Survival Tips

Today’s topic is dedicated to survival tips for riding the subway. Over the years, the subway has been stereotyped both in and outside of New York for being dirty and dangerous, much of that has changed, but much of that is also true. Through this posting, I will show a prospective rider things to look for when riding a subway train to make their ride easier. As a veteran subway rider, I have ridden trains in the best neighborhoods, in the worst neighborhoods, in the middle of the night and the middle of the day, Ive ridden it at all hours. a mugging has been attempted on me, and people have mistaken me for being a prospective mugger or mentally irregular passenger as well, so knowing all of this, I share with you some various knowledge.

The thing we have posted above is a picture of a dirtied graffitied car. This is significant because when one sees one of these, it is a good indicator that the train probably goes through a more unsavory neighborhood. The graffiti is nothing like it was before I was born, entire subway cars are not painted over largely due to the crack downs enforced under Rudy Giuliani’s administration. I personally like the older graffiti that covered an entire subway car because it required real artists to cover the whole thing, markings like this above to me merely are ugly warning signs. Granted more of these cars are present in Brooklyn and Bronx but that’s not to say they wont go through Manhattan or Queens as well. The point of this discussion is merely to illustrate that the more you see markings like these, the more likely the train is to go through a rougher neighborhood.

The next thing I’d like to discuss is whats above, a video of a near empty car. This is significant because on this particular train ride, someone tried to rob me. My guess is because since I was on a car with nearly no one on it that I was isolated and fewer witnesses would be present. A thing I can recommend for passengers is to when on empty cars try not to sit alone as much as that can be done. I say this because isolated people with valuables or who look alone will be targeted if an unsavory looking individual comes on the subway with intent to rob. I was particularly targeted for my cell phone on the J train, I managed to mend off the guy trying to rob me as I made it clear if things went any further, I would strike back with force. I should’ve in retrospect beaten the guy halfway to death as I knew I could’ve taken him but my first instincts were to avoid conflict and protect my property, not so much to defend my pride, this was a mistake on my part. Fortunately I was able to fend the perpetrator off, they got off at the next stop, I stayed on. Other riders might not be as lucky, if a perpetrator tries to come at you, defend yourself to the best of your ability, do not rely on other passengers, do not rely on police, and if you can move closer to a crowded part of the subway. Moving closer to the crowd doesn’t always say retreat, it says you are going where a crowd exists, it tells the prospective criminal that there will be witnesses to any action they attempt on you.

A way to profile passengers on the subway, both good and bad is to look for things in them. You can identify bad passengers by looking to see if they are acting erratically or moving towards you in a suspicious manner. If you are on a relatively empty car, you could be in fact targeted if someone is doing these things. You can identify non-threatening regular commuting passengers by looking for people with their children or other family members, people carrying groceries or other shopping items, or people who are in work clothes (work badge, company uniform, tie, tools, etc). Do not assume nothing can happen to you in the daylight and do not assume bad things only happen on the subway after dark. I was once on a subway in the Bronx after dark because I was passed out from drinking too much and stayed on the train two hours longer than I should have. Nothing happened to me because I was on a crowded train of people coming home from work. The mugging attempt against me happened in Brooklyn on an above ground train in daylight, it happened because the thief saw my phone and thought he could take it from me on an empty train.

If lost on the subway, and you need help finding a particular station, ask one of the above listed good passengers for help. Do not ask anyone in the above listed picture for help, they are tourists as indicated by the map and the luggage who don’t know where they are going. Keep in mind the area you are going to, ask passengers who you hypothesize as locals for help, don’t ask anyone who looks like they are not from the area. Do not ask people with non-New York accents, do not ask people wearing shirts of places that are outside NYC, do not ask people who are reading maps. If passengers are going to work and you can tell, then you can ask them about the line if they appear to at least work somewhere there (ask a expensive suit wearing individual on a train going to wall street for example), but if they appear lost or appear not to be from the area at large, you are wasting your time to ask.

So in conclusion, I can say this, glance at a map when waiting on a train briefly, read the lines on the transfer stops briefly, ask for directions from people who appear to know the area (use your judgement in determining that), do not display large valuables or items that could attract potential thieves. Most robberies are committed unarmed and over items which turn out to be of misdeameanor value (less than $500 if I am not mistaken). Do not carry obvious weapons (no guns or knives, but perhaps a work tool if you know how to use it) on a subway unless you have a permit or license to do so, in New York City, the fascists in City Hall have made it nearly impossible to get the necessary certification. Hold your ground to the best of your ability if you find yourself the victim of a robbery and start moving towards a crowded section of the train because the good passengers on the train will do what they can to assist you and any thief with half a brain knows witnesses mean jail time. Appear to be as street smart as you possibly are, that reduces your risk of being a target. Similarly, ignore the passengers who appear not to be street or what subway smart about New York and the train you are riding. If you have a phone that allows the downloading of the NYCMate application, get it no questions asked, I’ll explain the ins and outs of it on another posting.