#180 - Hot Coffee & Croissants are chuffed to chat about: The Twelve Days of Smokemas Day 10 | Asking for Directions in NYC
or: literally just don't stop at the top of the steps
The subway in New York can feel really intimidating.
The signs don't always make complete sense (say you're going to get off at the Seneca stop on the M which is technically Queens, you'll still want to follow the signs headed for Brooklyn rather than Queens when you're heading out from Manhattan), the stairs can be uh janky, the platforms slope and you're often walking along the yellow ridge really focused on keeping your balance and trying to make sure you're headed in the right direction.
I've been riding it for years and years and the other day got trapped in a weird spot at 58th street so like, shit happens and it's not always perfect.
That being said!
If you're coming to the city, I think the subway is really fucking great AND Google Maps has made it pretty easy to know what you're looking for in terms of directions.
They tell you exactly what signs to look for.
And! If you ever step on a train in NYC (and step all the way in/don't block the doors if there are people behind you) and yell out "Does this train stop at Delancy?" a minimum of five people will tell you if you're on the right train.
I think New Yorkers get a lot of shit for not being nice, but I think the truth of it is – a lot of people are just going places. And often, people who don't know where they're going stop in really inconvenient places.
Like I get it, if you emerge from the Bedford L stop and you're not sure where to head and you're horrendously out of breath because no one ever expects to be two stories underground, you make it to the last step and your body is like "freeze now omg we made it". But that's when you have to fight for like three more steps and at the very least pivot around the handrail to avoid causing a human traffic jam on some honestly precarious steps if the weather is not dry.
(I love the subway, I ride and ride for the subway, I will not glamorize the reality that some of the stations require attention when you're placing your feet. I've eaten it hard at Canal St. so many times in the rain because the steps flood and there's no amount of boot grip in the world that can keep you upright when metal gets slick and the stairs are slanted ever so slightly downward. So be careful! But also take the train it's so wonderful and when it moves its magic!)
I used to take three trains to work every day so I got a lot of interaction with different groups of commuters and I never saw anyone refuse to engage with a tourist in need. People have often approached me with Google maps in hand and even if there's a language barrier, it's amazing what pointing and holding up fingers can communicate regardless of shared speech.
I don't think New Yorkers go out of their way to be friendly, but I do think most of us are acutely aware of how overwhelming the city can be. The only times I see people jostled is when they stop dead in the middle of the street because we live in a land ruled by cars so the sidewalks are narrow and people get very annoyed very quickly in those cases.
Anyway, if you're coming to the city, I just want to put it out there that I think getting around seems more intimidating than it is and the subway now takes like Apple Pay it's easier than ever. Don't let the scaremongering work like yeah I've been on a few cars where someone has lit up and we all just...move to a new car. Like for every ~negative interaction I've had I've had 99,000x normal/positive ones.
Tbh the only time I avoid the trains are 3-4pm on weekdays because they're packed with groups of teens.
Shit does (very occasionally) happen, but it's rarely something that can't be handled by moving and/or removing myself from the train. The other day a dude was being weird and yelly but not like physical at all, and that sucked so I turned off my music to stay alert but didn't make eye contact and got off the train at the next stop because I didn't want to stay on that car. I was fine but when I can remove myself from that type of situation I do. So I went up the stairs at third ave and walked a few extra blocks, and then when I was crossing the street at the Union Square Holiday Market a car took a weirdly fast turn around a corner right in front of me and nearly hit six pedestrians.
One of those situations was physically dangerous with a deadly weapon. And one was just a bummer!
The world is scary, cars are scary, and the train is just not scarier (and is actually so fucking safe compared to the dangers of cars like literally millions of us ride it every single day without incident so I just want to put that out there). It's not 100% perfect but I've felt in far more danger on snowy highways late at night than I ever have on the L train at 1am.
The buses are also great and even safer and I just recommend taking public transit in any place that has it because it's basically a free tour of the city and you get to see the inner workings and the day-to-day! And again it's easier than ever you can literally do tap-to-pay for all of it now!
Whenever people come visit me in the city I'm happy to do touristy things, but I feel like I often get asked to show them my New York. And while I love my New York, it's not like that interesting the bars I go to are not that different than the bars I went to in Portland or even Ithaca. Everywhere is just a place and those places are filled with people. What I love about this city is that it's filled with so many different people.
I love riding the subway and counting how many newspapers are in different languages in the morning. There's nothing like learning about different pockets of the city and why they have different architecture and who settled what and why Brooklyn looks like that.
Okay the only other subway tip I have is to download the MTA app and check the NYCTSubway twitter for outages because for some reason they still get reported there first.
Anyway. I love New York, I love it especially at Christmas because the city basically remains exactly the same but there's lights everywhere and really cute store displays and I think the city does take pride in doing Christmas so well – even though this year we seem to have all agreed to mockingly call the holiday markets by their full capitalist names so you can catch me at the Bank of America Winter Village at Bryant Park standing in a 45 minute line for the hot chocolate!
Just kidding I would never stand in a line that long, I would arrive right when it opens instead and wait in no line because the TRICK TO THE CITY is waking up early! I said it you can take that one to the bank! (of america.) The city may not sleep but all those fuckin' cokeheads sure do sleep IN and especially around the holidays you can basically have the whole city to yourself if you're out the door around 7am.
And so much opens early and stays open late! It's wonderful and there's so many good movies to see I'm going to the Nitehawk on Christmas Eve with my sister (and I'm so excited they have themed menus and it's sooo cute) to see A Complete Unknown and then I've got tickets for The Last Showgirl and Babygirl (Regal crown club promo got my ass good and I'm making the most of Oscar szn this year!) after that and THEN in January we're seeing the new cast of Oh, Mary! and truly the key to getting out of my depressive states is just buying tickets and forcing myself to leave the house.
Comedy shows, movies, broadway, any theatre in the city really, going to a restaurant I've wanted to try for a while, getting a cute drink or even just a diet coke and sitting somewhere new, the trick is to get out the door and go. And it's all on offer because there's so many people here that somewhere someone is always doing something you can do see.
Which is also why the subway RULES! 24/7 just hop on babeeeey! It's so easy! No driving, no getting gas, just some standing and waiting. Read a book! Listen to a pod! Make a playlist!
Oh to be a little stoned on the train and making flirty eye contact with someone really attractive on the train. Because that's the other fun thing about New York sometimes you will leave your home and literally see the hottest person or best outfit or coolest hair or wildest accessory you've ever seen!
Oh to be tipsy after a night out and wedging back onto the L and listening in on the NYU students who are talking about taking trips upstate to their parents country homes in an attempt to impress the girls they're with as they all take sips from white claws inside of brown paper bags and realizing that somethings really don't change. Except maybe the brand of alcohol being drank.
Oh to be sober and enjoying a performance of Feliz Navidad on your way to work by the loudest mariachi band in the world but it feels like Christmas and the whole train is bopping along because a banger is a banger is a banger it doesn't matter that its 6:45 am sometimes!
One last subway tip: don't lean against the pole just use your hand. Also bend your knees for balance! If you're here in the summer BRING A MINI FAN! Mask up! Bring gum! Have a blast!
Okay well, that's my little schpiel on NYC and how most of us who live here are at least somewhat helpful and honestly if you're ever lost just go inside a bodega and buy a drink and ask for directions! I think it's easy to get overwhelmed but really truly it's a great city and if you're thinking of coming to visit I hope this inspires you to take the transit while you're here. Because it really does rule and you can get some of the best views of the city going across the bridges for soooo cheap.
Oh and if you want to get a view of the skyline don't go to the Empire State Building, do Top of the Rock instead. You want to see the Empire in the skyline and honestly the observation deck is so tall you just end up looking down rather than out. There is also way less of a line!
Whoo! I ♥️ NY! (Except for the mayor and his cronies!!)
Yoav Gonen
Okay that's it g'bye!
