Cuomo Climbs Down Onto Filthy Subway Tracks With A Vacuum, Doubles Fines For Littering

[Via Garibaldi 8]

Macho Cuomo Climbs Down Onto Filthy Subway Tracks With A Vacuum, Doubles Fines For Littering

 

BY DAVID COLON IN NEWS ON SEP 7, 2017 2:48 PM

 

 

 

FULLSCREEN

The governor, collecting all of your tweets, while cursing the day he brought WiFi to the subway
(Governor Cuomo's office)

 

 

       

 

 

Governor Cuomo introduced a more expensive fine for littering with a press conference in a subway station last night, in which he demonstrated his hatred for trackbed garbage by climbing down there and vacuuming some of it up himself.

 

An increased focus on littering enforcement was part of MTA Chairman Joe Lhota's plan to improve subway performance, since litter on the tracks is a cause of track fires, which lead to delays which then lead to snide headlines on your favorite websites. Cuomo, on a tour of the subway tracks in Union Square, picked up the trash ball from Lhota and announced that the fine for littering in New York would go from $50 to $100.

 

Introduced as the "Keep it Clean" initiative, a press release from the governor's office said that in addition to the 700 fire-related issues that subway litter causes, it also clogs track drains that are supposed to remove water from the track beds. As that water collects on the tracks, it can damage railroad ties, touch signals and cause them to turn red, and also touch the third rail, potentially causing electric problems and even track fires.

 

"Littering is not only illegal but dangerous and directly causes hundreds of thousands of delays, inconveniencing millions of New Yorkers," Cuomo said in a statement introducing the initiative.

The littering fine will apply statewide and is being done through the state's Department of Environmental Conservation, which the governor said is part of an effort to involve as many state agencies as possible in the subway turnaround effort, according to the Post.

 

In addition to the increase in littering fines, Cuomo announced that the MTA will be sealing up over 4,000 leaks and clearing out street grates, which when clogged wind up pouring water into stations.

When it comes to littering enforcement, public defenders continued to sound the alarm that any crackdown could become another enforcement mechanism that comes down on poor and non-white New Yorkers.

 

"We're all for clean public places and effective mass transit but these initiatives cause concern because they usually end up targeting poor black and brown New Yorkers," Legal Aid spokesperson Redmond Haskins told Gothamist. "Everyone is well familiar with the state of our subway system and the massive investment it needs—this is not the right place to start."

 

A spokesperson for the NYPD told Gothamist that the department had given 83 tickets for littering in the subway so far this year, and that officers have to actually witness the littering in order to write a ticket for it. An MTA spokesperson couldn't confirm to Gothamist whether the Keeping It Clean initiative would involve an increased amount of NYPD officers in the subway. According to the Daily News, the governor said that MTA police and officers with the DEC will assist in the littering enforcement effort (when not discovering basement pools filled with sharks that is).

 

John Raskin, executive director of commuter advocacy group Riders Alliance, argues that the littering initiative is no substitute for a long-term plan to fix the MTA.

 

"Governor Cuomo is right that we should be taking every step possible to reduce delays and improve transit service in the immediate term," Raskin said in a statement. "But that has to be a prelude to a long-term plan, rather than a substitute. We can solve some of the problems with a short-term infusion of money and attention, but it will take billions of dollars and a long-term vision to truly rescue the transit system from its dire position."

 

That plan is in the works, according to Lhota, but won't come until the MTA has awarded winners for the governor's Genius grant competition. At the end of August, the MTA chairman said that he was going through 400 entries in the contest.

 

Sadly, it looks like the horrible deep blue and gold color scheme that's been polluting the eyes of New York City residents on our new MTA buses will not be getting tossed in the trash as part of the cleanup effort.

 

Reporting by Emma Whitford.

Source: http://gothamist.com/2017/09/07/hero_gov_cleans_lazy_deblasios_mess.php#photo-1

 

[Lance]

Cool for him. Andy C can raise the fines for littering to $1,000 if he so desires. If nobody's enforcing the rule, it means very little. Do you really think the people who throw their garbage on the tracks care that the littering fine has doubled? I highly doubt that since they know that nobody cares about trash until the next track fire. Until we really crack down on those that litter in the subway, I don't see this making much difference.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

Cool for him. Andy C can raise the fines for littering to $1,000 if he so desires. If nobody's enforcing the rule, it means very little. Do you really think the people who throw their garbage on the tracks care that the littering fine has doubled? I highly doubt that since they know that nobody cares about trash until the next track fire. Until we really crack down on those that litter in the subway, I don't see this making much difference.

That's the only way things will change because quite frankly I don't see anyone changing their behavior. People who throw their trash on the ground without a thought will continue to do so.  It makes no sense to enforce no littering below ground but not above. I also don't understand the outrage in people complaining about poor people of color being unfairly targeted.  If you don't litter then there's nothing to worry about.  Just a thought. 

[Around the Horn]

Can we take a moment to notice that Cuomo, again, isn't wearing any protective gear?

[Quill Depot]

Is this just positive PR for him doing nothing for the subway in the past six years?

[CenSin]

Is this just positive PR for him doing nothing for the subway in the past six years?

FU[/size]

He probably ordered the trackbed to be “primed” for his arrival. When he showed up, the trackbed was already squeaky clean for his highness. The photographer only had to whip out his pile-of-garbage prop to drop onto the tracks. There’s no protective gear needed when the whole station has been turned into a stage and all the dangerous bits rendered impotent.

[Interested Rider]

Anything for a photo op and the phony media goes along with this charade.

Andrew! You appoint most of the members of the MTA board and you can tell them where to spend the money but what have you done lately except to tell us something we already knew!

By the way, Governor, which one of those useful idiots that sit on the board did not say a word when the garbage cans were removed from the stations and were forced to put them back as it led to an increase in track fires? 

There is a reason that virtually no one trusts any politician and for that reason, the phony media mouthpieces that fawn over every one of your and your political comrades actions and words as it shows how dishonest you and your comrades are when it comes to dealing with the public. 

[B35 via Church]

I'm surprised it wasn't more than doubled..... Regardless, I don't believe for a New York minute that it took this winner this one instance to half-ass appreciate/experience such blue-collar work to be moved enough to increase fines.... Man, f***, out of here....

[QM1to6Ave]

It says MTA Police will help with giving out tickets...does this mean their duties will be expanded to cover the subways?

[SubwayGuy]

This guy is so full of shit it's not even funny.

 

87 tickets for littering this year so far and you think doubling the fine is doing anything? But hey, anything for a good photo op...

[Far Rock Depot]

When a Transit worker gets hit with not having proper PPE should use these pics in their defence. Hell, even WPIX's Greg Mocker wears more PPE than our own Governor. And he's taken Track Safety twice!!!

 

Sent from my LGLS755 using Tapatalk

[Via Garibaldi 8]

When a Transit worker gets hit with not having proper PPE should use these pics in their defence. Hell, even WPIX's Greg Mocker wears more PPE than our own Governor. And he's taken Track Safety twice!!!

 

Sent from my LGLS755 using Tapatalk

It makes sense though.  He even admitted publicly that he drives everywhere, and when I've contacted his office (twice now) trying to get HOV lanes implemented on certain expressways to improve express bus service, my requests have been referred to a big wig at the DOT who basically denies the need for such things when the Deegan and other expressways are like parking lots on a daily basis.  

[N6 Limited]

I'm trying to figure out how this is going to work. In the instances where I've seen riders littering, it was outside of rush hour and no officials around to see it. Unless they have plain clothes officers riding around to catch people? 

 

Is this focused on station littering or Train Car/bus littering as well?

[Porter]

I also don't understand the outrage in people complaining about poor people of color being unfairly targeted.

 

It's as if they believe that poor people of color have some kind of cultural predisposition to littering. Waste receptacles are universal and free, aren't they? Make the fine $1000 and install more cameras and people to monitor them.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

It's as if they believe that poor people of color have some kind of cultural predisposition to littering. Waste receptacles are universal and free, aren't they? Make the fine $1000 and install more cameras and people to monitor them.

That and farebeating.  Every revised fine now targets poor people of color.... It's laughable to say the least.  If the person is green and farebeats or litters well they're getting a ticket.  It make it sound like someone is trying to trick people into things as if they don't have a choice.  They could have a point with the farebeating, but littering... If they don't have enough garbage cans around, I think people of all backgrounds are capable of holding onto their garbage until they find one.  That's exactly what I do.

[quadcorder]

That and farebeating.  Every revised fine now targets poor people of color.... It's laughable to say the least.  If the person is green and farebeats or litters well they're getting a ticket.  It make it sound like someone is trying to trick people into things as if they don't have a choice.  They could have a point with the farebeating, but littering... If they don't have enough garbage cans around, I think people of all backgrounds are capable of holding onto their garbage until they find one.  That's exactly what I do.

In the interest of our having an informed discussion, the accusation is that, due to lax enforcement, and racism/stereotyping/biases of police officers, even though people of color are probably not more likely to litter, they are substantially more likely to be punished for it. Sure - the person littered, they're getting a fine, they deserve that. But on a broader scale, racially selective enforcement can be seen as a tool to pull money from minority communities, and raising fines known to be rarely enforced without putting emphasis on broader enforcement creates a real opportunity for racism.

 

Sure, that doesn't make the fine targeting of minorities, but it does justify people trying to have a discussion about misprioritization and selective enforcement, which are the real issues here.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

In the interest of our having an informed discussion, the accusation is that, due to lax enforcement, and racism/stereotyping/biases of police officers, even though people of color are probably not more likely to litter, they are substantially more likely to be punished for it. Sure - the person littered, they're getting a fine, they deserve that. But on a broader scale, racially selective enforcement can be seen as a tool to pull money from minority communities, and raising fines known to be rarely enforced without putting emphasis on broader enforcement creates a real opportunity for racism.

 

Sure, that doesn't make the fine targeting of minorities, but it does justify people trying to have a discussion about misprioritization and selective enforcement, which are the real issues here.

Well let's be clear.  I see people of all colors littering above ground.  Below ground though things are different.  Some of the litter bugs I see throwing their napkins or what have you on the ground (i.e. White construction workers that are slobs come to mind) likely come in from the suburbs either via car or some other way and not via the subway.   Whenever I've seen littering within the subway system it's usually people of color of various backgrounds and males for the most part doing it, so you could argue that the fine "unfairly" targets men overall, but if they're the ones doing it well, they deserve the fine.

 

The times that I see females involved tends to be women with children of all colors who seem to think that because they have kids, they get a pass. This wasn't on the subway but rather an express bus.  A white lady and her kids were coming back from the Bronx Zoo on the BxM11 bus.  She gets on with this big soda.  I didn't pay attention as to who was doing what with the drink, but she got off by 84th and 5th and just left the drink right on the floor with soda in it. I was furious.  Within no time the soda had spilled over and was now leaking in the back of the bus.  I did the decent thing and took some paper towel I happened to have with me, cleaned up the mess and took the soda off of the bus with me when I got off and disposed of it.  Now I'm bringing this up as an example because I'm willing to bet that you have kids doing this crap too in the subways because they see their parents littering everywhere.  KIds do watch and follow what others do.  I'll never forget as a kid walking with my mother to go shopping and I took a tissue and threw it on the ground after using it.  My mother immediately disciplined me and noted that it wasn't ok to engage in such behavior.  I see kids drop things on the ground just by accident and then look at it because their parents basically don't want them picking up anything that they dropped on the ground, I assume out of concern from them, but then whatever was dropped stays there, so they in a way are taught that it's okay to leave things where you drop them, and this is why I foresee this trash problem on the tracks continuing, no matter what the fine is.  

 

The other thing is will teens doing this also be fined?

[CenSin]

My mom saw this news circulating amongst her friend circle and it had a photo of litter at a train station. Her first remark was: “a lot of black people live there!”

 

My own observation of people who leave garbage on the floors and tracks shows that rather than by race, it is by socioeconomic status that we can profile the kind of people who are most likely to litter. Age is also a factor; young kids of all stripes tend to be slobs. Asians, Hispanics, and Blacks make up a large proportion of the economically disadvantaged so it’s not a stretch to see why the minorities are so vocal against doubling the fines. That should not be a reason for lax enforcement however. If minorities get caught up due to them being more likely to litter, then so be it. To not get caught… don’t litter.