Gothamist: News Flash: Subway Stations Are Gross

bornbrednewyorker

Sat, 09 Aug 2008 12:23:41 -0500

spiritross what are you smoking? I can't think of a worse public transportation system that right here in NYC. In all of my travels I usually see spotlessly clean systems.

spiritross

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 13:50:46 -0500

And people i'm sure want monkey butlers to serve them drinks on the train too Come on people The trains are the cleanest, fastest safest and most frequent they have ever been sure they aren't perfect but really stop the hate it is the greatest public transportation system in this country be proud of what you got

shovel

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 11:49:16 -0500

Then, as I walked up the steps, some guy turning the corner jumped. Why? A rat was right behind him, which had me doing an instinctive hurdle over it. I'm going to assume you mean one of the exits at Norman. I'm waiting for the day I hear of an accident at Nassau for this very reason; they keep an often overflowing dumpster right next to the NW (?) exit at Norman which often attracts rats (though I often also see them brazenly eating vomit on the stairs in the non-token booth exit at Nassau). Since the train is short, many people end up running to catch the southbound train. You have to be really careful since the rats dart out suddenly from behind the dumpster, and in order to actually board the train you must pass the dumpster.

robingee

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 11:11:16 -0500

Where'd the hairball come from? Hair? Like, from people's heads?

Brooklynbobby

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 10:36:30 -0500

How about getting the token clerks (excuse me, station agents) to clean up once in a while. They don't do anything else.

KiljoyWasHere

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 10:07:53 -0500

Not that it's the worst station by any means, but since mister guy mentioned it, why does the 59th st 4/5 stop always smell so strongly of mold? When the doors to the train open the smell just wafts in. . .

Think twice

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 10:00:28 -0500

Most of those I-beam support columns on the platform have been reduced to rusted gristle held together by twenty layers of lead paint. Yeah, I'd say that's pretty half-assed maintenance.

NYCHotShot

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 09:49:53 -0500

Someone got a lighter? Light that @#*( on fire!

pete

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 00:30:43 -0500

Stations get powerwashed bi-weekly AFAIK. They could do it once every 3 months if you want, or never and just have someone sweep the place once in a while. The gun build up is a benefit, its like getting the concrete patched. When my dad came to america, he said that in 30 years there will be 6 inches of solid gum on the platforms.

Gothamist_Cynic

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 22:57:00 -0500

The MTA needs to have workers cleaning and scrubbing the subways daily like the Japanese do in Tokyo.

eyekantspel

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 22:48:25 -0500

slobbery of the passengers, yes. But let's face facts. Some of those subways haven't been cleaned or properly maintained for YEARS. I blame the TWU. Lazy bastards with no pride in their work.

Kevin Walsh

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 21:24:45 -0500

The MTA should be more diligent about cleaning up, but the sorry state of the subways and LIRR, for that matter, is due to the basic slobbery of the passengers. Eat, drink and urinate when you get home, please? And trash goes in receptacles. www.forgotten-ny.com

Bottomless Chips

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 21:01:13 -0500

The Nassau stop for the G train has almost made me throw up twice this week. Tonight, as I exited the subway car, which was quite clean, I was hit with a strong urine/feces combo smell that gagged me immediately. Then, as I walked up the steps, some guy turning the corner jumped. Why? A rat was right behind him, which had me doing an instinctive hurdle over it. I don't get it. Minimum wage. A couple of hours to clean the smaller stations. Limited skills required. Why can't we get this done?

buzz buzzard

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 20:14:26 -0500

or sewage.

jibbly

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 19:14:58 -0500

I'm with Jen on this one. Millions of people ride the subways, it's going to be sort of gross, but please, PLEASE can they not smell like urine and feces? PRETTY PLEASE?

Jen S

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 19:13:56 -0500

That photo is NSFW.

jambi

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 19:07:36 -0500

The "River of Shit" on the Queens-bound platform of the Greenpoint Ave. G stop gets my vote. It was pretty strong this past winter.

mrguy

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 18:55:37 -0500

the sad thing is, by morning there may be 50+ comments detailing all the ways in which the subway system is disgusting, inefficient and broken ("subway complaints" is one of the four major Gothamist hot button issues, after all), but the fact of the matter is we're just not going to get anything better. who's going to kick ass in albany and get them to give us more money? who's going to put the screws to the MTA? it's really quite sad

vacantlook

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 18:38:37 -0500

There's a crumpled decomposing paper towel on the stairs at the 34th street N/R/Q/W station. I've been watching it slowly wither away since I've been at my current job (4 years now).

blablanyc

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 18:38:33 -0500

Wasn't it NBC that did the study four years ago and found female yeast on the handrails in a subway station?

mrguy

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 18:38:12 -0500

it's a shame they didn't do 59th street on the 4/5/6 lines. That is one of the most decrepit stations in the entire system by all measures, and also one of the most heavily used. Also, 163rd St on the C line is an abomination- there are rats EVERYWHERE (like, on the platform, loping around, even at peak hours) probably due to the fact that there is also litter everywhere, massive puddles of standing water whenever it rains, it stinks, and there is a homeless person who takes a shit in the same spot on a landing in one staircase every day. somebody dumped bleach on the pile of shit yesterday so at least it smelled like bleachy shit instead of just plain old shit, but that appeared to be some vigilante subway maintainence, not the doing of the station people.

GOP

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 18:35:48 -0500

The MTA should prevent people from eating in the system (like DC).

Jen Chung

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 18:32:07 -0500

Much appreciated, RevWaldo! While subway stations are definitely going to have "wear and tear" (and you can go to Moscow or Asia for gleaming stations), I just rather they didn't smell like pee.

RevWaldo

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 18:25:16 -0500

Some stations have systemic cleanliness issues. The Newkirk Ave B/Q station is basically one big pigeon coop, plus water drips in from the street above. The cleaning crew do their best, but it's like holding back the sea. Here's the link to the report. (There, Jen, fixed that for you.)

plk779

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 18:18:33 -0500

Unattached hair is *probably* the creepiest thing ever. And the subways are a mess but still prettier than they used to be.. As long as they run it doesn't bother me too much. If they get too clean, people with complain it's not Real and Gritty enough.