Subway Flashers Beware (Part II?)
This time I'm talking about all those people that like to take pictures in the subway using a camera with a flash! You know who you are. Most people taking photographs are tourists. Some people are professional photographers and a few are locals just having a fun day/night out. The MTA has recently allowed picture taking and filming with some restrictions. One of them is the use of a flash.
Using a flash in the subway is strictly prohibited. Can anyone guess why? If you take a picture of a train coming into the station and you use a flash, think about what you just did to the train operator looking for the mark to stop the train at. The train operator will be temporarily blinded! This leads to a variety of possible problems, some of which would actually endanger peoples' lives. Unfortunately, this is much more common than some would think. I personally know many train operators who have been "flashed" many times in a single day. Most incidents occur on the weekend when the tourists are out in force.
These incidents go mostly unreported (unless something bad, like a missed stop, or passenger injury actually happens). The reason these incidents go unreported is that nothing will be done about it. Since the MTA allows the taking of photographs and video, it is assumed that anything goes by most people. There is no deterrent. The police do not give out fines to anyone taking pictures even if they use a flash.
Is there a solution? The real answer is no. There are some things the MTA can do. Posting easy to understand posters, with basic information about the use of flash in the subway at all entrances would be a start. The same posters could be blown up and adhered to the front of trains (the MTA already uses large stickers of American flags on the sides of trains). One final idea would be to put a large sticker with reflective material (like they have on NYCT safety vests) on the front of trains. This would force any photographs taken to be overexposed and unusable to the photographer. This would eliminate any professionals taking the photographs because they will know that the photographs would be useless. Tourists would eventually get the idea too.
It is unfortunate that the MTA does not try to address this situation at all. The only thing about this subject is buried on one of their website pages under rules of conduct. Having trouble finding it?
Here it is under section
1050.9, Restricted areas and activities, paragraph "c". There isn't even any mention of the use of flashbulbs.
The MTA should have never allowed picture taking in the first place. The old system would have been better if left in place
and enforced. Since the MTA has changed this rule to allow people to take photographs, then educating riders must be a priority. Leveling fines against "violators" would not work, so it is not done. I wouldn't want anyone getting a fine, especially a tourist. Can you imagine tourists traveling to New York, getting a fine for taking pictures and then going back home to tell everyone what experiences they had in New York? Reminding riders about the dangers of flashbulbs is the only method that makes sense. It is common sense to begin with. Remember the last time you went to see some acrobatic show like Cirque du Soleil? (Cirque du Soleil has some awesome shows. I haven't seen
Corteo yet but I have seen many others. You will not be disappointed! See them on
Randall's Island now.) They remind you at the start of every show "NO FLASHBULBS!" They do not want the performers to get hurt. Remember this the next time you are in the subway and want to take a picture of you and your friends.
Subway Flashers Beware! (Part I)
I'm talking about some recent flashers that exposed themselves and had their picture taken by quick thinking women with camera phones! There are some really stupid people that think getting some kind of sick satisfaction by exposing themselves is really fun. Unfortunately for them, there are plenty of cameras watching from every possible angle. There are new cameras being installed every day in nearly every station. There are lots of people with camera phones who are not afraid to use them. There is also a rumor that the next generation trains (coming very soon) will have cameras inside the cars! Big brother is really watching!
The best part is that police are keeping the photos taken of the subway perverts and plan on charging them later on when they do get caught. Police are confident these people will be caught because it is difficult for them to change their deviant behavior. In other words, they will do it again and again until they are finally caught. It's not the worst crime but it is just sad.
There is somewhat of a double standard however, that nobody cares to address. There have been women flashing themselves also. They are the women who like to bare their breasts to train operators and conductors. Most of these women decide to flash the train operators while standing on the platform where the train operator comes to a stop (at the mark where the train must stop). While the train is slowing to a stop, they attempt to distract the train operator and make them miss the mark. This creates an embarrassing situation for the train operator. Does he report it to cover himself for missing the mark by 10 or 20 feet (or more)? Or, does he not say anything and hope for the best? Most flashers go unreported. I personally don't know of anyone actually blowing a station stop completely. Almost all the guys enjoy the show. Is it a double standard? You decide.
Big Brother's Watching (Maybe)
The NYPD may have made a big mistake by reducing manned surveillance at certain key locations. There has been a police officer at entrances to under river tubes for years now. These locations had a live person guarding the tubes 24 hours per day. The police department decided to change their "routine" by removing personnel from these key locations for part of the day and have them "roam" around the system. While it is a good idea to have the police travel around the system, it is imperative to have some presence at under river tubes at all times.
This is not only to act as a deterrent to terrorists but to also act as a safety measure for all riders. A man was recently killed by a G train in an under river tube between the Greenpoint Ave and 21st Street/Van Alst stations. According to witnesses, the man simply wandered into the tube from the Greenpoint station and later hit by a northbound G train. Could this have been prevented? We may never know but an officer manning the post set up at that location would most likely have seen the man. That man would have had a chance.
A bigger concern is the fact that train operators can no longer rely on finding a police officer at these locations in an emergency. If there is an incident happening on a particular train, then there is a good chance that a train operator will be unable to find help there. For example, a southbound E train operating on the local track at 2:30 am has a fight break out and there are weapons (let's say a knife) involved. The train makes a station stop at 36 St. For years the crew on board knew they could go 1 more stop to Queens Plaza and find an officer manning his/her post there. But with the new NYPD policy, there is no longer any certainty of finding anyone there. This is only one example. This situation is much more common than anyone will admit and the public should know that help might be further away than before. Criminals should also note that police may no longer be visible in their usual locations but maybe they should look over their shoulder instead.
