Mind the Gap

"Please stand away from the platform edge, especially as trains are entering and leaving the station," is the audible warning every time we take the subway. There's also an exhausting amount of warnings posted on the platform and inside the train about the dangers of leaning against the doors, the gap between the car and platform, moving from car to car while the train is in motion, and hanging onto the outside of the train when it takes off, an activity termed "subway surfing." Yes, people are that dumb. All these warnings (and common sense) have seemed pointless as the incidents of subway deaths and safety issues have recently increased.

Last night I went to Bourbon Street to say hello to friends and pick up my last paycheck and cash-owed. Good times. The E-train ride home, however, was not. Just one stop from LIC, the conductor announced that we would be experiencing extreme delays due to a broken rail in Queens. Delays are never short and the fact that she used the word "extreme" was all I needed to hear to know I had to find another way home. After making my way up hundreds of feet of escalators, I walked a few blocks west of 3rd Ave to catch the Q32 bus. The traffic was surprisingly light and the bus got me within walking distance of our apartment in about 20 minutes.

Whether they be mental, homeless, or just drunk, we seem to have an abundance of "special" individuals here in NYC. It wouldn't be fair for Jen to be left out of all this fun, so she also got stuck on the subway this week. There was an... interesting situation at a Harlem 4/5/6 train station a few days ago. As you know, Jen works downtown which is (thankfully) a long way from Harlem. But when a death or injury occurs on a train line, it can cause delays on that particular line throughout the entire City until the situation is resolved. NY Magazine details the story below.

Shortly after 4 p.m., the injured mystery-man came climbing up from the tracks to the uptown platform. The man, who the New York Post identified as Manuce Dulcio, 50, had a broken pelvis, a deep cut on his buttocks, and another cut on his leg. He couldn't remember how he'd gotten onto the tracks, or how he was hurt, though cops thought he might have been hit by a train. A source told thePost he was "very intoxicated," which really doesn't come as a big surprise.

Then, a few minutes later, the other man fell off a moving 6-train on which he had been defecating between cars. "The victim, 31, was struck by the 6-train as it was leaving the station," DNAinfo reported, citing NYPD spokesman Paul Browne. "He was pronounced dead at the scene."

But don't worry. You can never be too safe in this crazy city so Jen and I have made a conscious effort to be more careful when heavily intoxicated or defecating between cars.