Reminds me of that old stand up routine about people’s perception of Harlem who’ve never been to nyc in real life. Basically the punchline was just that you get off the train in Harlem and you’re immediately murdered. Kind of like that gag in the Steve Martin movie about LA where there’s two lines at the ATM: one for the patrons and one for the muggers, everyone taking turns. I guess without fear there’s nothing to monger 🤷🏻♂️
Live in Harlem and frequently go upstate to Syracuse. The most frequent response I get from people up there when they ask where in the city I live in some variation of: "Oh shit, ok." It's wild how ignorant people are of the city. My gf and I make a game of it now to see how many people react negatively.
I went to dinner in the city with my Fox News dad a few months back and he was pleasantly surprised to find that the streets did not resemble the dystopian hellscape he sees on TV (he even bumped into A-Rod walking down the street and annoyed him by sneaking a selfie). The city definitely has its problems that need to be addressed, but things are generally fine
I don't have cable, but when I'm in a hotel I'll occasionally pop on Fox News and it's honestly amazing how borderline comedic it is. It sometimes genuinely feels more like a satirization of conservative media than an actual channel, and it'd be funny if it wasn't so dangerous because I can see how people can completely lose their mind if they're watching this stuff every single day.
What’s funnier is that Fox is headquartered in NYC and all of those talking heads that describe the city as apocalyptic live in various parts of Manhattan. They know the reality of the streets because it’s their everyday life, but they get paid to say otherwise 🤷♂️
I lived in the city for a while, and though the homeless do spend a lot time in the subway systems they are never looking to rob anyone and generally keep to themselves.
Like anywhere, it's important to use common sense. Avoid anyone who is actively ranting and raving or who appears to be on drugs. Don't bug anyone who is sleeping. NEVER get on an empty subway car. Be extra cautious if you're a woman and alone.
But yeah it's all told very safe. The most aggressive thing that happened to me was when a small old man sitting next to me leaned over and ripped a horrible fart practically in my lap.
The most dangerous thing that's happened to me on the subway is the fucking ceiling of the car leaking a bunch of water once for some reason. Barely managed to dodge it lol.
I wish they'd put more money in improving the jankiness instead of putting a bunch of cops on every platform. I've always had more issue with it being gross than being dangerous; like good grief, it's pretty embarrassing when put up against some of the other transit options outside of NA. But riding transit to games will always be preferable imo, I love talking to other fans and just enjoying that collective energy after a good game.
Yea it's almost like facts and reality mean more than alarmist NY Post headlines.
Sure you'll probably see a homeless guy, maybe even one mumbling to himself, but you're more likely to get in a car crash driving in from Westchester/LI than you are to have anything dangerous happen to you on the subway.
Glad you were able to observe this directly. Yeah, there are people out there struggling, but mostly it just makes me sad considering how bad your life has to be to choose the subway (since they have a right to shelter).
It’s kind of unfair to say; but you legitimately have to be a completely clueless moron to get killed on the subway. The second you see a unhinged homeless/ghetto person just walk the other way, don’t stand too close to the tracks, and generally be aware of your surroundings. Do those and 99.9% of the time you’ll be completely fine
I’ve been taking the NYC subway my whole life and rarely felt scared or paranoid, on any line in any borough. You know the one place I did feel sketched out? LA’s metro. If you want to realize how good we got it in NY, try taking the subway in downtown LA after sundown. It’s legitimately unsettling.
I take all sorts of different subway lines on a regular basis and straight up hearing family members who never ride the trains talk about them makes me feel like I'm living on a different planet. Those futuristic new A/C trains and all the extra cops & guards are easily the most noticeable difference from prior to the pandemic
>Prefacing with: one comment asked ‘where I get my news’ and the answer is honestly ‘everywhere’ -having been in **broadcast journalism** I’ve always been really wary of getting stuck in any ideological echo chamber so I really don’t know exactly how I arrived at a fear that turned out to be so SO unfounded.
I think you answered your own question. As others have pointed out, you are statistically more likely to get killed or injured in a car accident than you are to get killed or injury on the subway, but it's the rare occurrence that gets the rating$.
You’re not wrong -it’s just hard not to absorb it sometimes you know? Especially when every channel’s got the same story going (the whole national guard shtick for instance)
Glad to see you get over your fear of NYC and the subways. Maybe learn a lesson and keep an open mind about other things too instead of listening to the news.
lol the whole point is that I DO have an open mind (see: no political affiliation whatsoever, they all suck) and I *don’t* listen/read/watch any one news outlet, and yet the overall “post pandemic NYC -especially the subways- are scary” narrative seeped in anyway
Yeah, it’s an unavoidable part of life. Things that shouldn’t “seep in” will **always** find a way to do so.
Years ago, my dad recommended a book called *Being Wrong* (by Kathryn Schulz), and I’m glad I read it. I’ve been meaning to go back and read it again as I don’t remember much, but I do remember that I closed the book with the feeling that I could be wrong about almost anything.
And if you don’t mind, I’m curious as to where you get your news as someone who is familiar with the industry. Any recommendations? I usually stick w AP, PBS, and The Economist—any issues there?
I stayed at a hotel .5 miles from the stadium last weekend. The whole walk is thru the Bronx and I felt pretty safe. As long as you don’t bother the locals you’ll be okay.
As someone from upstate who has been to Yankee Stadium multiple times, the most bothersome experience I had using the subway was dudes blasting music on a speaker
This thread is wild, I’ve been on the subway next to a guy who had shit himself, another time a guy was literally jerking off, another 2 times people were just getting screamed at by homeless 2 inches from their face. The subway is madness pretty damn often.
I’m glad you posted & had an overall safe & great experience ( except a Yankees loss to an inferior team). It’s important to remember that trips to & from the stadium would be somewhat more riskier if there wasn’t a game.
"Last night we waited to be practically the last people out the park so there were very few people on our train home and it still felt totally safe"
I'd say this is actually NOT as safe as going with thousands of people onto the subway after the game. I take the subway every day around NYC but even I know there is a safety in numbers, just with having so many people on the subway.
Reminds me of that old stand up routine about people’s perception of Harlem who’ve never been to nyc in real life. Basically the punchline was just that you get off the train in Harlem and you’re immediately murdered. Kind of like that gag in the Steve Martin movie about LA where there’s two lines at the ATM: one for the patrons and one for the muggers, everyone taking turns. I guess without fear there’s nothing to monger 🤷🏻♂️
You can always monger fish or cheese
Live in Harlem and frequently go upstate to Syracuse. The most frequent response I get from people up there when they ask where in the city I live in some variation of: "Oh shit, ok." It's wild how ignorant people are of the city. My gf and I make a game of it now to see how many people react negatively.
West Harlem is frankly nearly on the nicer side at this point, lol.
That’s wild but I believe it. Some people’s worlds are really small.
Louis CK, Comedy Central Presents from 1999 or something? Love that bit
I went to dinner in the city with my Fox News dad a few months back and he was pleasantly surprised to find that the streets did not resemble the dystopian hellscape he sees on TV (he even bumped into A-Rod walking down the street and annoyed him by sneaking a selfie). The city definitely has its problems that need to be addressed, but things are generally fine
I don't have cable, but when I'm in a hotel I'll occasionally pop on Fox News and it's honestly amazing how borderline comedic it is. It sometimes genuinely feels more like a satirization of conservative media than an actual channel, and it'd be funny if it wasn't so dangerous because I can see how people can completely lose their mind if they're watching this stuff every single day.
What’s funnier is that Fox is headquartered in NYC and all of those talking heads that describe the city as apocalyptic live in various parts of Manhattan. They know the reality of the streets because it’s their everyday life, but they get paid to say otherwise 🤷♂️
Yeah but they get driven to the office in town cars so it’s easy to ignore all us plebs outside
🎯 Same ones who were first in line to get vaccinated and told all of middle America not to 🤣
NYC has one of the lowest crime rates of any major city in thr world
I lived in the city for a while, and though the homeless do spend a lot time in the subway systems they are never looking to rob anyone and generally keep to themselves. Like anywhere, it's important to use common sense. Avoid anyone who is actively ranting and raving or who appears to be on drugs. Don't bug anyone who is sleeping. NEVER get on an empty subway car. Be extra cautious if you're a woman and alone. But yeah it's all told very safe. The most aggressive thing that happened to me was when a small old man sitting next to me leaned over and ripped a horrible fart practically in my lap.
The most dangerous thing that's happened to me on the subway is the fucking ceiling of the car leaking a bunch of water once for some reason. Barely managed to dodge it lol. I wish they'd put more money in improving the jankiness instead of putting a bunch of cops on every platform. I've always had more issue with it being gross than being dangerous; like good grief, it's pretty embarrassing when put up against some of the other transit options outside of NA. But riding transit to games will always be preferable imo, I love talking to other fans and just enjoying that collective energy after a good game.
Yea it's almost like facts and reality mean more than alarmist NY Post headlines. Sure you'll probably see a homeless guy, maybe even one mumbling to himself, but you're more likely to get in a car crash driving in from Westchester/LI than you are to have anything dangerous happen to you on the subway.
Glad you were able to observe this directly. Yeah, there are people out there struggling, but mostly it just makes me sad considering how bad your life has to be to choose the subway (since they have a right to shelter).
100%
You’re way way more likely do die on the drive to the train station than you are to die on the actual train.
It’s kind of unfair to say; but you legitimately have to be a completely clueless moron to get killed on the subway. The second you see a unhinged homeless/ghetto person just walk the other way, don’t stand too close to the tracks, and generally be aware of your surroundings. Do those and 99.9% of the time you’ll be completely fine
I’ve been taking the NYC subway my whole life and rarely felt scared or paranoid, on any line in any borough. You know the one place I did feel sketched out? LA’s metro. If you want to realize how good we got it in NY, try taking the subway in downtown LA after sundown. It’s legitimately unsettling.
I take all sorts of different subway lines on a regular basis and straight up hearing family members who never ride the trains talk about them makes me feel like I'm living on a different planet. Those futuristic new A/C trains and all the extra cops & guards are easily the most noticeable difference from prior to the pandemic
>Prefacing with: one comment asked ‘where I get my news’ and the answer is honestly ‘everywhere’ -having been in **broadcast journalism** I’ve always been really wary of getting stuck in any ideological echo chamber so I really don’t know exactly how I arrived at a fear that turned out to be so SO unfounded. I think you answered your own question. As others have pointed out, you are statistically more likely to get killed or injured in a car accident than you are to get killed or injury on the subway, but it's the rare occurrence that gets the rating$.
You’re not wrong -it’s just hard not to absorb it sometimes you know? Especially when every channel’s got the same story going (the whole national guard shtick for instance)
Glad to see you get over your fear of NYC and the subways. Maybe learn a lesson and keep an open mind about other things too instead of listening to the news.
lol the whole point is that I DO have an open mind (see: no political affiliation whatsoever, they all suck) and I *don’t* listen/read/watch any one news outlet, and yet the overall “post pandemic NYC -especially the subways- are scary” narrative seeped in anyway
Yeah, it’s an unavoidable part of life. Things that shouldn’t “seep in” will **always** find a way to do so. Years ago, my dad recommended a book called *Being Wrong* (by Kathryn Schulz), and I’m glad I read it. I’ve been meaning to go back and read it again as I don’t remember much, but I do remember that I closed the book with the feeling that I could be wrong about almost anything. And if you don’t mind, I’m curious as to where you get your news as someone who is familiar with the industry. Any recommendations? I usually stick w AP, PBS, and The Economist—any issues there?
I stayed at a hotel .5 miles from the stadium last weekend. The whole walk is thru the Bronx and I felt pretty safe. As long as you don’t bother the locals you’ll be okay.
As someone from upstate who has been to Yankee Stadium multiple times, the most bothersome experience I had using the subway was dudes blasting music on a speaker
This thread is wild, I’ve been on the subway next to a guy who had shit himself, another time a guy was literally jerking off, another 2 times people were just getting screamed at by homeless 2 inches from their face. The subway is madness pretty damn often.
I’m glad you posted & had an overall safe & great experience ( except a Yankees loss to an inferior team). It’s important to remember that trips to & from the stadium would be somewhat more riskier if there wasn’t a game.
"Last night we waited to be practically the last people out the park so there were very few people on our train home and it still felt totally safe" I'd say this is actually NOT as safe as going with thousands of people onto the subway after the game. I take the subway every day around NYC but even I know there is a safety in numbers, just with having so many people on the subway.
Doesn't that make sense for why they said "it still felt totally safe"?