Maybe it was this winter, maybe things are falling apart at the fast rate that things feel like they’re falling apart, but the subway being broken as hell has been a hot topic of late. The 7 train. The L train. Delays from massive overcrowding. Sure we got fancy new manspreading PSAs, but you need a working train before you have a manspreader to roll your eyes at. If you’ve been bitching about the state of your commute lately, we’re not gonna tell you to stop, but we will tell you to tell the Riders Alliance, who’s collecting stories to dump on Governor Cuomo’s doorstep as an argument for fully funding the MTA’s capital plan in this year’s budget.
Word of the effort to both continue bitching and carry out a revolution comes to us from Ditmas Park Corner, who notes that the Riders Alliance will listen to you talk about late, overcrowded and otherwise miserable trains, unlike your boyfriend who only wants to talk about hockey. The point of this is less about venting and more about reminding the Governor that actual real humans are relying on the subway doing things like “running on time” or “running at all.” The Governor, sometimes he forgets this, and we also have a whole cadre of legislators up in Albany who couldn’t care less about New York City.
So, if you’ve got a subway horror story, tell the Riders Alliance by March 20! Just like in the case of deciding the future of Fort Tilden, someone actually wants to listen to you, so take advantage. There’s obviously no guarantee that this manages to get the MTA the entire $32 billion that they say they need, but the Riders Alliance helped bring you a better G train. If they can do that, then all things are possible.