I've been traveling into NYC for book business since 1992. I've been to the city probably 80 times over the decades. In the 1990s, I was heavily coached by New Yorkers about how to travel defensively inside the city. That gave away to a far more peaceful public transit system. These last few years, my journeys in NYC have become fraught again. It might be recency bias but it feels worse now than it did in the 90s. Whenever I'm in the subway now, I find a wall while waiting for trains and stand with my back to it. Nobody can get behind me. I'm also a big guy so I'm not an easy target. But NYC is still an incredible city and retains all of its magic for me!
Please Meghan, I beg you, take an Uber. Send me the receipt.
One thing struck me during the NYPD / Mayor press conference after the healthcare CEO assassination. It was the same day as the Penny verdict. The Mayor, talking about catching the assassin, repeated the line “If you see something, say something … or do something.” And yet nobody asked him about Daniel Penny, who, you know, did something.
Talk about nuance! This is an amazing piece of writing.
Also - you seem good with the A train but for a slight upcharge you can take the Long Island Railroad from Penn Station to Jamaica (Air Train) and avoid part of the slog. There is a mysterious City visit fare on the MTA app that is only about 6 bucks.
I just returned from a trip overseas, where every city we visited (even smaller, regional cities not known to the general US public) had functioning mass transit systems. It indeed feels like a miracle when the sign tells you a bus will arrive at 13 minutes past the hour, and the bus arrives at 13 minutes past the hour.
There was once, tho, when we were at a bus station and confronted by an obviously homeless, mentally ill man. He was asking for money in a language we did not understand, which we did not offer. A few minutes later he became agitated, yelled at us and slammed his hand into a sign post right next to us so hard the sign shook. Thankfully there was a crowd, but it was disconcerting.
The disaffected are not subtle anywhere, it would seem. Certainly not in my university town, where I've witnessed outbursts on the streets in recent months. I feel like this, like all the gender shit and the mass shootings and terrorist attacks and political polarization, is just a symptom of something sinister out there.
Great essay Meghan. Captures it very well. Now when I’m in nyc I mostly citibike. Avoids the subway and is faster and still cheap. Not from jfk though!
Yeah it's terrifying what's been happening. I lived in NYC from 2019-21. During 2019 I rode the subway constantly. But never again once COVID hit. It got bad then but now it sounds far worse. Being pushed onto the tracks is such a classic collective psychological nightmare. The left says these perpetrators need mental health assistance. But as we learned with the Penny scenario, oftentimes they *are* offered help...they just refuse, or go in and out, on and off meds on their own. So unless you want to involuntarily force mentally ill folks into locked wards (which might be a good idea at this point), you're Up Shit Creek.
Meghan, you must have nerves of steel. I haven't been on the NYC subway since 2008 and probably won't be again. I learned a lot from reading your essay. It is truly awful that we can't do something to help these benighted individuals and keep everyone safe.
Since it seems we're establishing our bona fides here, I rode the F train 5 days a week for 13 months back in 2006-2007. (From either Penn Station or Port Authority to Midtown).
Thanks for the nuance and thoughtfulness injected into the discussion.
In the grand scheme of things it probably doesn't mean much but in other discussions I've seen, people with knowledge of self-defense/martial arts (not me) have taken umbrage at the use of the term "chokehold". They assert that Penny used a "submission hold" and that the difference is quite significant, and recognition of that difference possibly played a role in his acquittal.
Anyhow, unless and until we're able to address the mental health/substance abuse crisis, even the best mass transit system is vulnerable. I don't want to return to the days when we involuntarily tossed people into sh*thole asylums without any rights to standard care. But it has become obvious that "community-based treatment", whether voluntary or involuntary, has major holes. There has to be a middle ground somewhere.
I have an opinion but allow me to give my bonafides first; my mother was born and raised in Flushing, Queens. I spent every summer there. I was a skateboarder and by the age of 13 I’d leave my grandmothers house in the morning and not return until evening, skateboarding with my “summer friends” all over Queens. Around age 15 I got the nerve to hop on the 7 train and ride into the city to skate the Brooklyn Banks and other spots from the videos.
I joined the military after I graduated HS (1991) and was stationed at McGuire AFB in NJ, not far from the city. I would drive into the city all the time to see bands.
After leaving the military I rented a room in East NY/Queens boarder in an area called “the hole”. I worked at Sid’s bike shop on 34th st btwn 2&3rd. I did this from approximately 93 to 1999. When I didn’t ride my bike to work I would take the A train.
The city was wild back then. After a couple close calls of getting robbed of my very expensive Cannondale mountain bike i purchased a handgun and carried it every day. Thank god I never had to use it.
I live in Ohio now. I’ve lived here since leaving NYC. I’ve returned to the city over the years. I would go back twice a year at first but the return visits lessened over the years.
My wife and I travel on a motorcycle during the summer months. We’ve been all over the country. A couple years ago we were in the Palisades and decided to swing through the city for old times sake. It is unrecognizable to me now.
We lived in Chicago a couple years ago (wife took a job there). I never left the apartment without my handgun.
The world is a different place now. Even rural Ohio has its crazy people. I know it’s not a popular opinion with a certain segment of the population but I strongly suggest getting a handgun, learning how to use it and keeping it on you whenever you are going somewhere you could potentially need it.
Your safety is your responsibility. It is not to be contracted out to the police or a “Good Samaritan”.
That feeling of amazement and possibility that you're talking about here is perfectly captured in the Le Tigre song My My Metrocard. The song is a propulsive, over-the-top celebration of New York, recommended listening for anyone's first visit, but especially for any young person setting foot in the city for the first time.
I've been traveling into NYC for book business since 1992. I've been to the city probably 80 times over the decades. In the 1990s, I was heavily coached by New Yorkers about how to travel defensively inside the city. That gave away to a far more peaceful public transit system. These last few years, my journeys in NYC have become fraught again. It might be recency bias but it feels worse now than it did in the 90s. Whenever I'm in the subway now, I find a wall while waiting for trains and stand with my back to it. Nobody can get behind me. I'm also a big guy so I'm not an easy target. But NYC is still an incredible city and retains all of its magic for me!
Please Meghan, I beg you, take an Uber. Send me the receipt.
One thing struck me during the NYPD / Mayor press conference after the healthcare CEO assassination. It was the same day as the Penny verdict. The Mayor, talking about catching the assassin, repeated the line “If you see something, say something … or do something.” And yet nobody asked him about Daniel Penny, who, you know, did something.
Haha. I had a similar thought but writers are a different breed
Talk about nuance! This is an amazing piece of writing.
Also - you seem good with the A train but for a slight upcharge you can take the Long Island Railroad from Penn Station to Jamaica (Air Train) and avoid part of the slog. There is a mysterious City visit fare on the MTA app that is only about 6 bucks.
I just returned from a trip overseas, where every city we visited (even smaller, regional cities not known to the general US public) had functioning mass transit systems. It indeed feels like a miracle when the sign tells you a bus will arrive at 13 minutes past the hour, and the bus arrives at 13 minutes past the hour.
There was once, tho, when we were at a bus station and confronted by an obviously homeless, mentally ill man. He was asking for money in a language we did not understand, which we did not offer. A few minutes later he became agitated, yelled at us and slammed his hand into a sign post right next to us so hard the sign shook. Thankfully there was a crowd, but it was disconcerting.
The disaffected are not subtle anywhere, it would seem. Certainly not in my university town, where I've witnessed outbursts on the streets in recent months. I feel like this, like all the gender shit and the mass shootings and terrorist attacks and political polarization, is just a symptom of something sinister out there.
Beautifully written. I ❤️ NY
Great essay Meghan. Captures it very well. Now when I’m in nyc I mostly citibike. Avoids the subway and is faster and still cheap. Not from jfk though!
Yeah it's terrifying what's been happening. I lived in NYC from 2019-21. During 2019 I rode the subway constantly. But never again once COVID hit. It got bad then but now it sounds far worse. Being pushed onto the tracks is such a classic collective psychological nightmare. The left says these perpetrators need mental health assistance. But as we learned with the Penny scenario, oftentimes they *are* offered help...they just refuse, or go in and out, on and off meds on their own. So unless you want to involuntarily force mentally ill folks into locked wards (which might be a good idea at this point), you're Up Shit Creek.
Meghan, you must have nerves of steel. I haven't been on the NYC subway since 2008 and probably won't be again. I learned a lot from reading your essay. It is truly awful that we can't do something to help these benighted individuals and keep everyone safe.
Meghan,
Since it seems we're establishing our bona fides here, I rode the F train 5 days a week for 13 months back in 2006-2007. (From either Penn Station or Port Authority to Midtown).
Thanks for the nuance and thoughtfulness injected into the discussion.
In the grand scheme of things it probably doesn't mean much but in other discussions I've seen, people with knowledge of self-defense/martial arts (not me) have taken umbrage at the use of the term "chokehold". They assert that Penny used a "submission hold" and that the difference is quite significant, and recognition of that difference possibly played a role in his acquittal.
Anyhow, unless and until we're able to address the mental health/substance abuse crisis, even the best mass transit system is vulnerable. I don't want to return to the days when we involuntarily tossed people into sh*thole asylums without any rights to standard care. But it has become obvious that "community-based treatment", whether voluntary or involuntary, has major holes. There has to be a middle ground somewhere.
I have an opinion but allow me to give my bonafides first; my mother was born and raised in Flushing, Queens. I spent every summer there. I was a skateboarder and by the age of 13 I’d leave my grandmothers house in the morning and not return until evening, skateboarding with my “summer friends” all over Queens. Around age 15 I got the nerve to hop on the 7 train and ride into the city to skate the Brooklyn Banks and other spots from the videos.
I joined the military after I graduated HS (1991) and was stationed at McGuire AFB in NJ, not far from the city. I would drive into the city all the time to see bands.
After leaving the military I rented a room in East NY/Queens boarder in an area called “the hole”. I worked at Sid’s bike shop on 34th st btwn 2&3rd. I did this from approximately 93 to 1999. When I didn’t ride my bike to work I would take the A train.
The city was wild back then. After a couple close calls of getting robbed of my very expensive Cannondale mountain bike i purchased a handgun and carried it every day. Thank god I never had to use it.
I live in Ohio now. I’ve lived here since leaving NYC. I’ve returned to the city over the years. I would go back twice a year at first but the return visits lessened over the years.
My wife and I travel on a motorcycle during the summer months. We’ve been all over the country. A couple years ago we were in the Palisades and decided to swing through the city for old times sake. It is unrecognizable to me now.
We lived in Chicago a couple years ago (wife took a job there). I never left the apartment without my handgun.
The world is a different place now. Even rural Ohio has its crazy people. I know it’s not a popular opinion with a certain segment of the population but I strongly suggest getting a handgun, learning how to use it and keeping it on you whenever you are going somewhere you could potentially need it.
Your safety is your responsibility. It is not to be contracted out to the police or a “Good Samaritan”.
That feeling of amazement and possibility that you're talking about here is perfectly captured in the Le Tigre song My My Metrocard. The song is a propulsive, over-the-top celebration of New York, recommended listening for anyone's first visit, but especially for any young person setting foot in the city for the first time.