Of Rats and Rails

By Harrison Golden

At eight o’clock in the morning, millions of New Yorkers make their way to the subway platform to go to work. At the newspaper stand located inside the 14^th Street A-C-E station, Ahmad Rakhajam is already at work, admiring the daily commute from the other side of the cash register.

“A lot of times, they just grab a paper or a quick snack,” he said. “Still, it’s nice when they smile and say good morning. It helps the day go by.”

But under a new law, proposed by State Senator Bill Perkins of Harlem, to combat the city’s rat population, those who bring food on the subway will be subject to a $250 fine. If the bill is passed, such breakfast-time commuter hotspots could soon go out of business.

“Rats carry diseases and parasites all over the city,” said Perkins. “Banning food on the trains will make us cleaner, safer, and less hesitant about getting around town.”

Last year, Perkins surveyed over 5,000 residents in his senatorial district. Roughly 60 percent of those who filled out the survey reported seeing subway rats on a daily basis. Another 30 percent claimed to see them weekly. Following survey’s release, Transport Workers Union Local 100 began the “New Yorkers Deserve a Rat-Free Subway” campaign.

“We need the tracks, trains, and platforms to be as clean as possible so we can do our jobs and get commuters going,” said Jim Gannon, head of communications for TWU Local 100.

MTA Chairman Joseph Lhota openly rejects the bill, declaring that he has seen too many children eating their breakfast on the train before school.

"I do not support the bill," Lhota told The New York Times. "I don't want to deny the kid the only time that day he’s going to get food."

Lhota also noted that, since the smoking ban in city parks, beaches, and pedestrian zones took effect last May, only one person has been ticketed. He believes this kind of legislation will have the same fate.

“I don’t see how a food ban will help,” said Laura Benson, in between bites of her before-work bagel with cream cheese. “People will find a way to sneak food on regardless. It would be impossible to enforce.”

Rakhajam emphasizes that subway vendors play a crucial role in the daily lives of city commuters.

“Instead of wasting money enforcing the food ban, they should just hire more cleaners,” he added.

Between 2008 and 2010, the MTA cut their car cleaning staff by 200, leaving just over 1000 workers responsible for sanitation.

“New York’s subways give people a freedom to travel so many places. The less rules, the better.”