Too Broke to Go to Work

When people think of New York City, images of the Statue of Liberty, skyscraping penthouses and high paid Wall Streeters come to mind. There’s a side to the city that the tourists never see, such as the struggling worker in Brooklyn who spends three or four hours a day commuting to work, barely scraping by to feed his family. That commute is about to get longer, harder and more expensive.

Due to a $1.3 billion budget gap, the Metropolitan Transit Authority of New York City is planning a widespread cut of services in the outer boroughs - namely lower income areas of Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx. Even with these massive service cuts, base subway and bus fares could jump 50%, from $2 to $3 per ride. The Access-A-Ride service, which is used by the elderly and disabled as an alternative, may increase 300% to $6 per ride, hitting those who are the most financially vulnerable where it hurts the most.

New Yorkers aren’t taking this lying down, however. A number of groups around the city, such as the Straphangers Campaign and the Bailout The People movement are actively protesting the service cuts and fare hikes. Today’s Action is a single account of flyering in Union Square, New York and people’s reactions to the MTA’s proposals.

Today’s Artist: Larry Wright

All that Larry Wright needs to show off his incredible drumming is a couple of buckets and a pair of drumsticks. The subways in which he performs are the perfect backdrop to his frenetic, stripped down music, and street musicians like Wright keep New York City vibrant.

The subways of New York are an underground community, another world that travelers enter and exist on their way to wherever they’re going. The culture of music and performance that developed in the NYC subway systems is built upon the passion of artists who pick the masses over massive success. They play for the people.

Posted by:

Steve Romain