Important Penn Station update
Well, duhhhhh. ;-)
JCSO said:
I'd like to comment here but figure I'd better ask first, is Irony Impairment a prerequisite for posting about posts about escalator etiquette? Do you have to pass a Satire Sequestration Assessment to qualify?
TIA.
I think this may have had more to do with homeless folks camping out there than anything else. A few months ago they started using bollards and ropes to keep people from sitting on the radiators near the windows at the 31st Street entrance/exit, and removing the seating was the next progression in this process.
Shadeaux said:
They even removed the benches from there so that they can cram more people in.
I was hoping they were clearing the area out for demolition.
ligeti said:
I am preparing a new thread about men who run frantically to track numbers the instant they are announced. What are these guys afraid of? They look hysterical and deranged.
I was entertained yesterday evening by a young Asian woman running frantically to the gate for the 5:50 Midtown Direct, blurting "I'm sorry!" every time she bumped or brushed past someone - all 5 minutes before the train was actually scheduled to leave.
Happy to report that the escalator in question is back in business, and full of able-bodied people standing on the left. It's not a ride, people!
This seems like an opportune time to remind the world that it's extremely obnoxious to sit on the outside of a two-seater, blocking an open window seat, or to sprawl out over two seats to make the open seat appear as uninviting as possible.
Vivaldo said:
This seems like an opportune time to remind the world that it's extremely obnoxious to sit on the outside of a two-seater, blocking an open window seat, or to sprawl out over two seats to make the open seat appear as uninviting as possible.
I sit on the outside seat when I am getting off at the first stop, and will continue to do so. I'd rather we shuffle around in the beginning rather than when arriving at the station.
OK, that's interesting to me to hear the other side. But, respectfully, I believe the message you are unintentionally conveying by sitting on the outside is that you feel entitled to getting two seats. Just one commuter's POV.
Red_Barchetta said:
Vivaldo said:
This seems like an opportune time to remind the world that it's extremely obnoxious to sit on the outside of a two-seater, blocking an open window seat, or to sprawl out over two seats to make the open seat appear as uninviting as possible.
I sit on the outside seat when I am getting off at the first stop, and will continue to do so. I'd rather we shuffle around in the beginning rather than when arriving at the station.
Vivaldo said:
OK, that's interesting to me to hear the other side. But, respectfully, I believe the message you are unintentionally conveying by sitting on the outside is that you feel entitled to getting two seats. Just one commuter's POV.
Red_Barchetta said:
Vivaldo said:
This seems like an opportune time to remind the world that it's extremely obnoxious to sit on the outside of a two-seater, blocking an open window seat, or to sprawl out over two seats to make the open seat appear as uninviting as possible.
I sit on the outside seat when I am getting off at the first stop, and will continue to do so. I'd rather we shuffle around in the beginning rather than when arriving at the station.
If someone is getting off at the first stop it is fine. But is certainly not the case for most people who do this, especially in the morning when most people are going to the last and final stop. But even if your reason is because you are getting off first, it is rude to try to block the other seat by putting your stuff on it (another common occurrence) or give a dirty or feigned surprise look when asked to get up to let some one in. On a different but related issue, for train cars with 3 across the middle seat is an actual seat. Do not give me a dirty look if I ask to sit there.
If you're getting off first, why not choose an outside seat next to someone already in the window seat? Instead of an empty seat? Otherwise, everyone knows you're trying to stake out a claim to two seats. No one is fooled by it, it's a well-worn strategy employed almost always by men.
I make a point of bee-lining for any empty seat I believe is being claimed by one of these men. In short, I become a seat-seeking missile when I see men hogging seats.
Red_Barchetta said:
I sit on the outside seat when I am getting off at the first stop, and will continue to do so. I'd rather we shuffle around in the beginning rather than when arriving at the station.
One way or the other, you will probably have to do the shuffle. What is so bad about that. I see it differently. Some prefer an aisle seat, and some prefer a window seat. I don't see taking an aisle seat as taking all seats. I'm fine with asking you to let me climb over you. You want the aisle seat? That's fine. I'll take the window seat happily. Just let me climb over you. Thanks!
ligeti said:I make a point of bee-lining for any empty seat I believe is being claimed by one of these men. In short, I become a seat-seeking missile when I see men hogging seats.
We who cower when confronted by the Scylla and Charybdis of aisle sitters and cargo sprawlers salute your heroic determination to make a point.
I am somewhere between Tom's approach and the ligeti approach, pretty much depending on what kind of day I have had. If it has been a good day, I might just move on down the aisle or politely ask them if I could take the window seat (often saying something like "I get off at Morristown--are you before that?"). If it has been a bad day, I start crawling over them before they have a chance to blink or move their stuff off the other seat.
Tom_Reingold said:
Red_Barchetta said:
I sit on the outside seat when I am getting off at the first stop, and will continue to do so. I'd rather we shuffle around in the beginning rather than when arriving at the station.
One way or the other, you will probably have to do the shuffle. What is so bad about that. I see it differently. Some prefer an aisle seat, and some prefer a window seat. I don't see taking an aisle seat as taking all seats. I'm fine with asking you to let me climb over you. You want the aisle seat? That's fine. I'll take the window seat happily. Just let me climb over you. Thanks!
They have to be trained to consider two basic scenarios:
1. If I hog an extra seat that doesn't belong to me, some a-hole like ligeti will see it and take it.
2. If I politely remain on only my seat, and not on seats belonging to others, there is chance someone might not sit there.
I had heard the delays to repair the escalator were due to the age of the escalator (50+ years old). The style of escalator with no "runway" for the steps to flatten out is apparently no longer popular. Therefore there was an issue with getting parts and it needs a full overhaul. Also, to modernize it they would need space in the basement a tenant is refusing to give up.
Here's a WSJ article with more details:
http://www.wsj.com/articles/fixing-broken-penn-station-escalator-will-take-weeks-1425260829
Edit: punctuation
ligeti said:
If you're getting off first, why not choose an outside seat next to someone already in the window seat? Instead of an empty seat? Otherwise, everyone knows you're trying to stake out a claim to two seats. No one is fooled by it, it's a well-worn strategy employed almost always by men.
I make a point of bee-lining for any empty seat I believe is being claimed by one of these men. In short, I become a seat-seeking missile when I see men hogging seats.
I used to do this, but always felt like I was getting the 'why the hell are you sitting next to me when there are so many other empty seats' vibe from the person in the window seat. I guess you can't win.
Red_Barchetta said:
I guess you can't win.
When Penn Station is involved, any time you leave it you win.
Don't get me wrong ... if the train is empty, everyone should spread out. It's the turds who try and claim two seats on a crowded, standing room-only train that are the issue here. And they are not ashamed of piling their briefcase and other stuff on the empty seat as a warning to others: "My stuff is occupying this second seat. Get lost. You're not sitting here. Go stand somewhere."
ridski said:
Like ligeti, I also like to sit on empty seats. I find the seats with people already in them tend to be lumpy and uncomfortable.
{{chortling helplessly}}
I can't believe the important update wasn't about the removal of all of the seating in the NJT 7th Ave waiting area. Where did all of the seats go? Are they being cleaned or did they think it was too luxurious to give people place to sit?
TigerLilly said:
I can't believe the important update wasn't about the removal of all of the seating in the NJT 7th Ave waiting area. Where did all of the seats go? Are they being cleaned or did they think it was too luxurious to give people place to sit?
I believe that they moved them a little to the West, where the elevators and ticket vending machines are.
So...essentially the seats have been moved to a place where no one waits for a train? (I actually like that there's more space for people to get through to their train as people stand waiting, but find that placement a little weird if that's where they are.)
Steve said:
TigerLilly said:
I can't believe the important update wasn't about the removal of all of the seating in the NJT 7th Ave waiting area. Where did all of the seats go? Are they being cleaned or did they think it was too luxurious to give people place to sit?
I believe that they moved them a little to the West, where the elevators and ticket vending machines are.
What's all this about breasts on escalators?
mfpark said
I hate it when people stand two-abreast on escalators and don't walk up.
TigerLilly said:
I can't believe the important update wasn't about the removal of all of the seating in the NJT 7th Ave waiting area. Where did all of the seats go? Are they being cleaned or did they think it was too luxurious to give people place to sit?
I don't understand why the did this. I see people sitting on the floor now with legs stretched out waiting for their tracks. The people that live in the station are loving the seats by the elevators, they have a shorter walk when they get up to use their bathroom. And this area gets mobbed Fridays with weekenders trying to buy tickets. Doesn't make sense.
Here is where being a procrastinator is an advantage. I time (?!) my arrival so that I'm always running down the stairs at the moment the train goes off the board.
And I always get a seat.
Relaxez-vous, as a Canadian friend likes to say.
They don't know the track until the last minute. Has to do with Amtrak getting priority.