The Joy of Giving Away Free Subway Rides
The Joy of Giving Away Free Subway Rides
Plus, short reviews of Taqueria El Chato, Thea Bakery, and Pastis
Enjoy this free essay on what it means to ride the subway following a major police shooting. Scroll down past the paywall for notes on what to order at El Chato, Thea Bakery, and Pastis
I love stories that pin down what it means to be a New Yorker.
In 1998, Arthur Miller wrote about life in the city before air conditioning, and how sweaty garment workers would scoop up “thick sour cream” with cucumbers on lunch breaks. In 2002, Spike Lee made Ground Zero a supporting character in “25th Hour,” not because it was relevant to the story (it wasn’t), but because the filmmaker wanted to depict the long shadow the attacks cast on everyday New York life. It was cinema as the opposite of escapism.
In 2015, Pete Wells penned an ode to the bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich, correctly arguing that the bodega classic “doesn’t convey status or bragging rights…It is a secret handshake that New Yorkers exchange, not with one another, but with the city.”
I’ve thought about that Wells column a lot. But I’d argue that today, in our economically stratified city, there’s another secret handshake going on in plain site. And that’s helping folks ride the subway, for free.
It’s is an act as native to the New York experience as ordering a hot slice of pizza.
My favorite way to give away a subway ride is by lending a tap or a swipe. This costs $2.90. Though sometimes, folks extend this courtesy in a different manner. Sometimes, folks exit through the emergency gates, letting people slip in from the other side. Now to be clear, some commuters exit like this because it’s the safest and easiest way to get out of a packed station. But the effect is the same; an open gate gives a few people a tiny economic lifeline.
For some, an open gate can mean an extra slice at dinner.
The city doesn’t seem to like this secret handshake.
New York has ramped up its hiring of private security guards to stand in front of the gates. It’s an (absurd) policy that will cost the MTA more than $35 million through next year, The City reports. And NYPD overtime pay for officers in the subway jumped from $4 million in 2022 to $155 million in 2023. The funding coincided with a small drop in major crimes, but: “the most marked effect of adding officers was a skyrocketing number of tickets and arrests for fare evasion,” Gothamist reported.
Imagine how many free subway rides the city could give out for half of those funds.
Last week, the police fired their guns in the subway.
The NYPD pursued a man who jumped the turnstiles, and later, snuck in again through an emergency gate. The police shot him in the stomach after he threatened them with a knife. They also shot a fellow officer. They also shot a 26-year-old woman in the leg; her family tells the NYT she is unable to walk. They also shot a 49-year-old hospital worker in the head; the family says he has suffered brain damage.
Mayor Eric Adams, who looks like the type of guy who would drive a Cybertruck to Bear Mountain before hiking to the summit in a shiny blue suit, praised the officers involved for their “great level of restraint.”
In this case, restraint ended up causing a lot of human suffering. In this case, restraint meant firing deadly weapons at four people after a single fare was evaded. Again, that’s $2.90.
Yes, there are big issues at stake here. Budget shortfalls have put $15 billion of the MTA’s capital projects at risk; fare evasion doesn’t help with this. Though the governor’s decision to shelve congestion pricing arguably set things back further. There’s also something to be said for respect for the rule of law, a lynchpin of our democracy, especially in an era when certain politicians openly flout that norm.
If you ride the subway, you should pay the fare. But forgive me, if you take the subway, you should be able to enjoy your trip without fear of municipal workers shooting at your fellow residents.
New Yorkers helping people slip through the subway gates is a longstanding norm that will outlive any cynical plan to ramp up fare enforcement. I believe that.
Let’s try to understand why New Yorkers do this (while stressing that you shouldn’t do anything that’s illegal).
New Yorkers hold open the emergency gates because New Yorkers are good at heart.
They hold open the gates because there’s something gratifying about a daily act of disobedience doubling as an act of kindness. Because not every New Yorker has the confidence to ask for a swipe or a tap. Because not enough people know about the city’s generous Fair Fares program.
Because New Yorkers know someone in need is not someone to be feared. Let them in.
Because why wouldn’t you help someone catch a train when they can’t find their Metrocard or phone? The next train is 23 minutes from now, lol.
Because leaving through an emergency gate so others can pass through is a quiet act of protest against too many police in the subway. They can’t stop everyone.
Because New Yorkers want to keep the subways safe the same way they keep the city safe: by welcoming more people in. Because New Yorkers want more Jane Jacobs-style eyes on the platform, good people looking out for other good people. So many of us prefer this type of benign security over the kind of ominous chaperoning that comes from armed professionals hanging around.
Because holding open a gate is how New Yorkers pay it forward. We all secretly hope that one day, when we’re on the ropes, someone will open the gate for us too.
Because holding open a door for someone else is one of the first things a young human learns. It’s something so deeply ingrained into society it borders on instinctual. Opening the emergency gate is how New Yorkers apply that basic childhood lesson.
It’s the polite thing to do. Would you close the door on someone?
Because opening up the emergency gate is a modern I ❤️ NY t-shirt. It’s New York’s way of saying: We got your back. Riders and taxpayers will eventually foot the bill for lost fares. So be it. I prefer to pay for someone else’s ride rather than pay for a security guard to stand in front of a gate and keep people from going home to see their families. I rather pay for goodwill than pay for bullets.
It’s Sunday, 22 September 2024 — the first day of autumn — and our fall restaurant season is in full swing! This week, I’m reviewing a few tasty things I tried at Taqueria El Chato (from the Aldama team) and Thea Bakery (by the Theodora crew). And there’s some bonus Pastis lobster material in there too!
Quite a few of you are new to The Lo Times today, I reckon. Welcome! I don’t spend too much time on stories outside of the food and beverage world, but I’ve been noodling on the “subway emergency gate” stuff since before the pandemic, and last week’s shooting jolted my mind out of draft mode. Now you know.
Okay, back to our normal bill of fare.
Notes on Thea, the Pastis Lobster Frites, and…
Three things to try today at Taqueria El Chato
Let’s talk about El Chato’s amazing vampiros, quesadillas, and tacos!!!
