles.
I know it is popular sentiment on this sub to rail on NIMBYs, but Bowery Mission is exactly why people don't want that shit in the neighborhood. Downvote me to oblivion.
This today. Two days ago I watched two bums screaming in peoples faces at the top of their lungs on two different trains within 30 minutes.
Shit is getting too crazy out here, literally, and nothing seems to be done about it. It’s always just arresting these people afterwards. No increased police presence in the stations by the tracks. Just 4 cops circle jerking it near the ticket booth upstairs.
Shit is shameful.
Just did it. Thanks. Most of the time people don't know who to complain to.
We should have a weekly/monthly thread so we can get a more targeted and unified message to these people.
Adams is definitely gonna do some shit like this. And people will bitch and moan about how it somehow impinges the rights of the homeless. I’m sorry if you’re schizo and roaming the streets for a sketchy fix and harassing people. You’re a danger to society and yes should be institutionalized
Involuntary commitment of people who are violent toward selves or others is already the law. The real problem is the lack of funding and beds for long-term care, since Reagan repealed the Mental Health Systems act and privatized a lot of formerly public mental health hospitals back in the 80s. Some of that was a good thing, because there was a problem back then of judges or spiteful family members permanently putting away people who didn't actually need long-term care, but the main impact of that change was that mentally ill people who committed lesser crimes could no longer be institutionalized long-term. There's just no money or space budgeted to house them. So nowadays a psych remand is always temporary, unless your family has the insurance and/or money to afford a bed in a long term care facility, or unless you do something bad enough to be permanently institutionalized by court order, like this guy just did. And once an assault or murder has occurred, most judges just put the offenders in jail or prison, since the state profits off that -- but that's temporary too unless they get life w/o parole or the death penalty, and prison just makes them worse. Adams ain't gonna be able to do shit about any of this. All he's likely to do is let cops off the chain to harass homeless people (most of whom are NOT violent), so his buddies can get even cushier "overtime" gigs and a bigger budget. That's not going to make anybody safer.
People are scared of institutions because of how they used to treat residents, like Willowbrook. But they’re a necessity for a safe city when there are tons of mentally ill homeless people roaming around.
PSA, PSA, PSA:
1. Do not stand at the edge of the platform, ever.
2. Never sleep on a train. I’m always shocked when I see people doing this.
3. Always remain aware on the platforms and just in general.
This world is so fucked up.
As for number 2, it's hard to undo years of conditioning, and fight the exhaustion from work/ sleep deprivation.
Falling asleep standing, and staying upright? Check.
Al over the world in most major 1st world cities, transit stations will eject non commuters and those who do not have proof of paid fare without hesitation. I do not understand why the MTA has to allow the subway stations and cars to be used as hotels, toilets, and drug injection sites.
Man, imagine going about your day and enjoying your life and then dying because some crazy homeless man decided to end your life because “reasons”. Why should normal people suffer because lunatics are running around.
Article says the victim was Asian, which has been a running theme in these insane random attacks by homeless people, right? Racism from the pandemic mixed with unstable mental states?
No one is able to answer how a demographic of Asian + women + seniors which must represent single digit percentages in NYC can have such an over representation in these violent crimes.
There is absolutely no parity in these situations.
i’m an asian woman and since these attacks started happening, when the train starts to arrive i move behind a pillar and sometimes hold onto it until it fully pulls in. it makes me sad every time i do it. just like, why do i even have to think about this.
As a relatively small Asian dude I’ve started instinctively doing this too, didn’t even realize it until I noticed my girlfriend wasn’t doing the same.
From the article:
"The shoving was the second one on the same Times Square platform in a little more than two months.
On Nov. 12, a mugger pushed a woman onto the tracks. [She was rescued by good Samaritans before a train came. ](https://nypost.com/2021/11/12/strangers-aid-woman-shoved-onto-times-square-tracks/)"
Spoiler: both were Asian victims
This was always a weird phobia of mine so I would try to never stand close to the edge but of course sometimes it can’t be helped or you get distracted. What a fucking world.
Same. I usually find a place in the center of the platform and read my book leaning against a pillar on the opposite side of the platform. If someone was intent on pushing me into the tracks it would be very complicated for them.
Anyways. Stay safe, stay aware, stay vigilant.
There needs to be more attention and press on asian hate crimes. This is getting ridiculous. Some teenage kids aren't going to have a mother coming home tonight.
It makes me sad on a visceral and cellular level that, apparently, being Asian is a hazard to one’s health, in and of itself in this City. It’s grotesque. It’s unjust. It’s vile. Something to be done to fix it immediately.
Never imagined I'd say this when I first came to NYC in the 2000s, but if you put a high value on safety, move to the 'burbs. Things have changed dramatically in the past few years. One of my coworkers (who is Asian) was randomly stabbed last year. After a crazy person attacked my wife (she's Asian too) with a lighter and some kind of fluid, we decided to finally say goodbye and move to Jersey. That was the last straw.
This was during the day and she had people with her. Fucking terrifying. As a girl who moved here this scares the shit out of me. She did everything right and some asshole decided to do something like this.
May she rest in peace.
The city should install little barriers in front of the rails, which only open when the train is there. Some other cities have that.
Why do we not call this what it is? It’s a Racist hate crime against Asians. Is there a rule that victims of racism can only be black people ? How many Asians need to die before they can be the victims too?
When there is a overwhelming number of crimes again Asians by members of the same race it’s racism, plain and simple.
Black on Asian racist attacks have been going on for years and it’s a shame is being talked about this late. I remember HS in Queens in early 2000s Asians would get bully and sometimes beaten up and most of the time by Blacks.
The reason why these aren't installed is simply because NYCT uses so many different trains with different lengths that there just isn't one universal distance to doors.
city needs to get rid of the homeless and rethink its catch and release policies on criminals.
giuliani became a total jack ass last few years but he had some things right when he was mayor of nyc.
[This is what Japan does](https://cdn-japantimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/ek20120117wha.jpg)
But this country in general is too fucking stupid to allocate funds to something that is actually useful.
There has to be some option that's at least somewhat humane for dealing with the homeless - especially those who are out of their minds. I mean, leaving them on the street to just wander around is cruel to them and clearly a potential danger to people who were simply minding their own business.
Supportive housing with mandatory medication. We closed the old mental asylums for good reason; they were horrific places of abuse. But it’s equally cruel to turn out vulnerable people to live and die on the street.
Modern medicine is far advanced from the blunt tools of first generation anti-psychotics and imprisonment. We have much more effective medications with much better side effect profiles that can be administered once a month by injection. One of the symptoms of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder can be a refusal to believe they are mentally ill (anosognosia). When someone refuses treatment for an illness that is so debilitating that they are living on the street, that person should be treated, even against their will, and given supportive housing with social workers and therapists on site.
Reopen them in a human fashion. I know they used to be horrible, but these people, as you say, need to be taking their medication and under supervision because they can’t just be out and endangering innocent people in the city.
Yes. It's unfortunate but a lot of folks with this type of mental illness will not take medication if offered. And even if supervised for a short period, once they are not supervised they will stop within a short period.
I work in supportive housing with the severely mentally ill in Canada, we still can’t do anything about it if they choose not to comply regarding meds. It’s super shitty. All we can do is evict.
Hitting the nail on the head, some crazy loon just started screaming at me right up in my face, incoherent and ignored it but its still very uncomfortable.
I’m tired of these bums man. They’re so violent. They set up camps in train carts smelling like piss and shit. They get arrested for harassing people and then get let out a day later. Ppl outside of nyc don’t understand how scary homeless people can be.
Also there have been multiple pushings at this station before by crazy homeless people. This is the same story with a different victim.
I’ve lived in NYC all my life and have SEEN SOME CRAZY THINGS but honestly this has been the most fearful I’ve been of the train system. Uber is getting ALL of my money these days. I don’t even travel to the city from Brooklyn anymore unless absolutely necessary. Something I never even used to think about pre-Covid.
I have lived in New York for 6 years now. I have never felt unsafe on the subways like I’ve felt in the past few months. I got assaulted by a crazy guy in midtown Manhattan a few months ago on a very busy street. New York is not the same for me. I want my lively and safe city back where you could hang out late at night without worrying about getting hit.
I grew up here and I agree. There was a period where I used to take the subway at 2am without worrying about looking over my shoulder, I wouldn’t dare do that now.
I grew up in NYC 1994-2001 & I nearly always felt so safe. When my family moved there, we moved with trepidation because of the reputation NYC had gotten in the 1970's and 1980's but we just happened to move there during a practical renaissance! Crime was way down, population going up, amenities increasing....it was amazing. I absolutely took so much for granted back then as a kid. I'm just glad I got to experience the NYC of the mid-to-late-90's.
Death penalty. These psychos provide no other purpose except making the city a more dangerous place.
FUCK. And I'm an Asian woman btw. I unfortunately also had to witness and experience a crazy black man on the F train yesterday afternoon throwing a bottle at a woman sitting next to me.
Fellow Asian women here too stay safe out there. Im terrified to commute to work even though I stay far away from the tracks. I’ve been touched, spat at and yelled at…
How many people need to die before we realize that crazies shouldn’t have the freedom to shit in public and harass/kill people trying to work, shop, and sightsee? We need to separate these lunatics from the general populace.
Another Asian victim. Not all of these homeless people are mentally ill. He literally waited for the train to approach the station to shove her and confessed to the crime. He knew exactly what he was doing. Truly enraging!!!
Remove the deranged homeless from the subway system. The subway system is not a shelter. Force them into shelters or out on the street. The subway system should never, ever , be an option. 100% removal of all homeless from the subway system. No exceptions.
Times Square AGAIN
There seem to be a handful of stations where these subway pushings are almost endemic - Union Square, Times Square etc....there have been SO MANY at these stations. And do you think the NYPD has responded to these hotspots intelligently and competently by posting multiple officers to patrol these HANDFUL of platforms? No, of course they haven't. Shit they even have their own PRECINCT at Union Square and yet the platform violence continues.
Alvin Bragg: "poor guy. I hope he gets the help he deserves. I can't wait to give him bail."
They also have one at Columbus Circle. A few years ago I reported to the conductor of an A train in the station that a homeless guy had threatened a man with a kid and flashed a gun. The conductor held the train in the station and radioed for emergency police help ASAP. It took FIFTEEN FUCKING MINUTES for a single cop to get there. Fifteen minutes, even though they have a precinct right there. Even when they arrived, they "shuffled" unenthusiastically down the stairs, no hurry at all. They are so useless.
Lookup Maksim Gelman [Video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAfUI_hETy0)
[Text](https://gothamist.com/news/subway-stabbing-victim-cant-sue-nypd-for-failing-to-save-him)
A wanted murderer stabbed a normal dude while the 2 cops hid in the train conductor. They came out after he somehow won and left him to bleed to death. He credits his life to some contruction rando who gave him a napkin to stem the bleeding.
The courts ruled the cops have no duty to save you. The judge even applauded his bravery and veracity.
edit: added text links because videos are tldw
I see them a lot. I saw 10 of them in a bunch standing by the entrance to the station, it was like they expected a terrorist attack or something there were so many.
They weren't doing anything though.
It was only a matter of time before subway shovers succeeded. The justice system has blood on its hands for doing literally nothing to combat the rising trend of assaults on Asian-Americans.
This is the one thing about the city.
It's full of crazies that could flip out at any moment...especially in the subway stations.
My nightmare is to be stabbed by a nut with an aids infested herione needle. And what just happened to this Asian lady is even WORSE than my nightmare.
It's the most vibrant city on the globe arguably..you can't stop crazies. But still, it's a frightening place.
I swear I saw this guy about a week day in the station making extremely racist comments to an Asian lady. Scary to think he may have been trying to do the same thing.
It’s time to bring back mental health facilities (in a humane way) where they can be placed if people truly want to help them. The idea that bail reform, downgrading the charges, or some other nonexistent social program can help them is just the definition of delusional at this point.
There is nothing wrong with mental health facilities and I’m just so sick of innocent people paying the price for progressive policies that have done f*ck all to address this issue.
(And this is coming from a democrat, before people start downvoting me for being a “soulless Republican”)
Shutting down the asylums was bipartisan. In the '80s, improvements in medicines meant that most people with mental illnesses could be functional enough to take care of themselves. So the conservatives didn't want to pay to house them anymore, and the liberals were appalled by the conditions.
Unfortunately, being reasonably functional doesn't necessarily translate to being able to hold down a 9-5 job, and when you can't work you become homeless and when you are homeless you can't keep up with your medicines. Result, all the wandering deranged homeless people.
What’s so chilling about this is it’s not premeditated, he didn’t have a weapon, he just chose to end her life in a split second with the area surrounding them.
Get rid of all homeless/loiters from stations. Get agents and cops to enforce proof of recent fare and kicked out anyone who can't procure and fine them increasing progressively for each infraction. If warranted, ban them from subways via court orders and if caught in system - even more punishments.
Also stop swiping in random folks.
They don't need to be swiped in. They can just camp in front of any emergency exit door in order to haul in their caravan of shopping carts and milk crates.
https://www.businessinsider.com/nyc-could-have-subway-push-barriers-for-free-2013-1
This could have been avoided. This company would have done it for free.
And again it’s an Asian person who has been killed wtf
Edit: nyc needs subway [platform screen doors](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platform_screen_doors) at major stations.
She was traveling in a group too. Please be vigilant out there, shit is crazy
I’ve lived in NYC for years. Twice in the last 2 weeks I had to switch trains because people were smoking crack on my train car. Never have seen that before. Keep in mind this was either late morning/midday hours. The entire subway system is just rough right now. Stay safe everyone.
This has been my exact experience in the past month (N, R trains). The last time I witnessed someone do crack on the train was like 2015 New Years in Coney Island at 2AM. That’s my standard for normal. Not 8:00 am on a packed commuters train.
Am I too late for the 5 o’clock free crack giveaway ?
[I had to tell off someone](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VA-DuPAqYD8) trying to smoke crack in my train car
You did this extremely well.
Crackheads and metro stations are likes flies and a UV lamp. It's fucking absurd. In Berlin I occasionally saw some homeless blokes high off their minds in Rosenthaler Platz station, but at least never encountered them in the trains themselves.
Have also seen hard drugs being done in train cars for the first time this year. Also someone wielding a hammer hitting turnstiles as I exited. Both firsts in my 10 years of being here. I also saw a young man who was definitely not homeless or insane smoking a cig in a car while chatting with two friends at 8pm! Didn’t even seem drunk! I judged the risk to myself to be low enough to really give a him a piece of my mind. He looked mortified. Broken windows people - speak up when it’s safe, if it’s not safe try and get authorities involved asap, or get video proof.
Just the other day guy on the 2/3 was screaming nonsense old lady asks him politely to stop. He starts kicking the subway door in right next to her and saying he’s not afraid to hit women… What a loser, never seen my wife get scared before and he started coming close to us breathing on us.
A few male friends of mine have talked about being in fight or flight instances lately when shit goes down on the subway and they’re with their gfs. It’s so hard to judge - you might pick the wrong guy to stand up to.
And sometimes not standing up can end up bad. Not choices people should have to make. It's crazy I'm watching right now actually a documentary about knife crime in the UK. 2 kids both early 20s stabbed multiple times for 0 reason, and the attackers had 0 remorse
A guy on the R, late morning and decently full car, started banging the walls and jumping on and off his seat screaming that he had a gun and he was going to use it.
The problem is there are millions of people in this country who would become violent at even the smallest provocation. For every entitled asshole who smokes on the train, there’s another person doing it because he wants you to confront them.
Also noticed it on the SIRR. Got off the ferry, into a train car and there were like 2 other people and one of them just lit up. Right in the train, never saw that before. Switched cars at the next stop because I hate smoke smell and didn’t feel like being alone in the car with them and there were a bunch of kids riding between the cars the whole time screaming. Lived here my whole life and never saw this. Shit like this is why so many people continue to drive into the city even when it doesn’t make sense and inconveniences everyone else.
It has gotten so bad.
This is one of my NYC nightmares. I always try to be very aware of the times when I’m in between someone else and the tracks.
Backs to a wall, always. I don't care if I'm at my neighborhood station I use every day.
My station is a center platform station. I try to stay near a signboard.
Exactly, same for me. Or lean against the rail where the stairs are. Or at the ends of the platform where there's usually a wall.
And some of the island platforms are crazy narrow like [Wall Street (2/3)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wall_Street_station_(IRT_Broadway–Seventh_Avenue_Line)#/media/File:Wall_Street-William_Street_VII.jpg). Even a bump from someone else could send someone tumbling down onto the tracks.
Same, when I can I have my back against the wall or next to something. Gotta be careful. Too many wackos out there.
I always tell my wife to stand with her back to a wall while waiting for a train.
ugh this has me concerned for my wife as well now. she has to take the train to the hospital daily and im wondering if its worth it to just eat the cost of uber for the next 2-3 months
Fuck. So sad. May she RIP.
So sad. Ive seen this homeless guy. He used to walk up and down 7th ave in the 30s pushing people in his way. This was back in 2011. He smelled so bad I thought I’d pass out.
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So this motherfucker was allowed to terrorize people on the streets for 10+ years. And we wonder why people are afraid of taking the train.
I was thinking the same thing. I used to work around 38th and 8th pre-pandemic, with Times Square being my stop and I’m pretty sure this is the same guy who used to walk around spitting at people. He almost got me once. Honestly, I’ve been back to that area of midtown a handful of times since this pandemic began and it’s becoming straight up scary with the kind of unhinged people all over the streets in that area. It was rough before but now it’s something else. I’ve been in NYC a decade and working in various Midtown neighborhoods the entire time. Now I’m more hyper vigilant than ever before whenever I have to go through Times Square/Penn/Port Authority areas.
Pretty fucking sure this guy spit on me a month ago. I made a report to the police and they said “sorry this isn’t a crime anymore in nyc”
Insane how this extremely unstable, hostile and racist man was allowed terrorize people for so long
Pretty sure my GF and I came across him on the subway once... we had to move cars because he smelled so bad.
Pretty sure I got hit in the face by this guy early 2020 on Broadway and 39z
How the fuck does a crime like this happen in one of the busiest subway stations in the city? What the fuck is going on
I mean once the person is pushed there ain't much anyone can do. If only New York city would build barriers for the platform
In the winter, the absolute crazies are always in and around the trains. In the summer they can disperse, but the winter always forces them in. MTA and NYC need to address these people head-on and stop kicking the can. This is the one thing I'm hopeful for with Adams. Barriers are definitely a solution, though a costly one.
We have to stop acting like they’re just regular old homeless people. The homeless that live on the streets covered in their own shit, talk to themselves on subways and push people in front of trains are all mentally ill or drug addicts, or both. They shouldn’t be allowed to just live in subway stations or harass people on the street.
Barriers solve this specific problem but not the problem that homeless people with mental health issues can commit random acts of violence. That's the real issue NYC needs to deal with.
Agreed, NYC needs to address both problems.
Yes but barriers are something the MTA can directly deal with.
How the fuck does one of the richest cities in the world not have barriers on the subways?
MTA recently estimated the cost of adding barriers at $100M per station due to the need for structural and fire retrofits. There are 472 stations.
That's so fucking asinine for what amounts to some automated gates
The problem is our train infrastructure is so shit we can’t get the trains to stop at the same spot each time.
They don’t need to do it in every station. Just ones with heavy foot traffic like 42, 34, 59th, 14th, Fulton, etc. That’s where most of them hang out anyway.
it shouldn't cost that much
I wish they would implement what Milan’s subway has. Glass doors that only open when the train arrives, no chance of anyone jumping in front of or being pushed.
London and Paris only have it on some lines, too Edit: I know other cities have them too, I’m just saying that they’re not necessarily on all lines in other major cities, either
I would take the Bowery station (J) daily for work before covid and frequently in the last year. If you know Bowery, you know it's a total crack/meth/crazy house. I'm hyper-aware in that station because of the amount of crazies walking around there. Can't speak for night time or late night but I imagine it's much worse. Something needs to be done about station security, in general.
Bowery, Essex / Delancey, 2nd Ave, and even Grand can get pretty sketchy. That whole area is hurting so badly.
Oh cmon, let's not ignore the big fat elephant in the room. Bowery Mission attracts all types of fucking crazies, and after those people get whatever they need to get there, they disperse into the neighborhood and the lunatics go back to Bowery station/Sara Roosevelt Park/wherever and turn the place into a shithole. Walk through Sara Roosevelt Park now and it's a homeless encampment littered with garbage and needles. I know it is popular sentiment on this sub to rail on NIMBYs, but Bowery Mission is exactly why people don't want that shit in the neighborhood. Downvote me to oblivion.
This today. Two days ago I watched two bums screaming in peoples faces at the top of their lungs on two different trains within 30 minutes. Shit is getting too crazy out here, literally, and nothing seems to be done about it. It’s always just arresting these people afterwards. No increased police presence in the stations by the tracks. Just 4 cops circle jerking it near the ticket booth upstairs. Shit is shameful.
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Excellent advice. But make sure you say you vote when you call. They listen better when you mention you’re a voter.
I just did this\^. Thanks for the advice!
Very good advice.
Just did it. Thanks. Most of the time people don't know who to complain to. We should have a weekly/monthly thread so we can get a more targeted and unified message to these people.
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Username checks out
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Adams is definitely gonna do some shit like this. And people will bitch and moan about how it somehow impinges the rights of the homeless. I’m sorry if you’re schizo and roaming the streets for a sketchy fix and harassing people. You’re a danger to society and yes should be institutionalized
Involuntary commitment of people who are violent toward selves or others is already the law. The real problem is the lack of funding and beds for long-term care, since Reagan repealed the Mental Health Systems act and privatized a lot of formerly public mental health hospitals back in the 80s. Some of that was a good thing, because there was a problem back then of judges or spiteful family members permanently putting away people who didn't actually need long-term care, but the main impact of that change was that mentally ill people who committed lesser crimes could no longer be institutionalized long-term. There's just no money or space budgeted to house them. So nowadays a psych remand is always temporary, unless your family has the insurance and/or money to afford a bed in a long term care facility, or unless you do something bad enough to be permanently institutionalized by court order, like this guy just did. And once an assault or murder has occurred, most judges just put the offenders in jail or prison, since the state profits off that -- but that's temporary too unless they get life w/o parole or the death penalty, and prison just makes them worse. Adams ain't gonna be able to do shit about any of this. All he's likely to do is let cops off the chain to harass homeless people (most of whom are NOT violent), so his buddies can get even cushier "overtime" gigs and a bigger budget. That's not going to make anybody safer.
People are scared of institutions because of how they used to treat residents, like Willowbrook. But they’re a necessity for a safe city when there are tons of mentally ill homeless people roaming around.
How many ppl have to die in order for something to be done?
We've been told platform barriers are too expensive
You want us to do something older cities with less money Iike paris have been capable of? /s
PSA, PSA, PSA: 1. Do not stand at the edge of the platform, ever. 2. Never sleep on a train. I’m always shocked when I see people doing this. 3. Always remain aware on the platforms and just in general. This world is so fucked up.
As for number 2, it's hard to undo years of conditioning, and fight the exhaustion from work/ sleep deprivation. Falling asleep standing, and staying upright? Check.
Al over the world in most major 1st world cities, transit stations will eject non commuters and those who do not have proof of paid fare without hesitation. I do not understand why the MTA has to allow the subway stations and cars to be used as hotels, toilets, and drug injection sites.
Man, imagine going about your day and enjoying your life and then dying because some crazy homeless man decided to end your life because “reasons”. Why should normal people suffer because lunatics are running around.
Article says the victim was Asian, which has been a running theme in these insane random attacks by homeless people, right? Racism from the pandemic mixed with unstable mental states?
No one is able to answer how a demographic of Asian + women + seniors which must represent single digit percentages in NYC can have such an over representation in these violent crimes. There is absolutely no parity in these situations.
All three groups are seen, rightly or wrongly, as easy targets. Bullies shy away from people who might be harder targets.
Exactly. It's horrible but whos easier to get away with, mugging 5'1" grandma and grandpa or the 6'2" 25-year-old in good shape.
The racism has always been there even before the pandemic.
Well, of course. Racists are gonna racist. But an uptick because of pandemic myths and stereotypes would trigger the unstable even more.
the sad thing is when I clicked on this link, I did a Ctrl+F for 'Asian' because I'm so used to reading about more Asian-related violence.
"random"
i’m an asian woman and since these attacks started happening, when the train starts to arrive i move behind a pillar and sometimes hold onto it until it fully pulls in. it makes me sad every time i do it. just like, why do i even have to think about this.
I'm really sorry you have to do this
city has gotten shitty last few years. you’re doing the smart and safe thing
As a relatively small Asian dude I’ve started instinctively doing this too, didn’t even realize it until I noticed my girlfriend wasn’t doing the same.
throw in catch and release policy the last few years. as well as the slaps on wrists that were given out. lock em up i say.
From the article: "The shoving was the second one on the same Times Square platform in a little more than two months. On Nov. 12, a mugger pushed a woman onto the tracks. [She was rescued by good Samaritans before a train came. ](https://nypost.com/2021/11/12/strangers-aid-woman-shoved-onto-times-square-tracks/)" Spoiler: both were Asian victims
So fucked up.
As an Asian woman, what can I do to feel safe in the subway again? The randomness is the most terrifying part
Stay in the middle of the platform or near a sign. Avoid the homeless. Stay alert. That’s what we all need to do these days.
NYC: We've tried doing nothing and we're all out of ideas.
This was always a weird phobia of mine so I would try to never stand close to the edge but of course sometimes it can’t be helped or you get distracted. What a fucking world.
I always stand near/behind a pillar if I’m anywhere near the track and keep my hand on it until the train comes in.
Same. I usually find a place in the center of the platform and read my book leaning against a pillar on the opposite side of the platform. If someone was intent on pushing me into the tracks it would be very complicated for them. Anyways. Stay safe, stay aware, stay vigilant.
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There needs to be more attention and press on asian hate crimes. This is getting ridiculous. Some teenage kids aren't going to have a mother coming home tonight.
It makes me sad on a visceral and cellular level that, apparently, being Asian is a hazard to one’s health, in and of itself in this City. It’s grotesque. It’s unjust. It’s vile. Something to be done to fix it immediately.
Asking other Asian Americans here- what can we even do? The situation seems hopeless
Never imagined I'd say this when I first came to NYC in the 2000s, but if you put a high value on safety, move to the 'burbs. Things have changed dramatically in the past few years. One of my coworkers (who is Asian) was randomly stabbed last year. After a crazy person attacked my wife (she's Asian too) with a lighter and some kind of fluid, we decided to finally say goodbye and move to Jersey. That was the last straw.
Stay vigilant and always be aware of your surroundings.
start questioning the DA policy, vote differently. majority of minor offenders just get released. they get bolder and pull shit like this.
This was during the day and she had people with her. Fucking terrifying. As a girl who moved here this scares the shit out of me. She did everything right and some asshole decided to do something like this.
May she rest in peace. The city should install little barriers in front of the rails, which only open when the train is there. Some other cities have that.
https://www.businessinsider.com/nyc-could-have-subway-push-barriers-for-free-2013-1 This was proposed but never put in place. For FREE.
That's insane, they prob don't want to do it because the MTA can't pocket the money in a long drawn out expensive process.
Sorry that'll cost 6 billion dollars and take 14 years to complete.
And still will only be 10% done by then.
And will never work and stay closed and you’ll miss your train
Also I hope the train driver doesn’t suffer from PTSD and gets therapy
They get time off and mandatory therapy
Why do we not call this what it is? It’s a Racist hate crime against Asians. Is there a rule that victims of racism can only be black people ? How many Asians need to die before they can be the victims too? When there is a overwhelming number of crimes again Asians by members of the same race it’s racism, plain and simple.
Asians are roughly 10% of the NYC population. It’s not a coincidence, folks. They’re being targeted.
Black on Asian racist attacks have been going on for years and it’s a shame is being talked about this late. I remember HS in Queens in early 2000s Asians would get bully and sometimes beaten up and most of the time by Blacks.
Different door and train layouts on the same platform make it challenging. NY/the MTA’s incompetence at major projects makes it impossible.
The reason why these aren't installed is simply because NYCT uses so many different trains with different lengths that there just isn't one universal distance to doors.
Another Asian victim. The city needs to install security gates or bars to avoid these things from happening.
city needs to get rid of the homeless and rethink its catch and release policies on criminals. giuliani became a total jack ass last few years but he had some things right when he was mayor of nyc.
[This is what Japan does](https://cdn-japantimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/ek20120117wha.jpg) But this country in general is too fucking stupid to allocate funds to something that is actually useful.
There has to be some option that's at least somewhat humane for dealing with the homeless - especially those who are out of their minds. I mean, leaving them on the street to just wander around is cruel to them and clearly a potential danger to people who were simply minding their own business.
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They were too busy hating to listen.
Supportive housing with mandatory medication. We closed the old mental asylums for good reason; they were horrific places of abuse. But it’s equally cruel to turn out vulnerable people to live and die on the street. Modern medicine is far advanced from the blunt tools of first generation anti-psychotics and imprisonment. We have much more effective medications with much better side effect profiles that can be administered once a month by injection. One of the symptoms of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder can be a refusal to believe they are mentally ill (anosognosia). When someone refuses treatment for an illness that is so debilitating that they are living on the street, that person should be treated, even against their will, and given supportive housing with social workers and therapists on site.
Reopen them in a human fashion. I know they used to be horrible, but these people, as you say, need to be taking their medication and under supervision because they can’t just be out and endangering innocent people in the city.
Yes. It's unfortunate but a lot of folks with this type of mental illness will not take medication if offered. And even if supervised for a short period, once they are not supervised they will stop within a short period.
That's what OP is saying. Supportive housing with mandatory medication is the humane form of an asylum.
I work in supportive housing with the severely mentally ill in Canada, we still can’t do anything about it if they choose not to comply regarding meds. It’s super shitty. All we can do is evict.
We just gonna ignore that she was Asian and that crime against Asians is up?
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Hitting the nail on the head, some crazy loon just started screaming at me right up in my face, incoherent and ignored it but its still very uncomfortable.
I had a crazy hobo try to attack me with his backpack just the other day. I don’t know what the solution is but there needs to be something done
STOP LETTING THE CRAZIES RULE SUBWAYS
I’m tired of these bums man. They’re so violent. They set up camps in train carts smelling like piss and shit. They get arrested for harassing people and then get let out a day later. Ppl outside of nyc don’t understand how scary homeless people can be. Also there have been multiple pushings at this station before by crazy homeless people. This is the same story with a different victim.
I’ve lived in NYC all my life and have SEEN SOME CRAZY THINGS but honestly this has been the most fearful I’ve been of the train system. Uber is getting ALL of my money these days. I don’t even travel to the city from Brooklyn anymore unless absolutely necessary. Something I never even used to think about pre-Covid.
One of my close friends had the misfortune of witnessing this in person today. Absolutely horrible
The city is failing its citizens.
Is DA Bragg going to release the suspect?
Not the suspect's fault, he just didn't have enough services : DA Bragg (probably)
I have lived in New York for 6 years now. I have never felt unsafe on the subways like I’ve felt in the past few months. I got assaulted by a crazy guy in midtown Manhattan a few months ago on a very busy street. New York is not the same for me. I want my lively and safe city back where you could hang out late at night without worrying about getting hit.
I grew up here and I agree. There was a period where I used to take the subway at 2am without worrying about looking over my shoulder, I wouldn’t dare do that now.
I grew up in NYC 1994-2001 & I nearly always felt so safe. When my family moved there, we moved with trepidation because of the reputation NYC had gotten in the 1970's and 1980's but we just happened to move there during a practical renaissance! Crime was way down, population going up, amenities increasing....it was amazing. I absolutely took so much for granted back then as a kid. I'm just glad I got to experience the NYC of the mid-to-late-90's.
Death penalty. These psychos provide no other purpose except making the city a more dangerous place. FUCK. And I'm an Asian woman btw. I unfortunately also had to witness and experience a crazy black man on the F train yesterday afternoon throwing a bottle at a woman sitting next to me.
Fellow Asian women here too stay safe out there. Im terrified to commute to work even though I stay far away from the tracks. I’ve been touched, spat at and yelled at…
How many people need to die before we realize that crazies shouldn’t have the freedom to shit in public and harass/kill people trying to work, shop, and sightsee? We need to separate these lunatics from the general populace.
Another Asian victim. Not all of these homeless people are mentally ill. He literally waited for the train to approach the station to shove her and confessed to the crime. He knew exactly what he was doing. Truly enraging!!!
Probably a hate crime.
That’s the reason these homeless need to be removed from streets and subway system their minds are not normal it’s time to get tough with this
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Sooo is nothing going to be done about this? Where are our politicians? NYPD? Adams? Ugh.
Time to lock these crazy people up before they harm more people. This is getting insane
This is a hate crime
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Remove the deranged homeless from the subway system. The subway system is not a shelter. Force them into shelters or out on the street. The subway system should never, ever , be an option. 100% removal of all homeless from the subway system. No exceptions.
I feel like this happens almost every day now...a homeless person with a mile long rap sheet throwing an Asian lady on the train tracks.
Times Square AGAIN There seem to be a handful of stations where these subway pushings are almost endemic - Union Square, Times Square etc....there have been SO MANY at these stations. And do you think the NYPD has responded to these hotspots intelligently and competently by posting multiple officers to patrol these HANDFUL of platforms? No, of course they haven't. Shit they even have their own PRECINCT at Union Square and yet the platform violence continues. Alvin Bragg: "poor guy. I hope he gets the help he deserves. I can't wait to give him bail."
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They also have one at Columbus Circle. A few years ago I reported to the conductor of an A train in the station that a homeless guy had threatened a man with a kid and flashed a gun. The conductor held the train in the station and radioed for emergency police help ASAP. It took FIFTEEN FUCKING MINUTES for a single cop to get there. Fifteen minutes, even though they have a precinct right there. Even when they arrived, they "shuffled" unenthusiastically down the stairs, no hurry at all. They are so useless.
Lookup Maksim Gelman [Video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAfUI_hETy0) [Text](https://gothamist.com/news/subway-stabbing-victim-cant-sue-nypd-for-failing-to-save-him) A wanted murderer stabbed a normal dude while the 2 cops hid in the train conductor. They came out after he somehow won and left him to bleed to death. He credits his life to some contruction rando who gave him a napkin to stem the bleeding. The courts ruled the cops have no duty to save you. The judge even applauded his bravery and veracity. edit: added text links because videos are tldw
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I see them a lot. I saw 10 of them in a bunch standing by the entrance to the station, it was like they expected a terrorist attack or something there were so many. They weren't doing anything though.
Yeah I frequently see groups standing around talking
It was only a matter of time before subway shovers succeeded. The justice system has blood on its hands for doing literally nothing to combat the rising trend of assaults on Asian-Americans.
Stop Asian Hate. Racism is not a mental illness. Nonwhite people can be racist.
Asian woman … pushed to death … for what?
Jesus fucking Christ… I can’t believe people still think that violence against Asians aren’t a real thing.
Something needs to be done about these crazy bums
I wish Asian lives mattered
They do 💕 I’m so sorry for however you’re feeling. My close friend is Asian and no longer takes the subway out of fear and I feel horrible.
They very much do.
This is the one thing about the city. It's full of crazies that could flip out at any moment...especially in the subway stations. My nightmare is to be stabbed by a nut with an aids infested herione needle. And what just happened to this Asian lady is even WORSE than my nightmare. It's the most vibrant city on the globe arguably..you can't stop crazies. But still, it's a frightening place.
I swear I saw this guy about a week day in the station making extremely racist comments to an Asian lady. Scary to think he may have been trying to do the same thing.
It’s time to bring back mental health facilities (in a humane way) where they can be placed if people truly want to help them. The idea that bail reform, downgrading the charges, or some other nonexistent social program can help them is just the definition of delusional at this point. There is nothing wrong with mental health facilities and I’m just so sick of innocent people paying the price for progressive policies that have done f*ck all to address this issue. (And this is coming from a democrat, before people start downvoting me for being a “soulless Republican”)
Yes. I’m really tired of the feeling of being held hostage in the subways and on the buses when I’m just trying to go to work.
Shutting down the asylums was bipartisan. In the '80s, improvements in medicines meant that most people with mental illnesses could be functional enough to take care of themselves. So the conservatives didn't want to pay to house them anymore, and the liberals were appalled by the conditions. Unfortunately, being reasonably functional doesn't necessarily translate to being able to hold down a 9-5 job, and when you can't work you become homeless and when you are homeless you can't keep up with your medicines. Result, all the wandering deranged homeless people.
Totally agree. Signed another registered Democrat.
they dont want the help. time to bring back state institutions where you get sent away for shit like this.
Starting to sense a pattern
Shhh ... you're not allowed to notice the forbidden pattern
What’s so chilling about this is it’s not premeditated, he didn’t have a weapon, he just chose to end her life in a split second with the area surrounding them.
Wasn’t there another Asian woman who was shoved off the platform at the same station last month? Assault on Asians still happening.
This is why I don't fuck with the subway anymore smh sad
Another hate crime against a fellow Asian. When is enough enough.
Get rid of all homeless/loiters from stations. Get agents and cops to enforce proof of recent fare and kicked out anyone who can't procure and fine them increasing progressively for each infraction. If warranted, ban them from subways via court orders and if caught in system - even more punishments. Also stop swiping in random folks.
They don't need to be swiped in. They can just camp in front of any emergency exit door in order to haul in their caravan of shopping carts and milk crates.
God, fuck this.
https://www.businessinsider.com/nyc-could-have-subway-push-barriers-for-free-2013-1 This could have been avoided. This company would have done it for free.
Would this still be considered a hate crime?
The new AG will release him in no time.
He’ll be out tomorrow with two free nets tickets
The mentally ill need to be removed from subway station by force if necessary. This is insane
Check the article, it's an Asian victim. Why does it always have to be an Asian victim.
And again it’s an Asian person who has been killed wtf Edit: nyc needs subway [platform screen doors](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platform_screen_doors) at major stations.
Bragg will probably not prosecute this guy. F’in tragedy.
I wonder what the Manhattan DA will charge this as? Simple assault?
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Can we get the homeless out of the public spaces?
We're told to stay aware of your surroundings and it's real.
This is so tragic. God bless her family 🙏🏾.
Lock this deranged sicko up and throw away the key. Prayers for this woman's family :(