Before leaving San Antonio I sold my beautiful wonderful Jetta. The Jetta was the car I chose to purchase after my poor Chevy Cavalier was destroyed in the accident. It took me hours in the hospital and on my grandma's couch to choose the Jetta. Selling it was sad-
In New York most people don't have cars. Instead we rely on the subway or the "train" as it is called. We live between 2 different sub stops. One only a few blocks away in an area that I feel comfortable in during the day but try to avoid at night and another station that is further away but right next to the university. These stations are only a few blocks away from each other but they are remarkably different.
The one near Columbia is kept very clean. They power wash it almost every night, including the stairs. There is a nice pattern on the walls in tile and all the turnstiles work. You very rarely see police officers inside the station but once you walk up the stairs there are always a few Columbia officers standing around.
The one in Harlem is not kept very clean. The walls are dirty and without embellishment. Some of the turnstiles don't work and there is always trash on the floor and spilled drinks laying around. Every morning there are police officers all over the station conducting random bag checks. It often smells like spoiled food or pee.
Just a side note- I've never been asked to stop and have my bag checked.
The largest difference between these stations are the patrons. At the Columbia station most of the people on the train are young, fashionably dressed in Ann Taylor and Hugo Boss and white or asian. At the Harlem station most of the people on the train are older, dressed for physical work and black or latino. The difference in maintenance could perhaps be explained if the city area around the subway pays for the maintenance. However, if the main city offices pay for the maintenance for all of the subway stations then I am afraid that there is racism/ class-ism/ money-ism going on.
The rest of the subway lines I frequent are in a similar position. I have noticed (since working in theatre gives you the opportunity to witness late night activities at the usually busy infrastructure locations) that "tourist areas" like 42nd street or grand central get scrubbed/ power washed/ bleached almost every night. Stations that are located on the edges of the main city areas tend to get washed once a week or so but stations that are located where the tourists don't usually go or are not on the famous "yuppie station list" tend to miss out on the scrubbing the washing and the bleaching.
In New York most people don't have cars. Instead we rely on the subway or the "train" as it is called. We live between 2 different sub stops. One only a few blocks away in an area that I feel comfortable in during the day but try to avoid at night and another station that is further away but right next to the university. These stations are only a few blocks away from each other but they are remarkably different.
The one near Columbia is kept very clean. They power wash it almost every night, including the stairs. There is a nice pattern on the walls in tile and all the turnstiles work. You very rarely see police officers inside the station but once you walk up the stairs there are always a few Columbia officers standing around.
The one in Harlem is not kept very clean. The walls are dirty and without embellishment. Some of the turnstiles don't work and there is always trash on the floor and spilled drinks laying around. Every morning there are police officers all over the station conducting random bag checks. It often smells like spoiled food or pee.
Just a side note- I've never been asked to stop and have my bag checked.
The largest difference between these stations are the patrons. At the Columbia station most of the people on the train are young, fashionably dressed in Ann Taylor and Hugo Boss and white or asian. At the Harlem station most of the people on the train are older, dressed for physical work and black or latino. The difference in maintenance could perhaps be explained if the city area around the subway pays for the maintenance. However, if the main city offices pay for the maintenance for all of the subway stations then I am afraid that there is racism/ class-ism/ money-ism going on.
The rest of the subway lines I frequent are in a similar position. I have noticed (since working in theatre gives you the opportunity to witness late night activities at the usually busy infrastructure locations) that "tourist areas" like 42nd street or grand central get scrubbed/ power washed/ bleached almost every night. Stations that are located on the edges of the main city areas tend to get washed once a week or so but stations that are located where the tourists don't usually go or are not on the famous "yuppie station list" tend to miss out on the scrubbing the washing and the bleaching.That seems unfair to me.
Onward and Upward
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