If you live in my neighborhood and catch the C train to Manhattan from the Clinton & Washington subway station, you will no doubt understand where I’m coming from with this rant. There are 2 entrances to this poor excuse for a station, and whilst one provides ample turnstilage, the other does not… indeed, I’m referring to the Manhattan-bound entrance on Fulton and Washington.
EVERY morning, I find myself at the end of a long line of inane fuckos hysterically taking turns at swiping their MTA cards through the turnstile card scanner, to no avail. They swipe - nothing… swipe, think it has worked only to walk into a rigid turnstile thwacking their knee cap on the steel bars… swipe, nothing - a shake of the head…
[it goes on and on like this for about 5-10 minutes]
I have to admit, although I get frustrated with the endless attempts from my fellow commuters trying to use their 4-year-old, bent and battered MTA cards with no success, this issue should really fall at the feet of the MTA and the City of New York.
For starters, there’s only ONE turnstile at this entrance… which on the occasion when commuters are exiting the platform, we end up waiting for the long line of Brooklyn-bound workers to leave before we can start to make our move…
Secondly, and more importantly, the turnstile card scanner is completely fucked. There was at least 15 people in line this morning, and it happens most days… today turned out to be particularly bullshit in nature as I stood and watched the C train come and go, as some woman was swiping frantically, movements reminiscent of a fiddlers elbow in the midst of a Vivaldi.
[time for action]
I called 311 a few minutes ago in an effort to report this. This has gone on too long and needs taking care of. So, I dialled 311 and after a short period of holding, and a plethora of transit security notices (like random bag searches and what not) I was put through to a lady called Leslie. I explained my plight (and that of my Clinton/Washington travellers) and she promptly told me she would have to direct this to the MTA for action. Leslie was very nice by the way.
About 20 seconds go by and I’m in the MTA’s holding pattern… shit, I thought.. here we go… but to my surprise, I was on hold for only 3 minutes! “Miss McCormack speaking, how may I help?”. Again, I explained what the problem was with my local subway turnstile and she proceeded to take down my information… apparently to substantiate my “claim”… like I’d waste my time fucking complaining about something that didn’t exist. [sheesh]
I asked her if there was anything else she needed from me, and there wasn’t. I asked for a reference number, and they don’t give those out - but what she did tell me was that this will be passed to the station department (at Clinton/Washington) for action who will have an engineer take a look at it.
There was no indication made as to what timescale would be involved, but if I had any questions, I could call the station department directly. With that in mind, I thought I’d share that number with you all, just in case you’re getting pig sick of standing in a freaking line every morning - give the station department hell…
December 5th, 2005 at 6:24 pm
I’ve found that station to be so frustrating. I take the G-train more often (at the Clinton/Washington) but the situation is similar in nature. Still a bunch of daft individuals attempting to swipe repeatedly without success. When you finally get through the bloody turnstiles you find yourself waiting for ‘the G-host train’. When it does arrive you must fight your way into a train unloading a shiteload of Bishop Laughlin cross catholics and at get jostled at the next stop (Fulton) by every high school aged Asian child attending Brooklyn Tech, desperate to get out before the bastard conductor slams the doors shut (prematurely).
I’ve knocked up the MTA this morning about all of these situations, as I am right tired of having this start my day off. Of course-I should watch what I say. Next week there may be a transit strike, and I work in Hoboken!
December 9th, 2005 at 5:01 am
I don’t miss that about C-Hill at all…
Is the “change please” girl aka “the chick who shits on the stairs by the bodega” still there?
December 9th, 2005 at 7:19 pm
you mean on the Brooklyn bound side? not seen a woman, but there’s a guy there every night “collecting” when I get off the train.
December 10th, 2005 at 11:07 pm
Yeah, on the Brooklyn bound side, there used to be this girl that said “Change please” rapid fire… It was funny, sad, but funny nonetheless
December 12th, 2005 at 4:46 pm
As much as I hate the potential privacy issues around RFID cards… the MTA needs to use them for the turnstiles. This would solve the problem of dumbasses keeping old cards with worn out magnetic strips.. and it would prevent turnstiles with dirty magnetic heads. You could basically walk throught the turnstile without taking the card out of your wallet.
December 12th, 2005 at 5:54 pm
I have found swiping back and forth once or twice “clears the swiper” and usually helps the poor souls who are desparately swiping to get the green light. I can only give this advice to those in front of me in that retched line though. I will be calling the number and I am so glad to see there are others out there bringing this to attention.
December 12th, 2005 at 6:39 pm
Yeah, the C train is the worst — I lived in Fort Greene (near Lafayette Ave stop) ten years ago and can still remember the hours I wasted waiting on that stupid platform, watching A train after A train zip by, before I’d give up and walk to Atlantic Ave.
I didn’t know where those A trains were coming from. If I’d known about Stuyvesant Heights then I’d definitely have moved there, and it would have been so cheap!
December 12th, 2005 at 7:08 pm
the A trains come from Bed/Stuy, yes - and I must count about 4 to 1 against the C. Pathetic service, they’re always packed, and ALWAYS bottlenecks between Lafayette and Hoyt/Schermerhorn.
I’m calling the nummber again today - lazy bastards, and they want a freaking pay increase and better benefits? Try working, you bunch of melingering shits.
December 12th, 2005 at 8:26 pm
I think they’re malingerers because they’re poorly paid and poorly treated, and work with old, failing equipment in unsafe conditions, while MTA executives are rolling in dough, selling the MTAs property to crooks for less-than-market value, and generally squandering the company’s resources, rather than investing it in the company itself.
I say give them a raise, cancel the deal with Ratner and sell the yards for true market value, and make everyone happy — maybe then they’ll work harder.
December 12th, 2005 at 8:28 pm
It’s 11 minutes from Utica Ave to Fulton St in Lower Manhattan — I’ve timed it. Too bad houses in Sutyvesant Heights cost so much now!
December 12th, 2005 at 8:29 pm
and there’s that side of the story too, indeed.
I watched a documentary on the MTA workers the other night, Saturday I think, and it detailed the appalling conditions they work in, surrounded by rats and feces all day and night.
I agree with the Ratner comment.
[however...]
Being in recruitment, as I am, I also have to say the following to anyone at the MTA… if you don’t like your fucking job, get another one!
[jesus, fucking whining bastards]
December 12th, 2005 at 8:54 pm
I called the (718) number today, and here’s the skinny:
Spoke with a guy called Mr. Azam who told me that this had indeed been passed onto the Station Manager who has this “complaint” involved in investigation. Apparently they’ve had numerous recent requests that a 2nd turnstile be added to that entrance in an effort to ease up on foot traffic and lines.
I gave my name and cell phone number for the Station Manager to call me directly - he’s on vacation this week by all accounts.
I’ll keep you guys updated. And by all means comment here if you have any luck.
December 12th, 2005 at 10:16 pm
I just heard that female MTA employees don’t get maternity leave — they have to use saved up vacation time. Of course, I can’t imagine it could be healthy for an unborn baby to be exposed to the rank, polluted, toxic environment that is the subway for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, either…
December 12th, 2005 at 11:35 pm
do you have any corroborative proof of this claim? It doesn’t matter of you do as my last statement stands… if you don’t like your job, get a new one!
that’s what I love about this country… freedom of choice my friend… they weren’t strong-armed into their jobs at the MTA, they CHOSE to be part of our fabulous transportation system’s firm with their shit pay and utterly embarassing employee benefits.
December 13th, 2005 at 2:54 am
It’s not like they had the choice between a thrilling, stimulating, and highly-paid career in some other field and this, y’know. Finding a job isn’t easy for most of us.
And I think that point about the maternity leave was in the same documentary referenced above — although a colleague of mine told me it was a documentary specificially focussing on the treatment of women in the MTA.
December 13th, 2005 at 3:48 pm
And there you have it, we touch upon the demographic of the “lesser fortunate”.
I can understand that for some, working for the MTA is more about necessity rather than by choice, but that’s not my point here. We all have a choice in life, and they chose to do what they do… they applied, they interviewed, they took the medicals… now they’re all working in rat infested shit holes and whining about their working conditions.
This is New York City - what did you expect to find in the subway system, Jolly Ranchers for fuck’s sake?
December 14th, 2005 at 2:31 pm
You folks are pathetic! Are we not dependent on the MTA worker to keep the system running for our benefit? If they all chose to work elsewhere, where would that leave you ungrateful idiots? Yes, we all have choices… but are you choosing to use another means of transportation?
December 14th, 2005 at 2:40 pm
if all the current MTA employees quit for other jobs, other people (probably a lot of those out of work right now) would take over those available jobs, and probably be happy to be working. so your point is…?
they threaten to strike every frigging year - bunch of whining fuckers… GET ANOTHER JOB!
and if don’t like what I write about, then kiss my left knacker - it’s my blog, love it or leave.
December 14th, 2005 at 2:58 pm
ooh i saw ur knackers, granted a while back give or take 26 years and not pretty. EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW
Andy