Today on the New York City subway and bus system, the following behavior violations will get you $100 file and 10 days in jail:

Jumping turnstiles even with a valid MetroCard

Straddling a bicycle

Wearing in-line or roller skates

Standing on a skateboard or scooter

Moving between subway car end doors when stopped or moving

Placing feet on subway, bus and platform bench seats  Putting bags on an empty seat when the train or bus is crowded

Drinking anything
What is amazing is how some New Yorkers need to be threatened with fines and jail to temper their bad behavior. All the bullet points on that list address common sense and common courtesy. It’s unfortunate so many people resist the notion of naturally doing the right thing to get along with other people.

16 Comments

  2. David Boles – New York City – David Boles was born in Nebraska and holds an MFA from the Oscar Hammerstein II Center for Theatre Studies at Columbia University in the City of New York. He is an author, dramatist, editor, publisher, and teacher who writes across the live stage, print, radio, television, film, and the web. With more than 50 books in print, David continues to write 2MM words a year and has authored over 25K articles. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild, the Authors Guild, and PEN America, and founded The United Stage advocacy platform on the principle that playwrights have a duty to direct their own work. Read the Prairie Voice Archive at Boles.com | Buy his books at David Boles Books Writing & Publishing at BolesBooks.com | Study with Script Professor at ScriptProfessor.com | Touch American Sign Language mastery at Hardcore ASL at HardcoreASL.com | Explore the Human Meme podcast at HumanMeme.com | Train with Boles Bells at BolesBells.com.
    David W. Boles says:

    Yeah, clem, I’m with you on that one! Chewing gum is another disgusting thing people spit out of their mouths for others to worry about catching in their shoes. Ugh!

  4. David Boles – New York City – David Boles was born in Nebraska and holds an MFA from the Oscar Hammerstein II Center for Theatre Studies at Columbia University in the City of New York. He is an author, dramatist, editor, publisher, and teacher who writes across the live stage, print, radio, television, film, and the web. With more than 50 books in print, David continues to write 2MM words a year and has authored over 25K articles. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild, the Authors Guild, and PEN America, and founded The United Stage advocacy platform on the principle that playwrights have a duty to direct their own work. Read the Prairie Voice Archive at Boles.com | Buy his books at David Boles Books Writing & Publishing at BolesBooks.com | Study with Script Professor at ScriptProfessor.com | Touch American Sign Language mastery at Hardcore ASL at HardcoreASL.com | Explore the Human Meme podcast at HumanMeme.com | Train with Boles Bells at BolesBells.com.
    David W. Boles says:

    That would probably be a good idea, clem, but who would clean the spittoons? They’d probably get kicked over by kids for kicks.

  6. David Boles – New York City – David Boles was born in Nebraska and holds an MFA from the Oscar Hammerstein II Center for Theatre Studies at Columbia University in the City of New York. He is an author, dramatist, editor, publisher, and teacher who writes across the live stage, print, radio, television, film, and the web. With more than 50 books in print, David continues to write 2MM words a year and has authored over 25K articles. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild, the Authors Guild, and PEN America, and founded The United Stage advocacy platform on the principle that playwrights have a duty to direct their own work. Read the Prairie Voice Archive at Boles.com | Buy his books at David Boles Books Writing & Publishing at BolesBooks.com | Study with Script Professor at ScriptProfessor.com | Touch American Sign Language mastery at Hardcore ASL at HardcoreASL.com | Explore the Human Meme podcast at HumanMeme.com | Train with Boles Bells at BolesBells.com.
    David W. Boles says:

    Wow!
    The Gotham Gazette trackback below to this post is the fastest link I’ve ever had forged — it took less than three hours — and I don’t know that site and they don’t know me. Until today, that is!
    Cool!

  9. Hi!
    I guess we’ve been both singled out in the Gotham Gazette article or we might be the only two New Yorkers who blogged about the subway rules. In any case, I find it interesting that Jonathan Mandell seems to think we stand at opposite sides. I actually agree with what you say!
    😉

  10. David Boles – New York City – David Boles was born in Nebraska and holds an MFA from the Oscar Hammerstein II Center for Theatre Studies at Columbia University in the City of New York. He is an author, dramatist, editor, publisher, and teacher who writes across the live stage, print, radio, television, film, and the web. With more than 50 books in print, David continues to write 2MM words a year and has authored over 25K articles. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild, the Authors Guild, and PEN America, and founded The United Stage advocacy platform on the principle that playwrights have a duty to direct their own work. Read the Prairie Voice Archive at Boles.com | Buy his books at David Boles Books Writing & Publishing at BolesBooks.com | Study with Script Professor at ScriptProfessor.com | Touch American Sign Language mastery at Hardcore ASL at HardcoreASL.com | Explore the Human Meme podcast at HumanMeme.com | Train with Boles Bells at BolesBells.com.
    David W. Boles says:

    Hi Pensive Musings!
    I love your blog!
    Thanks for the comment over here about how we’ve been linked and quoted “over there.” Any New Yorker with a soul and a spirit realizes these new rules are an imperative to get things back to a normal sense of stasis for the painful bus and subway rides.
    On the second trackback you see for my post — on Rollernews.com — one commenter over there named “Satan” there calls me a “fag” for my post and it’s funny that Rollernews.com basically snipped and pasted a portion of my post here as an entire post over there. Harr!

  11. David Boles – New York City – David Boles was born in Nebraska and holds an MFA from the Oscar Hammerstein II Center for Theatre Studies at Columbia University in the City of New York. He is an author, dramatist, editor, publisher, and teacher who writes across the live stage, print, radio, television, film, and the web. With more than 50 books in print, David continues to write 2MM words a year and has authored over 25K articles. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild, the Authors Guild, and PEN America, and founded The United Stage advocacy platform on the principle that playwrights have a duty to direct their own work. Read the Prairie Voice Archive at Boles.com | Buy his books at David Boles Books Writing & Publishing at BolesBooks.com | Study with Script Professor at ScriptProfessor.com | Touch American Sign Language mastery at Hardcore ASL at HardcoreASL.com | Explore the Human Meme podcast at HumanMeme.com | Train with Boles Bells at BolesBells.com.
    David W. Boles says:

    Hi Pensive Musings!
    I love your blog!
    Thanks for the comment over here about how we’ve been linked and quoted “over there.” Any New Yorker with a soul and a spirit realizes these new rules are an imperative to get things back to a normal sense of stasis for the painful bus and subway rides.
    On the second trackback you see for my post — on Rollernews.com — one commenter over there named “Satan” there calls me a “fag” for my post and it’s funny that Rollernews.com basically snipped and pasted a portion of my post here as an entire post over there. Harr!

  12. How will one have their coffee now? I almost always had a coffee in my hand on the subway.

  13. David Boles – New York City – David Boles was born in Nebraska and holds an MFA from the Oscar Hammerstein II Center for Theatre Studies at Columbia University in the City of New York. He is an author, dramatist, editor, publisher, and teacher who writes across the live stage, print, radio, television, film, and the web. With more than 50 books in print, David continues to write 2MM words a year and has authored over 25K articles. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild, the Authors Guild, and PEN America, and founded The United Stage advocacy platform on the principle that playwrights have a duty to direct their own work. Read the Prairie Voice Archive at Boles.com | Buy his books at David Boles Books Writing & Publishing at BolesBooks.com | Study with Script Professor at ScriptProfessor.com | Touch American Sign Language mastery at Hardcore ASL at HardcoreASL.com | Explore the Human Meme podcast at HumanMeme.com | Train with Boles Bells at BolesBells.com.
    David W. Boles says:

    Robin — No coffee allowed! That’s a good thing. I think you can have a bottle of water but nothing that could stain or be sticky. People were having feasts on subways. They’d sit down with a full McDonald’s meal and open it up and lay it all out on their lap like a banquet. It was disgusting and the smell was like rancid milk and it permeated you, your clothes and the entire subway car. There have been “Do Not Eat and Drink” signs in the subway for as long as I can remember. Now they’re finally choosing to enforce the signs!
    Dave — That’s the problem with living in small places. You get once-overed time and time again if you’re the least bit different or interesting and there’s no place to escape. I feel for your girlfriend at the time and I am happy to hear you just let it slide. That was the smart move. There’s always someone out there who doesn’t mind being uglier than they already are! 🙂

  14. David Boles – New York City – David Boles was born in Nebraska and holds an MFA from the Oscar Hammerstein II Center for Theatre Studies at Columbia University in the City of New York. He is an author, dramatist, editor, publisher, and teacher who writes across the live stage, print, radio, television, film, and the web. With more than 50 books in print, David continues to write 2MM words a year and has authored over 25K articles. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild, the Authors Guild, and PEN America, and founded The United Stage advocacy platform on the principle that playwrights have a duty to direct their own work. Read the Prairie Voice Archive at Boles.com | Buy his books at David Boles Books Writing & Publishing at BolesBooks.com | Study with Script Professor at ScriptProfessor.com | Touch American Sign Language mastery at Hardcore ASL at HardcoreASL.com | Explore the Human Meme podcast at HumanMeme.com | Train with Boles Bells at BolesBells.com.
    David W. Boles says:

    Robin — No coffee allowed! That’s a good thing. I think you can have a bottle of water but nothing that could stain or be sticky. People were having feasts on subways. They’d sit down with a full McDonald’s meal and open it up and lay it all out on their lap like a banquet. It was disgusting and the smell was like rancid milk and it permeated you, your clothes and the entire subway car. There have been “Do Not Eat and Drink” signs in the subway for as long as I can remember. Now they’re finally choosing to enforce the signs!
    Dave — That’s the problem with living in small places. You get once-overed time and time again if you’re the least bit different or interesting and there’s no place to escape. I feel for your girlfriend at the time and I am happy to hear you just let it slide. That was the smart move. There’s always someone out there who doesn’t mind being uglier than they already are! 🙂

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