Litter is bad, but come on does the MTA make any effort to really keep stations clean? They keep them (generally) clean enough to function but they're still filthy grimey rusty drippy places.

I've seen seated subway riders toss stuff out the doors when they open at a subway stop. I've watched people on the platform routinely toss stuff onto the tracks. For that matter, I've watched them toss stuff onto the sidewalk as they walk along, too -- they don't treat the subway any better than they treat their sidewalks. It's repulsive.

New Yorkers need an education. This is our city, why shit on it that way? They should treat the streets and subway the way they treat their own homes. But then, maybe that's how they treat their homes, too. Who knows!

I've held onto empty candy wrappers and beverage bottles for miles on end until I found proper means of disposal, but people here whine about having to walk to the end of a platform. What a bunch of babies.

I'm pretty sure if the MTA stopped people distributing this trash in their stations they wouldn't have to clear it up. I'm tired of trying to get out of crowded stations at rush hour only to find these a-holes blocking the exists handing out this shit.

But then MTA is still waiting for someone to invent the map, so we can see where the f-ing train is going.

and once again, drchadwick gets the prize for being the being the biggest self-absorbed, narcissistic, a**hole commenter on the blog. Who are you hurting, drchadwick, by leaving your trash? not the MTA - only your fellow transit users. Grow up.

The day they stop playing those damned endless "rules of the subway" recordings on the L is the day I stop deliberately littering on the train.

@dbc:

well that'll certainly reduce any potential for irony.

Who the f raised these people?

New Yorkers.

One man's hood snatching is another man's slumming.

There are usually a bunch of trash cans all over the platform. There is not one on either side like you are claiming. Stop being lazy and walk 20 feet to a trash can. Though I feel like if you leave a paper on the seat someone else might want to read it.

It really pisses me off when I see people throw garbage in the tracks. THE TRACKS ARE NOT A GARBAGE CAN AND PEOPLE WORK DOWN THERE. How would you like it if I went to your job and threw garbage in your work area?

#4 - The L train is crowded because there is an excessive amount of hood snatching going on along that line, the MTA can only do so much. There is a whole city to consider, not just crybaby honkies moving out to bushwick.

@ pelham123:

According to the article, the Gazette is a "car card" or poster, not an actual newspaper to be distributed to passengers.

New Yorkers are absolutely slobs. I can't tell you the number of people I see in a week who throw their trash on the tracks, or leave it lying in cars, or similar. It's digusting and there's no excuse for it beyond laziness. Walk to a friggin trash can, and if that one's full, HOLD ON TO YOUR SHIT until you find an appropriate place to dispose of it.

Personally, I think it should be illegal for AM New York and the other one (forget the name) to give away their free shit at the subway entrances -- partially because of these problems and partially because they slow things down, get in the way, and are generally annoying as hell.

Please.... You can put trash cans up and down the station platforms and people would still throw shit on to the tracks. New Yorkers generally are SLOBS.

People complain about our system being way dirtier than London's; one reason for that is because people in London and other cities don't feel like they have the right to leave their garbage behind when they get off the train/platform.

Another reason is because other systems shut down at night, providing better opportunities for system cleanup. (We tend to take 24/7 service for granted.)

Another reason is because our fares are so cheap, despite 24/7 service and a flat fare to get anywhere in the system. I think people are more willing to accept the fact that the system is dirty if they only pay $2 to use it. People would be less willing to leave a mess behind if fare were as high as they are in London, I think.

I like to put my used Daily News on the edge of the trash can and then take a few steps away and see who picks it up. It's usually some older guy who will circle like a shark once or twice, then glance around and grab it and walk halfway down the platform before he opens it and starts reading.

i hope the MTA keeps track of how many fires and floods are caused by these discarded Gazettes.

The MTA should report the amount of trash they collected in a given week/month/whatever, and following each time interval, penalize all users of the system with a fee surcharge based on how much trash was collected.

I'll bet that people would be more careful with their trash then.

Yes, the MTA needs to provide more recycling and trash receptacles.

And yes, the MTA would probably lie about how much trash they collected just to charge riders more...and still claim a budget deficit.

you all are just full of excuses

pathetic

The worst are the people who chuck the paper, food, chicken bones, etc. under the seat on which they're sitting. Who the f raised these people? I give the stinkeye to anyone I see doing this, but have yet to say "Excuse me, you dropped something under your seat."

I would love to used a recycling bin but on my routes I've never seen any.

Newspapers get recycled anyway, just leave it on your seat as you exit, another passenger will pick it up.