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Last Friday, a token booth worker-turned-"subway station agent" was attacked by a rider. Newsday reports:
The unidentified customer was unable to use his MetroCard and asked the clerk, Donald Bucco, to open the gate. After Bucco refused and looked for police, the passenger became enraged and elbowed Bucco in the face, causing him to fall backward into the gate railing. The assailant entered and fled.And this happened at 6:15PM - where there must have been a ton of people! The Transit Workers Union is furious at the MTA, who said Bucco "did not do what he was taught to do" - apparently Bucco "tried to block" the assailant's entry into the system, when, in fact, they are told to let difficult customers pass. Who knew? The TWU says the MTA is playing the "I told you so" card by implying it's only time before there are more incidents, since riders tend to take their rage out on the MTA employees. Well, Gothamist admits to have some screaming matches the employees, but that's because the fish stinks from the head, as the MTA has some really cockamamie ways of running the system. For its part, the MTA says this is the first incident since many token booths were closed and the employees from the booths were asked to roam the stations to help out straphangers.
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Was this the first incident? Wasn't it a week or two ago that there was another violent encounter between an angry (and possibly mentally disturbed) rider and a "subway station agent"? I remember she was able to lock herself in the booth. Whether or not it was the first, it surely won't be the last.
Sad to say, but there are many token booth clerks that I would love to assault.
I recently suffered from eleven or so repetitions of "swipe card again at this turnstile" and when my card finally registered, 2 fares were deducted. I turned around to see a "station agent" proceed to presumably imitate me, swiping an imaginary metrocard in the air with her tongue hanging out of her mouth. I told the attituded woman 2 fares were taken off, and she said "Too bad. I'm not tryin'a help nobody who swipe too quick."
I hope she's the one who was assaulted, but, somehow, I doubt it.
It sounds terrible, but this makes me giggle...I know that like, as in the case of the NYPD, there ARE good transit agents, but the 25% of the ones who at least deserve a good paddling give everyone a bad name.
Ah yes, the dreaded "SWIPE CARD AGAIN AT THIS TURNSTILE," and the subsequent trudge up the stairs to the next entrance a block away, then the glassy eyed stare from the agent as you say, "The turnstile at the southbound Norman entrance isn't working again," and barely a blip on their radar registers as you attempt again to swipe. I have lost count with how many times this has happened.
Speaking of which, I was TICKETED for swiping in another sad sack with an unlimited card at the Metropolitan stop recently. Swipe-swipe-swipe-swipe...then my turn swipe-swipe-swipe...DING!!! It was late, and the MTA workers cleaning the platform couldn't be bothered to give 2 shits, so I let my fellow unlimited card-carrying friend in with me. A few minutes later a bottom feeder, known in some circles as "undercover transit cop," puffed his chest, and made a to-do of showing his badge to the entire crowd before settling on the two of us. He and the sidekick, both donning bad N'Sync gelled 'dos, were certainly no Johnny Depp and Richard Grieco! They proceeded to admonish us on how we STOLE from the MTA, and I called bullshit, saying we had already paid for as many damn swipes as we wanted. Obviously not listening, he then asked, "do you know how much money the MTA loses every year due to theft?" and I replied, "do you know how much time and energy I've lost to turnstiles that don't function properly?" Then? I shit you not, he adopted his "thug speak," when regurgitating, "Yooou hav' ta take tha up wit da MTA!"
I'm thinking, "holy fucking shit. I pay this guy's salary?"
I smiled and said the whole production was bullshit, and he threatened to send me to jail. I smiled again. I've never been arrested or tickted for anything, and this loser actually thought I was going to whimper? Sorry, I have no fucking respect for douchebags, no matter what kind of a badge they carry. The same goes for incompetent transit workers...they have to earn my respect, by actually exercising common courtesy, and doing their jobs properly.
I also couldn't to help but to wonder why my local precincts don't post their 21 Jump Street brigade to places like the 21 St G stop, where that lady was raped? My tax dollars at work!