what it's like.

i was just remembering how i dry heaved on the E train this morning, and decided to lazily draft up a message to the MTA. joel wanted me to show it to you:

subject: i'm a human being

question: i take the E every morning (around 7am) from court sq to 42nd street, and i find that there is an unusually high frequency of remnants from overnight homeless passengers. this morning, i literally became nauseous from the sights and smells that greeted me. i guess i just want the MTA to freshen up the trains before the morning rush hour begins, and/or put more effort into preventing passengers from using the restroom in them. the E train is especially bad. just a heads up. thanks!

i sent it. i'll let you know.

UPDATE! response!

Response (Fernando Polanco) - 04/28/2011 02:55 PM

This is in response to your recent e-mail to MTA New York City Transit reporting poor conditions in our subway system.

We regret if you experienced difficulty due to the conditions you reported. Please be assured that customer safety and comfort are New York City Transit’s highest priorities. All subway cars are regularly swept and mopped when trains reach their home terminal points, and more extensive cleaning tasks are performed when trains are returned to the storage yard. There are also signs posted in the subway reminding customers not to litter. Station personnel will continue to regularly inspect our subway cars and take corrective action as necessary to ensure proper conditions. In response to your e-mail, we have referred your comments to our Department of Subways for their review and further appropriate action.

In addition, please note that the MTA New York City Transit is aware of homeless individuals in the subway system and is continuing to work with the Transit Bureau of the New York City Police Department to address this problem. Officers from the Transit Bureau patrol the system at all times, and New York City Transit has an aggressive program to reduce homelessness and panhandling and a public awareness campaign intended to discourage our customers from contributing to panhandlers. In addition, the MTA sponsors a social outreach group called MTA/Connections Outreach that works with homeless people in the subway, identify their problems and directing them to services providing food, shelter and treatment. The New York City Police Department’s Transit Bureau Homeless Outreach Unit and MTA Connections Outreach will be made aware of your concerns and appropriate action will be taken as warranted. If you would like further information regarding this homeless condition or MTA’s Outreach program, please call Cynthia Wilson, Program Manager, MTA Homeless Outreach at 212-878-1076. Please be assured we will continue our efforts to reduce homelessness in the subway and to ensure a proper environment for our customers.

If you have further station-related questions or concerns, we ask that you contact us at (718) 330-1234, from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., seven days a week, regarding this type of issue.

We take the concerns of our customers very seriously and thank you for having taken the time to bring this matter to our attention.

Fernando Polanco
Staff Analyst l

well, that was fast! little do they know, i also take the G, whose terminal station is also court square, and i see them routinely NOT mopping that train. just standing around with mops and making me wait while they chit chat for 10 minutes. but that's ok, because the G(reat) train is adorable and never smelly or dirty and hardly needs cleaning at all! do you know why they call it the G train? because you GET to take it!