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8 hours ago, NBTA said:

Oh man..the A/C/E stop is home to the crackhead exchange. They literally have a booth and a couple of males run it, and every homeless person that's around there gives them money in order for beds or whatever they take in terms of drugs. It's insane.

That is horrible...I'd say I want to see it with my own eyes, but I'll take your word for it LOL

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6 hours ago, QM1to6Ave said:

That is horrible...I'd say I want to see it with my own eyes, but I'll take your word for it LOL

The craziest thing, luckily I was walking by, but I saw a group of crack-heads rob one of the crack-heads, cause the robbie's (person getting robbed) girlfriend wanted to kill him for some odd reason. I thought I seen it all, but that took the cake, and it was in the same block, just across the street.

Edited by NBTA
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Happy New Year to everyone! 

 

Today, may be the only day the overnight 99 routes gets the amount to at least 10 or more due to people walking around Times Square and having no trains going back to the destination. 

Edited by Calvin
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12 minutes ago, Calvin said:

Happy New Year to everyone! 

 

Today, may be the only day the overnight 99 routes gets the amount to at least 10 or more due to people walking around Times Square and having no trains going back to the destination. 

Can't speak about the M99, but the Bx99 and M99 both regularly get loads of 10+ people on a bus. 

 

Edited by BM5 via Woodhaven
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On 12/31/2020 at 4:49 AM, Lawrence St said:

Can I ask why (MTA)never provides express buses as an alternative to subway planned work shutdown? The BxM2 running overnight (or at least every 2 hours overnight) would be a great alternative to the crowded (1) shuttle buses...

Basic reason is the fare difference....

On 12/31/2020 at 5:27 AM, Lex said:

I'm pretty sure this has been asked (in some form) before, and the reasons boil down to radically different fares and a stark difference in frequency.

The BxM2 is a piss-poor alternative to the (1), given where the stops are located and the hills in Riverdale.

It has (I don't feel like searching for posts right now though)...

On 12/31/2020 at 12:03 PM, MHV9218 said:

Yeah, the midtown stuff I find off-putting and frustrating more than worrisome. I gotta say, while we're on this, my winner will always, always be the 125th 4/5/6, street-level at the public outdoor fentanyl clinic that is Lex. I don't even get nervous so much of just stunned, since rules don't apply. There's nothing rational or reasonable about it, no street smarts to apply. Last time I was up there I saw a guy passed out in a pool of his own vomit, and a little baggie of heroin next time him under his leg. He rolled over a little and the guy next to me on the sidewalk ran over, stole the heroin from the guy passed out, and went to the side to go shoot up. NYC – take what you can get!

Definitely weird stuff all around though. I had a guy on Allen Street the other week run up to me holding a bike chain telling me he was gonna beat the shit out of me, middle of the day. I just didn't even look him in the eye and kept walking. Types like that waiting for any interaction, any reason at all to get into something. Keep walking and it mostly works. But still, that shouldn't be happening outside of the wee hours.

That's a street smart tactic.

Anyway, the whole, not looking in the eye thing (at all) I don't bother with anymore; my dis/position with that is, I can't efficiently react to something I can't see.... What I won't do is commence/initiate grilling them though.... You have people that are ignorant to this, but in the streets, there's a difference between the two - a huge one, no matter how sane or batshit whoever it is you're looking at, is....

11 hours ago, Calvin said:

Today, may be the only day the overnight 99 routes gets the amount to at least 10 or more due to people walking around Times Square and having no trains going back to the destination. 

11 hours ago, BM5 via Woodhaven said:

Can't speak about the M99, but the Bx99 and B99 both regularly get loads of 10+ people on a bus.

Yeah, the implication is that those routes are basically carrying air all night & it's simply not the case.

I can speak on all three... In terms of their interborough usages, what I find with the M99 is that outbound buses typically carry less than the B99 & Bx99 from Manhattan, but the odds of seeing an inbound bus SRO or jampacked are a little greater on the M99 than with the B99 or Bx99 (this of which, is due to fleet choice, but w/e)..... In other words, the M99's loads (per trip) isn't as consistent as that of the B99 or Bx99, but it isn't some lo & behold, oh shit, there's 10 people on an M99 type of ordeal... lol....

The phenomenon of people xferring between the M99 & B99 (inbound) is still apparent/noticeable... Something else I find is that there's a greater percentage of B99 & M99 riders that use them within Brooklyn, than that of intraborough usage with the Bx99 within the Bronx.... Intraborough usage within Manhattan goes to the Bx99, AINEC.....

Edited by B35 via Church
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On 12/31/2020 at 5:48 AM, NBTA said:

Oh man..the A/C/E stop is home to the crackhead exchange. They literally have a booth and a couple of males run it, and every homeless person that's around there gives them money in order for beds or whatever they take in terms of drugs. It's insane.

As an everyday commuter of that station, that's quite a stretch....you see more of that happening on the 1/2/3 side(especially by the 33rd Street entrance) than anywhere on the A/C/E side of things. I often come across that booth often(the one along the southbound platform at the 33rd Street entrance/exit) and I never see people in there. The Northbound side, they try to hustle people for $2 swipes but it hardly ever works. Then they go chill on the steps that go between the Amtrak & LIRR concourses.

I've seen them the most along the underpass leading to the LIRR concourse more than anywhere else on the A/C/E Station. The only part of the station where I saw a bed was at the 34th Street Southbound entrance. There's more beds around the 1/2/3 station, and they've set up shop in various areas of that station.

Edited by Cait Sith
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On 12/31/2020 at 5:48 AM, NBTA said:

Oh man..the A/C/E stop is home to the crackhead exchange. They literally have a booth and a couple of males run it, and every homeless person that's around there gives them money in order for beds or whatever they take in terms of drugs. It's insane.

20 minutes ago, Cait Sith said:

As an everyday commuter of that station, that's quite a stretch....you see more of that happening on the 1/2/3 side(especially by the 33rd Street entrance) than anywhere on the A/C/E side of things. I often come across that booth often(the one along the southbound platform at the 33rd Street entrance/exit) and I never see people in there. The Northbound side, they try to hustle people for $2 swipes but it hardly ever works. Then they go chill on the steps that go between the Amtrak & LIRR concourses.

I've seen them the most along the underpass leading to the LIRR concourse more than anywhere else on the A/C/E Station. The only part of the station where I saw a bed was at the 34th Street Southbound entrance. There's more beds around the 1/2/3 station, and they've set up shop in various areas of that station.

The way I see it, both of you are splitting hairs.... The Garment District as a whole, has long gone to the dogs as far as the amount of homeless and/or druggies are concerned.

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Just now, B35 via Church said:

The way I see it, both of you are splitting hairs.... The Garment District as a whole, has long gone to the dogs as far as the amount of homeless and/or druggies are concerned.

Basically. The progression of it in 2020 just made it a lot worse, and more annoying to walk through after 9pm. 7th Avenue is a shitshow. And 8th Avenue has gotten increasingly bad over time too. Herald Square has gotten worse too, but nearly as bad as 7th/8th Avenues.

One of the hotels in the area is also being used as a homeless shelter, I forgot which one, but that's also another contributing factor.

I will say though, in regards to Penn Station in general, I do applaud what the MTA Police does in terms of controlling the homeless people down by the LIRR concourse, they literally kick them out of the concourse. I've been taking LIRR almost regularly now and been seeing it happen more often. Amtrak police just lets them hang around their concourse. But when it comes to the subways, the 1/2/3 station feels more like a disaster zone than the A/C/E side.

I've also started to see them more often on the buses, primarily on the M23 and M34 selects, which has become more of a nuisance lately. I've seen operators try to kick them off at the relief point at 7th/34th but to no avail, some take the buses OOS just for that reason.

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27 minutes ago, Cait Sith said:

Basically. The progression of it in 2020 just made it a lot worse, and more annoying to walk through after 9pm. 7th Avenue is a shitshow. And 8th Avenue has gotten increasingly bad over time too. Herald Square has gotten worse too, but nearly as bad as 7th/8th Avenues.

One of the hotels in the area is also being used as a homeless shelter, I forgot which one, but that's also another contributing factor.

I will say though, in regards to Penn Station in general, I do applaud what the MTA Police does in terms of controlling the homeless people down by the LIRR concourse, they literally kick them out of the concourse. I've been taking LIRR almost regularly now and been seeing it happen more often. Amtrak police just lets them hang around their concourse. But when it comes to the subways, the 1/2/3 station feels more like a disaster zone than the A/C/E side.

I've also started to see them more often on the buses, primarily on the M23 and M34 selects, which has become more of a nuisance lately. I've seen operators try to kick them off at the relief point at 7th/34th but to no avail, some take the buses OOS just for that reason.

Oh, It's not just one, bro..... There are several hotels in the Garment District that's serving as homeless shelters - So much so, that NY1 did a whole story on it....

While what you're saying is true in regards to the diligent, laudable efforts with TA police keeping the poverty-struck up out of the terminal itself (I've seen it occur myself/also), all it's really resulting in is a dispersal of them throughout the neighborhood... Herald Square has gotten ex-po-nentially worse over a short period of time..... But yeah, although this particular concentration I'm about to mention is not high (but growing), some of them have set up shop as far north as Columbus Circle... Before the fact, you never really saw them north of like, the high W 40's (streets); at least I didn't.... Regardless, it's sad & disgusting shit all the way around; I'm not solely talking about disgusting from a tangible vantage point either.....

Edited by B35 via Church
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2 hours ago, Cait Sith said:

Basically. The progression of it in 2020 just made it a lot worse, and more annoying to walk through after 9pm. 7th Avenue is a shitshow. And 8th Avenue has gotten increasingly bad over time too. Herald Square has gotten worse too, but nearly as bad as 7th/8th Avenues.

One of the hotels in the area is also being used as a homeless shelter, I forgot which one, but that's also another contributing factor.

I will say though, in regards to Penn Station in general, I do applaud what the MTA Police does in terms of controlling the homeless people down by the LIRR concourse, they literally kick them out of the concourse. I've been taking LIRR almost regularly now and been seeing it happen more often. Amtrak police just lets them hang around their concourse. But when it comes to the subways, the 1/2/3 station feels more like a disaster zone than the A/C/E side.

I've also started to see them more often on the buses, primarily on the M23 and M34 selects, which has become more of a nuisance lately. I've seen operators try to kick them off at the relief point at 7th/34th but to no avail, some take the buses OOS just for that reason.

 

1 hour ago, B35 via Church said:

Oh, It's not just one, bro..... There are several hotels in the Garment District that's serving as homeless shelters - So much so, that NY1 did a whole story on it....

While what you're saying is true in regards to the diligent, laudable efforts with TA police keeping the poverty-struck up out of the terminal itself (I've seen it occur myself/also), all it's really resulting in is a dispersal of them throughout the neighborhood... Herald Square has gotten ex-po-nentially worse over a short period of time..... But yeah, although this particular concentration I'm about to mention is not high (but growing), some of them have set up shop as far north as Columbus Circle... Before the fact, you never really saw them north of like, the high W 40's (streets); at least I didn't.... Regardless, it's sad & disgusting shit all the way around; I'm not solely talking about disgusting from a tangible vantage point either.....

This is de Blasio's way of addressing the homeless crisis, but hey New Yorkers voted for "progressive policies", so now they're getting them. lol Let's not forget the skyrocketing shootings now too...

Edited by Via Garibaldi 8
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3 hours ago, Cait Sith said:

As an everyday commuter of that station, that's quite a stretch....you see more of that happening on the 1/2/3 side(especially by the 33rd Street entrance) than anywhere on the A/C/E side of things. I often come across that booth often(the one along the southbound platform at the 33rd Street entrance/exit) and I never see people in there. The Northbound side, they try to hustle people for $2 swipes but it hardly ever works. Then they go chill on the steps that go between the Amtrak & LIRR concourses.

I've seen them the most along the underpass leading to the LIRR concourse more than anywhere else on the A/C/E Station. The only part of the station where I saw a bed was at the 34th Street Southbound entrance. There's more beds around the 1/2/3 station, and they've set up shop in various areas of that station.

I never even see NYPD in that station, perhaps there's a way to put in a complaint via 311 or something to get more police presence in the 1/2/3 side

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Just gonna leave this here. 2020's crime wave was caused by covid and the economic desolation + overturning of normal society. It has been national, irrespective of party lines, and many cities had it far worse than New York. Here's hoping for a return to normal in all regards in 2021. No more to add to this conversation until we get back to the bus/subway system.

 

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47 minutes ago, QM1to6Ave said:

I never even see NYPD in that station, perhaps there's a way to put in a complaint via 311 or something to get more police presence in the 1/2/3 side

lol Good luck with that. People wanted to defund the police and are down on the police, so there you have it. No law and order...

Amazing where this City was and where it is now. Rapidly decaying. Streets OVERFLOWING with garbage and FILTHY. That's COVID too...All of it. lol The City can't even properly pave the damn streets. Everything is being done half @ssed.

Edited by Via Garibaldi 8
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51 minutes ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

Yup, blame everything on COVID, even though homelessness was already increasing here under de Blasio well before COVID. <_<

For many, COVID was the tipping point. Also, for as much as de Blasio is to blame for the current homelessness crisis, it certainly wasn't singlehandedly because of anything he did. For as long as I've been alive (and probably longer, considering that Reagan was in office during most of the 1980s and he clearly had substantial influence, given the fact that Rudy Giuliani somehow became mayor the year before I was born), we've had underlying issues that were not being addressed. All COVID did was amplify the failures of our current systems.

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5 minutes ago, Lex said:

For many, COVID was the tipping point. Also, for as much as de Blasio is to blame for the current homelessness crisis, it certainly wasn't singlehandedly because of anything he did. For as long as I've been alive (and probably longer, considering that Reagan was in office during most of the 1980s and he clearly had substantial influence, given the fact that Rudy Giuliani somehow became mayor the year before I was born), we've had underlying issues that were not being addressed. All COVID did was amplify the failures of our current systems.

Listen, he ran on the idea of addressing homelessness, and making the City a more "level playing field". Instead, he's been spending his two terms in office in bed with the developers lining his pockets. Under his watch, the homeless problem has only worsened, and is at critical levels. We have over 70,000 homeless people now, many of them families, including kids. This is on him. This is his second term in office, so he can't blame anyone else. He's had time to implement his plans. The City has spent BILLIONS on the homeless. Housing them in hotels is not exactly cheap, yet every time I'm in the City and walking from my office to the express bus to go home, I see blocks where people are lining up for the night to sleep. When you consider the kind of money the City is spending to house the homeless, in addition to "Thrive", another program that has FAILED  (hundreds of millions spent for the mentally ill and nothing to show for it), I'd say his two terms in office have been a joke. The first term hid a lot of the issues that are out of control now because the City's coffers were flush with cash from things like tourism and other revenue generators, but crime has skyrocketed. Many of the homeless we see have mental issues that are not being treated, and the fact of the matter is he has had a laissez-faire attitude about everything, and he is driving people with money OUT of the City, and they are leaving and taking their money and tax dollars with them, something the City sorely needs right now with all of the social programs it needs to fund.

This City is a mess, and that includes our transit system. With the increase in crime, even if we take care of COVID, people won't want to return to use the buses and subways. A few months ago, a shirtless homeless man boarded a BxM9 express bus and passed out on the floor in the middle of the bus, apparently high on something, and he isn't the only one that has boarded, not paid, smelled up the bus, etc. Years ago that would never happen. No form of transit is immune to the mess going on in this City. Sadly, I don't see any of these "Progressive" candidates getting tough on crime, and addressing the basics that our City needs, like picking up the damn garbage, paving the streets properly, etc. It is open season now. No policing of anything. Thank God there are some transit advocates out here speaking out to try to keep the system funded and running.

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6 hours ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

This is de Blasio's way of addressing the homeless crisis, but hey New Yorkers voted for "progressive policies", so now they're getting them

I know a lot of progressives, and all of them hate de Blasio because like you said, his administration is a failure. No one likes de Blasio, and it's not about their ideology either.

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