There’s a simple little act of humanity that happens a thousand times a day here in New York, and I honestly believe it keeps this city going. It’s the free subway swipe.
For those outside of New York, here’s how it works. A person who doesn’t have money for a subway ride will wait outside the turnstiles and subtly wave his arm or hand at the passengers coming out of the subway. One of these passengers, having just completed their trip, will then swipe the person into the subway with their unlimited ride metro card. It costs both parties nothing.
It’s a simple act of humanity, and as the owner of an unlimited ride card I oblige whenever I can. How could you say no?
When I look around at cities and wonder how we got here, how they got so expensive? How we got to a place where we’re fighting over bike lanes, parking spaces, and subway fare evaders, I think of the free swipe.
This week, this piece in Harper’s about the costs of living in the Bay Area really landed with me. Partly, because like the writer, I’m a journalist who also got a master’s from UC Berkeley, and I know the East Bay pretty well (used to at least). I also moved to New York to make it in media and longed to head back to SF, I just never actually made the return.
One can’t help pining for the Bay Area. The gravitational pull is so strong, it has been for decades. But it’s a broken place right now, even with the night-blooming jasmine, golden hour light, and incredible people. You just need to get out of the BART on Market to see this, let alone try and find an apartment to live in.
This isn’t to say I don’t love it there. I do and always will.
New York isn’t faring much better. Here we’re in year 20(?) of failing to manage the most basic of city essentials: our subway. A recent article showed how the city’s approach to dealing with a $200m loss of subway fares caused by fare evaders, was to hire $230m worth of cops to bust the turnstile jumpers. That’s New York math people.
When did we decide that city services aren’t meant to serve the people of the city?
If the cops arrest someone for fare evasion and they go to jail (this happens), it costs the city over $2,500. A subway fare is $2.75. More New York math.
There’s a principle of managing drug use called harm reduction. That is basically that we as a society should accept that some sections of the population will use drugs and the best way to deal with it is to reduce the harm created through these activities. Give people clean needles. Provide free rides to drunk drivers. Have medics present at concerts and other places where drugs are consumed. And of course, provide the resources people need to get clean from drugs and alcohol.
We hate this idea here in the U.S. though. We’d rather hire cops to teach a fare evader a lesson, even if it costs more money. We’d rather ticket bicyclists or let them get hit, then build a bike lane. There’s something incredibly vengeful and utterly vexing about this to me.
Of course, I believe we’d all benefit from embracing a broader harm reduction mindset, but I know we won’t anytime soon. For now, we’re best served avoiding the busy streets on our bikes, wearing helmets and swiping fellow riders into the subway whenever we can.
Let it ride,
John
LINKS
A long thoughtful essay about the costs of living in the Bay Area. (Harper’s)
How a floating hotel in Australia ended up in North Korea (Smith Journal)
How Buying Jeans Became a Political Act (GQ)
My Friend Mister Rogers, the story behind the new film is gold. (The Atlantic)
The ethics of fashion in the age of climate change. (Washington Post)
In Norway, bike parking spaces with seat covers. (Twitter)
WATCH
These Petrolicious car films get me almost every time, and this one, about a 1974 Ferrari Dino 246 GTS, doesn’t disappoint.
FOLLOW
The New Yorker Photo Instagram (@newyorkerphoto) has been highlighting the work of Sam Youkilis (@samyoukilis) this week and it’s been fantastic. It’s a lot of food-related videos from around the world as well as whimsical food-related shots of people. Highly recommended.
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