Did someone just say what we think they just said? That the New York City subways are... wait for it... never cleaned?!
Well, thanks for confirming what every New Yorker who actually rides the subway already knows.
Just recently, New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer released an MTA audit that shows that the Association essentially neglects to clean the subways... ever. (Big shocker, we know.)
According to The Wall Street Journal, the MTA is supposed to clean their subway stations every 3 weeks.
The audit however, found that 97% of the city’s 276 MTA stations are cleaned less frequently than that.
Further disheartening, The Wall Street Journal reports that one of the two vacuum trains that picks up all of that garbage on the subway tracks wasn’t working properly for 311 days out of the year-long audit.
That is, one vacuum train was completely out of service for almost 11 out of 12 months.
ashleybellnyc In a battle of #whogivesfewerfucks #SubwayRat defeats #HoneyBadger #HeyAnimalPlanet #DevelopmentDeal #NY #MTA
Oh, and let’s not forget about our little subway buddies… those rats.
During his press conference, Stringer also said, “Our auditors observed rats scurrying over the tracks and onto subway platforms, and it’s almost as if they were walking upright – waiting to take the train to their next meal.”
Stringer is nothing short of appalled at the MTA’s attitude towards cleanliness. Despite higher fares and more commuters, the maintenance workforce is half of what it was in 2008.
The MTA addressed the rat problem by removing garbage cans from certain stations, a solution which basically enables litterers, thus exacerbating the dirtiness of subway stations everywhere.
Stringer said, “When you look at what our auditors found you realize that a world-class city has a second-rate subway system. It looks and smells terrible.”
Yeah, it's dirty, but check out Nothin' But Grit & Graffiti: Check Out These Vintage Subway Shots from 1980 NYC.
[via The Wall Street Journal]