Gothamist: SOS: Secure Our Subways

REALITY CHECK

Mon, 11 Jul 2005 16:01:13 -0500

Sure. Taking out the trash cans will surely foil a determind terrorist. I can picture it now...he runs up to where the trash can used to be with a bomb, and scratches his head in puzzlement. He calls his terrorist pals on his cellular phone and declares, "Erm...there's no trash can here! What am I gonna do? Call the whole operation off! Oh man, the boss is gonna be PISSED when he hears about this."

jt

Mon, 11 Jul 2005 10:23:44 -0500

Clear trash bags make some sense, but doing away with trash cans seems unwise to me. It's reducing overall safety (due to track fires and other problems from trash) in response to the threat of bombs. I don't think its at all clear that bombs are a bigger risk to subways riders or the system than fires.

?

Mon, 11 Jul 2005 09:49:53 -0500

How much money would it cost to do away with the huge, nontransparent trash cans on the platforms? I think that might be a good start and it's LONG overdue. London and Paris have clear bags or no cans at all. Are we too big of slobs to handle the minor inconvenience?

Filmbrain

Mon, 11 Jul 2005 09:49:45 -0500

Jen - Thanks for this post. The MTA is without a doubt one of NYC's sleazier agencies, and more people need to be aware of how little they are actually doing (with our money, no less). They're great at crying when they need more money, but genuinely unconcerned about safety, comfort, convenience, etc. You are not alone in your outrage.

Rocknrope

Mon, 11 Jul 2005 09:09:27 -0500

There was some analysis by "experts" a few years ago who said terrorists would not attack the NY subway system because it doesn't wreak enough havoc to the financial/social infrastructure to be worth it. So much for that theory. I'm pretty much resigned to the fact that the old MTA will be hit at some point in the future, and will be simply a luck of the draw for me. What seems consistent so far is the timing - the WTC attacks commenced around 8:45-8:50am, the London attacks around 8:50am, the Madrid bombings 7:45am. Hopefully avoiding that lethal window reduces the chance of being a statistic.