The Sorry State of New York’s Subways, Where Trouble Won’t Stop

Published in The Sankei News
(Japan) on 19 February 2021
by Mayu Uetsuka (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Eric Stimson. Edited by Michelle Bisson.
I have lately tried to use New York’s subways as little as I can. I am not afraid of COVID-19 infection. There are many dangerous incidents on the train.

Last weekend, four homeless people were stabbed in succession, two of whom died. The suspect was the same in each case and was arrested, but then on Feb. 16, two Asian women were attacked by someone; it is reported that they were injured.

Beginning last fall, there were incidents of people being shoved off the platform onto the tracks, and I often hear stories about getting spat on by strangers. According to the media, many of those arrested suffer from psychological disorders and attack indiscriminately, day or night. I’m a little nervous when I do use the subway.

After a year of the pandemic, subway ridership has declined by 70%. As passenger numbers have plummeted, some [subway] lines have turned into places for homeless people to live, and the troubles are constant.

New York’s subways have many problems, such as decay and delay, but for more than 110 years they have run for 24 hours a day, and they are a symbol of an energetic town — even at night they are bustling with passengers. Even as the positive rate of COVID-19 tests declines, I keenly feel, looking at the sorry state of the subway, that some time will be needed for economic recovery.


最近は、なるべくニューヨークの地下鉄を利用しないようにしている。新型コロナウイルスの感染が怖いのではない。地下鉄の車内で物騒な事件が多いのだ。

 先週末にはホームレス4人が相次いで刃物で刺され、このうち2人が死亡する事件が起きた。容疑者は同一人物ですでに逮捕されたが、16日にも、アジア系の女性2人が何者かに暴行を受け、負傷したと報じられた。

 昨年秋以降はホームから線路に突き落とされる事件が相次ぎ、身近でも「見知らぬ人にいきなりつばを吐かれた」などといった話をよく聞く。報道によると、逮捕された人の多くは精神疾患を抱え、昼夜かまわず無差別で攻撃しているとみられ、たまに利用するときはちょっと緊張感が走る。

 1年に及ぶパンデミック(世界的大流行)をへて、地下鉄の利用者は7割程度減少。乗客が激減した一方で一部路線はホームレスの生活の場と化し、トラブルが絶えないのが現状だ。

 老朽化や遅延といった問題が多いニューヨークの地下鉄だが、110年以上にわたって24時間運行し、夜中も乗客でにぎわい、エネルギッシュな街の象徴だったのに…。新型コロナ検査の陽性率が下がっても、地下鉄の惨状を見る限り、経済の復興には相当な時間はかかりそうだ、と痛感する。(上塚真由)
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