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To me (as a life long New Yorker) this is yet another sign of our decaying society - our crumbling empire. I've often wondered if the people of Rome understood

To me (as a life long New Yorker) this is yet another sign of our decaying society - our crumbling empire. I've often wondered if the people of Rome understood that their empire was crumbling. Did they actually see the signs as it happened, or did it occur in such a way that the slow-motion decline wasn't sharply felt? The problems here aren't just the subways. The roads, the bridges and other infrastructure are also crumbling around us. The airports are a disaster of endless construction that never get completed and just add to the misery of travelers and the sense of overall decay. The LIRR is as bad or worse as the crumbling subway system. More New Yorkers are living paycheck to paycheck as the cost of housing, healthcare, insurance, and education soar far beyond what working people can afford. Our bloated bureaucracy continues to grow like a cancer, guided by the likes of the eminently corrupt Andrew Cuomo (and his allies in both political parties who serve the same moneyed interests), draining ever-more resources while providing ever-fewer critical services. Homelessness and poverty are increasing, while those at the very top of the economic pyramid are growing fabulously wealthy. Among this myriad of growing problems, we as a nation continue to ignore these issues and pour our limited resources into endless foreign wars and occupations. Unfortunately, dark days are ahead.

kyledrake 9y ago
Increased demand for the subway is not a sign of decaying society, it's a sign of prosperity and growth. It's a sign that people feel more safe using the system and living in New York, and that there are more opportunities for people living there. I for one would much rather live in a NY dealing with some temporary growth success issues than live in NY during the 70s (or really, any time before).
- StanislavPetrov 9y ago
  I've lived in New York City for over 40 years. If you view crumbling infrastructure, 44% of NYC residents living at or near the poverty line and soaring homelessness as signs of "prosperity", that's your prerogative. https://patch.com/new-york/new-york-city/nyc-homeless-population-grew-4-year-data-show https://patch.com/new-york/new-york-city/nyc-homeless-popula... I suggest you fly into Laguardia airport to see some world class prosperity. https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/flights/2015/07/28/laguardia-worst-airport-crowded-concourses-terminal-weather-flight-disruptions/30782433/ https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/flights/2015/07/28/lag... http://abc7ny.com/traffic/traffic-nightmare-for-drivers-heading-to-laguardia-airport/2702148/ http://abc7ny.com/traffic/traffic-nightmare-for-drivers-head... If you want to enjoy even more "prosperity", you can pay $344 a month to ride the LIRR (as long as you don't have to get anywhere on time). https://nypost.com/2018/03/15/last-years-lirr-delays-cost-riders-millions/ https://nypost.com/2018/03/15/last-years-lirr-delays-cost-ri...
- pulisse 9y ago
  The problems with the subway are not due to excess demand. Delays and closures have been rising far faster than ridership.
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
lr4444lr 9y ago
How do you get out of bed with such pessimism? Rome faced existential threats from German and Persian invaders, as well as multiple imperial assassinations and civil wars. At the core of it, New York City simply has too many people on an old, straining infrastructure. And yes, though there are a few people who grow ever richer and a bloated City and State bureaucracy which are problematic, but there is also an enormous number of people who cannot and will not ever afford to live there - not middle class people hanging on, but a large number deep in poverty who won't ever get a foothold. And that's because there are actually a lot of services available. The city's has more than 10% of the entire homeless U.S. population, many of whom come out of state, and an estimated 500,000 illegal immigrants. With a population density is more than 2X that of many other thriving metropolises in the country, there's a lot of unnecessary suffering. When you're on either end of the economic spectrum, you can get a pretty good deal here. When you're in the middle, you get squeezed. P.S. I don't know if you actually take the LIRR, but it's an absolute pleasure to ride compared to the subway.
- slededit 9y ago
  New York has almost the same number of people as it did in the 1950s. You can't blame this on population growth.
  - lr4444lr 9y ago
    https://data.cityofnewyork.us/City-Government/New-York-City-Population-by-Borough-1950-2040/xywu-7bv9 https://data.cityofnewyork.us/City-Government/New-York-City-... And the 2020 estmate has already been exceeded. Please check and cite your sources before making claims. Also, I never said raw population size was the cause, but that it was the combination of a larger than ever population on an aging infrastructure. Lots of what is still crucial to daily life in NY, in particular the subways, had 60 years more usable life in the 1950s.
petermcneeley 9y ago
The posthumous revenge of the USSR perhaps? http://thoughtmaybe.com/hypernormalisation/ http://thoughtmaybe.com/hypernormalisation/

kyledrake 9y ago

Increased demand for the subway is not a sign of decaying society, it's a sign of prosperity and growth. It's a sign that people feel more safe using the system and living in New York, and that there are more opportunities for people living there. I for one would much rather live in a NY dealing with some temporary growth success issues than live in NY during the 70s (or really, any time before).

StanislavPetrov 9y ago
I've lived in New York City for over 40 years. If you view crumbling infrastructure, 44% of NYC residents living at or near the poverty line and soaring homelessness as signs of "prosperity", that's your prerogative. https://patch.com/new-york/new-york-city/nyc-homeless-population-grew-4-year-data-show https://patch.com/new-york/new-york-city/nyc-homeless-popula... I suggest you fly into Laguardia airport to see some world class prosperity. https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/flights/2015/07/28/laguardia-worst-airport-crowded-concourses-terminal-weather-flight-disruptions/30782433/ https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/flights/2015/07/28/lag... http://abc7ny.com/traffic/traffic-nightmare-for-drivers-heading-to-laguardia-airport/2702148/ http://abc7ny.com/traffic/traffic-nightmare-for-drivers-head... If you want to enjoy even more "prosperity", you can pay $344 a month to ride the LIRR (as long as you don't have to get anywhere on time). https://nypost.com/2018/03/15/last-years-lirr-delays-cost-riders-millions/ https://nypost.com/2018/03/15/last-years-lirr-delays-cost-ri...
pulisse 9y ago
The problems with the subway are not due to excess demand. Delays and closures have been rising far faster than ridership.

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

lr4444lr 9y ago

How do you get out of bed with such pessimism? Rome faced existential threats from German and Persian invaders, as well as multiple imperial assassinations and civil wars. At the core of it, New York City simply has too many people on an old, straining infrastructure. And yes, though there are a few people who grow ever richer and a bloated City and State bureaucracy which are problematic, but there is also an enormous number of people who cannot and will not ever afford to live there - not middle class people hanging on, but a large number deep in poverty who won't ever get a foothold. And that's because there are actually a lot of services available. The city's has more than 10% of the entire homeless U.S. population, many of whom come out of state, and an estimated 500,000 illegal immigrants. With a population density is more than 2X that of many other thriving metropolises in the country, there's a lot of unnecessary suffering. When you're on either end of the economic spectrum, you can get a pretty good deal here. When you're in the middle, you get squeezed. P.S. I don't know if you actually take the LIRR, but it's an absolute pleasure to ride compared to the subway.

slededit 9y ago
New York has almost the same number of people as it did in the 1950s. You can't blame this on population growth.
- lr4444lr 9y ago
  https://data.cityofnewyork.us/City-Government/New-York-City-Population-by-Borough-1950-2040/xywu-7bv9 https://data.cityofnewyork.us/City-Government/New-York-City-... And the 2020 estmate has already been exceeded. Please check and cite your sources before making claims. Also, I never said raw population size was the cause, but that it was the combination of a larger than ever population on an aging infrastructure. Lots of what is still crucial to daily life in NY, in particular the subways, had 60 years more usable life in the 1950s.

petermcneeley 9y ago

The posthumous revenge of the USSR perhaps? http://thoughtmaybe.com/hypernormalisation/ http://thoughtmaybe.com/hypernormalisation/