New York City Observation #1
In New York City when the subway doors open a crowd rushes to board the train whether or not there are people waiting to exit. The best that disembarking passengers can hope for is to have half the doorway left clear by those on the platform, who make it very clear with their expressions and postures that it injures them greatly to be forced into this concession. I'm sure people do this in other cities, but I imagine that, like many things, this problem is bigger in New York.
Well now it's spreading. Yesterday I took an elevator downstairs in the office building where I work, and when we reached the ground floor, several passengers squeezed into the elevator before those of us onboard could exit.
I can't wait for this to start happening with taxis.
Comments
That's strange -- I often remark (and did so again this morning) on the amazing fact that subway passengers in NYC don't rush on until pretty much everyone has exited, even at rush hour when everyone's in a hurry. I'm not sure I've ever experienced the scrimmage you describe. Could we be living in parallel cities? The mayor of mine is named Bloomberg...
Posted by: language hat | January 29, 2003 11:36 AM
Your luck has indeed been better than mine. I would guess that 75% of the time when I'm exiting the car that there are people on the platform blocking the exit. They don't always actively move in, but they often do. Almost all of my subway experience consists of rides between midtown, the Village, and lower Manhattan, and it's not usually at rush hour, as I don't commute by subway.
I know that you take the subway more often than I do, so you have the statistical upper hand here. Perhaps people find you more menacing than they find me, or perhaps more sympathetic. Maybe the folks on my trips are just overcaffeinated. Or maybe they're trying to get closer to me--to bask in my reflected frustration, perhaps, or to pick my pockets.
And no, I've never had my pockets picked, or been mugged. Knock on wood (knock-knock-knock).
Posted by: Songdog | January 29, 2003 12:05 PM
Actually, Lanuage Hat looks pretty fierce when he's wearing his Ruskie hat!
Posted by: Bonnie | January 29, 2003 04:07 PM