NYC subway system

[NCteacherlovescruising]

I was just talking to my bother, who lived in New York for several years, and worked in Manhattan. He told me not to take the subway because it is dangerous. Is this true?  He said he rode it when he was young, but wouldn’t ride it now. He also said that sometimes they shove people on the tracks. 😧 Is the subway as dangerous as he’s making it sound?

[skrufy]

11 minutes ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

I was just talking to my bother, who lived in New York for several years, and worked in Manhattan. He told me not to take the subway because it is dangerous. Is this true?  He said he rode it when he was young, but wouldn’t ride it now. He also said that sometimes they shove people on the tracks. 😧 Is the subway as dangerous as he’s making it sound?

The subway system is safe. Stay back from the tracks until the train pulls into the station and you will be fine.  

[cft8]

I was just in NYC for the first time in probably 20 years. We took the subway and never felt unsafe. Retuning from the theater late at night, we took a cab, but that was more a function of being tired and wanting door-to-door service than feeling the subway was unsafe. 

[njhorseman]

55 minutes ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

I was just talking to my bother, who lived in New York for several years, and worked in Manhattan. He told me not to take the subway because it is dangerous. Is this true?  He said he rode it when he was young, but wouldn’t ride it now. He also said that sometimes they shove people on the tracks. 😧 Is the subway as dangerous as he’s making it sound?

No. I was born and raised in NY City, as was my wife. If anything the subways are safer today than they were 50 years ago.. and even 50 years ago I would ride the subway at all hours of the night traveling to and from my wife's ( at that time my girlfriend's) home.

Edited August 8, 2019 by njhorseman

[Noxequifans]

In general I consider the subways here safe. But I always practice situational awareness when riding. Sadly, there is an increase in homeless on the trains and in the stations. There doesn’t seem to be any real effort by the authorities to relieve this. 

[George C]

In general they are safe , but depends on time of day and neighborhood you are traveling thru . 

[NCteacherlovescruising]

Thanks!  You all have made me feel better. 

[hallux]

As a non-resident of NYC I've felt perfectly safe riding the subway at night.  Of course - I've had prior experience riding the subway.  I actually very much enjoy it when I get down there and make my way around using the subway.

[mking8288]

We native New Yorkers ride it on a regular basis when we do, along with others (subways & transit buses): 5 million people on a weekday and 2 million on weekends.   There just aren't enough Uber, taxi, car service and Citi bikes to go around ... 

 

I still remember the JFK Airport Train on the "A" line from midtown Manhattan back in the 1970's - rode it myself with luggage, for the cost of a token ride then & free transfers to all the airline terminals, might've been 75 cents then ... pioneering the way for today's JFK AirTrain but only go to Jamaica's transit hub and Howard Beach's A line station.  

[Noxequifans]

1 hour ago, mking8288 said:

We native New Yorkers ride it on a regular basis when we do, along with others (subways & transit buses): 5 million people on a weekday and 2 million on weekends.   There just aren't enough Uber, taxi, car service and Citi bikes to go around ... 

 

I still remember the JFK Airport Train on the "A" line from midtown Manhattan back in the 1970's - rode it myself with luggage, for the cost of a token ride then & free transfers to all the airline terminals, might've been 75 cents then ... pioneering the way for today's JFK AirTrain but only go to Jamaica's transit hub and Howard Beach's A line station.  

 

I rode the JFK Airport train occasionally. But, if I had heavy luggage, the stairway at Howard Beach Station was a bit too much.

[lenquixote66]

On 8/8/2019 at 12:46 PM, NCteacherlovescruising said:

I was just talking to my bother, who lived in New York for several years, and worked in Manhattan. He told me not to take the subway because it is dangerous. Is this true?  He said he rode it when he was young, but wouldn’t ride it now. He also said that sometimes they shove people on the tracks. 😧 Is the subway as dangerous as he’s making it sound?

I lived in NYC nearly my entire life. I have not been on a subway since 1990 because I was mugged many times. I am 6’5 and not an easy prey.

 

[NCteacherlovescruising]

7 minutes ago, lenquixote66 said:

I lived in NYC nearly my entire life. I have not been on a subway since 1990 because I was mugged many times. I am 6’5 and not an easy prey.

 

 

😮

[lenquixote66]

On 8/8/2019 at 1:38 PM, njhorseman said:

No. I was born and raised in NY City, as was my wife. If anything the subways are safer today than they were 50 years ago.. and even 50 years ago I would ride the subway at all hours of the night traveling to and from my wife's ( at that time my girlfriend's) home.

In 1969 I would never ride a train after 11 AM . The last time I felt safe to travel by train at any hour of the night was 1965.I would like to add that unlike the thousands of people who left NYC in the 70’s,80’s and 90’s for NJ ,Li or Westchester I lived in Brooklyn till 2003.

[George C]

11 hours ago, lenquixote66 said:

I lived in NYC nearly my entire life. I have not been on a subway since 1990 because I was mugged many times. I am 6’5 and not an easy prey.

 

Never got mugged , same size , well over 200lb but just before moving to Texas in 1982 , but about 2 am I was coming home , I worked night shift in IT, somebody was chasing another when they got to my car , then guy broke a bottle and slashed other guy , I stood up and guy ran out of subway car, luckily guy was not hurt bad. Always carried a knife. 

[njhorseman]

13 hours ago, lenquixote66 said:

In 1969 I would never ride a train after 11 AM . The last time I felt safe to travel by train at any hour of the night was 1965.I would like to add that unlike the thousands of people who left NYC in the 70’s,80’s and 90’s for NJ ,Li or Westchester I lived in Brooklyn till 2003.

My point was that it's safer now than it was in 1969, and back then I used to ride late at night through a couple of tough neighborhoods without ever encountering a problem. The poster to whom I was responding needs to know how it is now.

 

As one of those who moved to the suburbs in the 70's  the decision to do that had nothing to do with any fears of the city being unsafe. My wife and I both got jobs in New Jersey so it didn't make any sense to commute from New Jersey from Brooklyn, where we were living at the time. Better jobs precipitated the move, nothing else. To this day we talk about how nice it would be to live in Manhattan, but real estate prices are outrageous, so it's not going to happen.

[lenquixote66]

6 minutes ago, njhorseman said:

My point was that it's safer now than it was in 1969, and back then I used to ride late at night through a couple of tough neighborhoods without ever encountering a problem. The poster to whom I was responding needs to know how it is now.

 

As one of those who moved to the suburbs in the 70's  the decision to do that had nothing to do with any fears of the city being unsafe. My wife and I both got jobs in New Jersey so it didn't make any sense to commute from New Jersey from Brooklyn, where we were living at the time. Better jobs precipitated the move, nothing else. To this day we talk about how nice it would be to live in Manhattan, but real estate prices are outrageous, so it's not going to happen.

How can you say that riding the subway now is better than 1969 ?Maybe for a few stops in Manhattan but would you go to Utica Ave and Eastern Parkway at night and ride to Yankee Stadium ? I doubt that very much.

[lenquixote66]

1 hour ago, George C said:

Never got mugged , same size , well over 200lb but just before moving to Texas in 1982 , but about 2 am I was coming home , I worked night shift in IT, somebody was chasing another when they got to my car , then guy broke a bottle and slashed other guy , I stood up and guy ran out of subway car, luckily guy was not hurt bad. Always carried a knife. 

I was mugged on NYC subway trains by knife,gun and by gangs in the 70’s ,80’s and in 1990.That was it for me .For the next 13 years when I still lived in Brooklyn I took an express bus to work in Manhattan.

[njhorseman]

5 minutes ago, lenquixote66 said:

How can you say that riding the subway now is better than 1969 ?Maybe for a few stops in Manhattan but would you go to Utica Ave and Eastern Parkway at night and ride to Yankee Stadium ? I doubt that very much.

I actually still ride the subway when I'm in the city. I take the subway to Yankee Stadium when I go there, but not from Utica Ave, and Eastern Parkway. My trips to and from my wife's house in the late 60's and early 70's took me through the South Bronx and Harlem...so yes I used to ride in some tough neighborhoods.

 

You apparently haven't ridden the subway since 1990...and I can understand that given what happened to you, but how can you comment on the current safety of the subways when apparently you haven't ridden them for 29 years? 

 

Frankly your comments here are analogous to the incorrect directions you gave on a recent thread for taking a bus from Penn Station to the cruise terminal. If I recall correctly you had last done it something like 46 years ago and maybe they were right then but they were wrong now. I know your intentions are good, but things change over the years and people need current information, not ancient history. 

[lenquixote66]

22 minutes ago, njhorseman said:

I actually still ride the subway when I'm in the city. I take the subway to Yankee Stadium when I go there, but not from Utica Ave, and Eastern Parkway. My trips to and from my wife's house in the late 60's and early 70's took me through the South Bronx and Harlem...so yes I used to ride in some tough neighborhoods.

 

You apparently haven't ridden the subway since 1990...and I can understand that given what happened to you, but how can you comment on the current safety of the subways when apparently you haven't ridden them for 29 years? 

 

Frankly your comments here are analogous to the incorrect directions you gave on a recent thread for taking a bus from Penn Station to the cruise terminal. If I recall correctly you had last done it something like 46 years ago and maybe they were right then but they were wrong now. I know your intentions are good, but things change over the years and people need current information, not ancient history. 

I accept what you are saying but unless you are in law enforcement I cannot believe that any person would take a subway to Yankee Stadium by her or him self. if you are traveling in a group that is understandable.

Let us just end the discussion here. if at sometime we should happen to meet on a cruise we can debate this,okay ?

[George C]

Let me add that riding the subway can be very entertaining, on the same ride , saw blind man begging for money, then he stopped when cop entered the car , a barefooted man in a grey cloak with a 5 foot staff entered yelling repent every few minutes, cop left , then blind guy started begging again. 

[lenquixote66]

1 hour ago, lenquixote66 said:

I accept what you are saying but unless you are in law enforcement I cannot believe that any person would take a subway to Yankee Stadium by her or him self. if you are traveling in a group that is understandable.

Let us just end the discussion here. if at sometime we should happen to meet on a cruise we can debate this,okay ?

One more thing ,can I ask which high school you went to ?I went to Wingate.

[njhorseman]

1 hour ago, lenquixote66 said:

I accept what you are saying but unless you are in law enforcement I cannot believe that any person would take a subway to Yankee Stadium by her or him self. if you are traveling in a group that is understandable.

Let us just end the discussion here. if at sometime we should happen to meet on a cruise we can debate this,okay ?

 

15 minutes ago, lenquixote66 said:

One more thing ,can I ask which high school you went to ?I went to Wingate.

Going to a baseball game is the safest time to ride the subways. Thousands of people doing the same thing you are. The trains are crowded, but very safe. You're traveling with a  built in group...baseball fans.

 

I only lived in Brooklyn as an adult. When in school I lived in Staten Island and graduated from Curtis. Wasn't Wingate  a brand new school when you went there? Curtis opened 115 years ago. Not that I was there for the opening...

[lenquixote66]

3 minutes ago, njhorseman said:

 

Going to a baseball game is the safest time to ride the subways. Thousands of people doing the same thing you are. The trains are crowded, but very safe. You're traveling with a  built in group...baseball fans.

 

I only lived in Brooklyn as an adult. When in school I lived in Staten Island and graduated from Curtis. Wasn't Wingate  a brand new school when you went there? Curtis opened 115 years ago. Not that I was there for the opening...

Wingate opened in 1956.Senator Barbara Boxer is a Wingate grad.

I worked in Staten Island when I was 16 at a day camp on Manor Road.

[njhorseman]

28 minutes ago, lenquixote66 said:

Wingate opened in 1956.Senator Barbara Boxer is a Wingate grad.

I worked in Staten Island when I was 16 at a day camp on Manor Road.

The JCC camp perhaps? I never was a camper or counselor at the camp, but I spent  lot of time at the JCC itself .

[mjkacmom]

My 18 year old would take the subway from a stop close to port Authority to the Bronx by herself, and then back (boyfriend went to Fordham). My DH worked in Manhattan 20 years and took the subway a lot, and everyone I know who goes to yankee games take the subway. NYC is SO much safer than when I was a teen/young adult and would go clubbing. My nieces live in Manhattan (19 and 25) and are constantly taking the subway.