October 26, 2007
Street Cart Robbery Caused 4/5/6 Subway Delay
Ah, some details about the robbery that prompted the 4/5/6 subway lines to be essentially shut down during rush hour. Yesterday, we heard that an armed robbery suspected was in the tunnel between 116th And 125th Street along the Lexington Avenue sign, so NYC Transit shut down power to the line so the police could purse the thief.
The Post reports that a "thug robbed a street-cart food vendor on 116th Street and Lexington Avenue and dashed into the nearby No. 6 station" right before 4PM. Cops did follow him and try to search for him. They even brought in two K9 units!
But the thief still got away - apparently there are "at least three levels of tunnels" in that area. We're pretty sure some straphangers would have gladly joined in the search to track him down - tempers were boiling on those crowded, stalled trains. The unfortunate thing is that it seems some people waiting for trains along the line had no idea there were delays - hey, Transit Authority, we thought you were going to do a better job with alerting people to these issues! We have to credit the conductor on the uptown 6 train we were in (25 minutes to go two stops!) - he told us the police were searching for someone and strongly suggested we take other subway lines if possible.
Photograph of street food cart by neps on Flickr
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Did anyone hear anything about the subway closure at 51st on the 6 line at around 1 am this morning? I was walking at 55th and Lex at 1:40 am and saw police and MTA workers pulling people from the emergency exit in the sidewalk from the train. Someone coming out of the train said they were on the train for 40 minutes waiting to get out because someone jumped on the tracks and commit suicide at the 51st St 6 stop.
Yet, nothing on the news or in the papers about it today...
Trying to alert people? What a joke. Two days now the EV line has been completely stalled out of Queens and they never post a word of alert.
suggested we take other subway lines if possible
Of course, on the East Side "other subway lines" is sort of a contradiction in terms. Except for your great-great-grandchildren, who might get to ride the Second Avenue Subway in their old age.
Gothamist is my mta alert... I'm glad I checked it out right before I left.
What I want to know is: Was the Street Cart Officially Endorsed by Jen Chung??
;)
I don't pretend to know the NYPD's rules of engagement here, but to stop a rush hour subway line for a pushcart robbery? Officials in more suburban settings have instituted commonsense rules regarding police pursuits, weighing the infraction--usually a minor traffic one--against concerns for public safety. One report said frustrated, abandoned passengers were exiting trains on their own. Isn't that a more dangerous a situation than whatever this crook did on his own? Let's have some clarification here, Chief Kelly.
"We're pretty sure some straphangers would have gladly joined in the search to track him down - tempers were boiling on those crowded, stalled trains." So agree with this one. I would have been one of the people to hunt him down considering how angry everyone was. If he went into the tracks, he didn't care to live, so you know what, let the trains keep on rolling.
I was stuck on the 6 train for hours and no clear information on what was going on, just "police investigation". How many times have we heard this before? I think it's great that NYPD is trying to do their job, but it was ludicrous last night. People were pushing and fighting. They should have made the announcement to passengers to find an alternative route instead of letting us get on the train.
Oh, I heard a crystal-clear announcement about the 4 and 6 being down and the 5 running on the West Side... knew immediately what the situation was.
Of course, I was at the 2,3 station at 14th Street, but whatever...
Yes, I do believe Rafiqi's carts are the ones that carry testimonials from, among others, Jen Chung. Here's to the $4 lunch! :-)
But we should add that we don't know if it was a Rafiqi's cart or not that was at the scene of the crime.
Trying to alert people? What a joke.
Most of the time, station workers have no clue what's going on at other stations up and down the line. The MTA's communication system clearly sucks.