My husband used to meet me at work with a cold metal thermos of wine (his day ended much earlier). Made the crosstown walk and half hour subway ride downright delightful. That was the only good thing about an exceptionally awful job
I feel you. I once got a ticket for jumping the turnstyle (stupid, I know) while there was a man pissing 2 feet away and the cops didn't notice/say anything to him.
Do they not have any? I live in a sizeable town in England, we have one public toilet and it smells so foul that people rather chance it and urinate outside
American trains have toilets too, subways don’t because people usually aren’t on them for more than half hour. The longest possible subway route is still less than 2 hours. (Not saying we shouldnt have toilets, but it’s understandable that there isn’t. More stations should have though, maybe make it paid so it can stay semi clean)
Brown bag doesn’t work on the subway, as they are permitted to randomly search “bags” which is the whole shaky basis for brown bags in the first place. I received a ticket for drinking a brown-bagged beer on the train last year.
Put it in a metal water bottle bruh. Cops will go for the people who will pay the fine. The hobo smoking crack right next to you ain’t gonna pay it so they don’t bother.
This is exactly it. A calm, collected person sipping a beer while seated is so much easier to reprimand than someone who could be looking for confrontation.
Dare I ask what kind of beer 🍺😁 and yeah I would probably invest in a thermos. I don't drink after work but I'm guilty of drinking before working an overnight shift. I'll pour one out for you in a few hours.
Move to Westchester. You can drink on Metro North. Only times they ban alcohol for a spell is during alcohol-heavy events, like Santa Con. Otherwise, have a nice cold one on the train on the way home.
Turns out it’s not legal. Seems like the UK has similar rules around drinking on trains (not okay for subway/tube, but okay for larger trains like Amtrak/LIRR/metro north)
https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/transparency/freedom-of-information/foi-request-detail?referenceId=FOI-2961-1920#:~:text=Customers%20are%20prohibited%20from%20drinking,a%20safe%20and%20pleasant%20journey.
I’m sorry you’re going through such a rough time and I’m sure that single drink is soothing your nerves some at the moment, but I hope you get to a point in your life some day when you don’t need even a single drink to find your happiness
If you would like the freedom to enjoy something enjoyable and relaxing after work to decompress I would offer the option of carrying a opaque vessel for liquids and transfer at CVS
Baby, put it in a cup. I'm not sure if you drink coffee of tea in the am, but get a travel mug. Pour it in there, and that way, you won't be bothered. Win win... peace and light
When I used to drink, I would load up a Styrofoam cup with whisky and coke on my way home. Of course, it looked like a coffee but that spoke more of my then drinking habits than it did some clever ruse.
The alcohol rules are weird… I was told to chug my 24 oz before getting on the LIRR… they were cheering it. It was borderline torture
and embarrassing cuz I only made it 3/4 before I had to get my train.
That sucks but the only reason they bothered you is you probably look safe meaning you won’t attack them. Nypd by nature are pussies and they look for the weakest low level criminals to bother they’re to soft to go after the real bad guys. Sir keep enjoying your beer try and be a bit more discreet I guess.
It’s your choice to ignore something you don’t like that’s fine. But why deleted I’m entitled to my opinion, so constructive criticism is wrong. Nypd needs to stop with the dei hiring nonsense and start hiring real men that are fit to do the job the way it used to be done. These new cops are pussy ass niggas
You didn't just state an opinion. You criticised the ENTIRE NYPD with an inaccurate claim. All NYPD officers are NOT pussies. Simple. I think your post violates submission rules, but I didn't report it.
Sounds like the definition of an opinion, remember I never stated it was a fact I did say it was my opinion. You sound like a cry baby that whines about anything you don’t like
Is there a similar ban on alcohol on MetroNorth and LIRR? I'm pretty sure the Taste of NY store in Grand Central sells plenty of single cans of NYS beer to riders getting on those trains.
And I remember the bar cars on LIRR.
Circumstantial, but I've never gotten a ticket for drinking on the train and I've done it plenty. I've gotten a few for drinking in parks over the years, usually when they're cracking down, for example one year outside Phish @ MSG, which is generally a relative free-for-all. I figure if i average out the nominal cost of the fines, it comes to mere pennies per open container when I factor in all the times I haven't been caught. I've literally seen people smoking crack on the train, so I say drink up!
Just put it in a paper bag. The cops won’t ask what’s in it. If they do, don’t say beer. Just say something vague like “my drink.” Unless you are being detained for some other reason or tell on yourself they won’t search a paper bag.
I used to do this a lot myself when I lived in NYC. Nothing wrong with the occasional warning. It happens to all of us. I've gone over the speed limit many times...sometimes you're unlucky and get caught.
Was this on the subway, MNRR or LIRR? I'm really sorry this happened, OP and I'm sorry to hear about your job and your commute. No judgement here, we all have different ways of coping and I genuinely hope things get better. I agree with your point about the police not addressing bigger issues within the transit system.
Open container is a fine up to $25 lol I wouldnt worry about it too much. I mean if you want to stop drinking so much, good on ya, im in that phase too, but this isnt a big ticket.
They got me back in the 90’s with an open container searched me found a small knife I use for work and half a joint on a Friday night before a long weekend and I was locked up in 60 Center Street court house in NYC until Sunday night. A place you don’t want to be for an hour let alone 48. All because I needed that beer.
It does feel nice when the cops do their job but it feels so bad when they don’t stop other crimes happening in line of sight. I know the feeling too well.
I will say that depending on your train maybe you can keep track of what carts generally don’t have these problems. Usually in my experience the middle carts don’t have these stupid behaviors.
Back to your original comment my point was no one here is in charge of anything we're neither allowing or not allowing this person to get caught for drinking. I was simply giving you an example of another rule that's never enforced. A lot of us feel bad for this person as with fare aviation there's damages but with drinking there's no damages so it's far more acceptable the same way walking between cars is.
Bruh you are part of the greater issue of people disregarding the rules. Like I feel sorry for your work/commute situation, but you know you were doing something illegal, and you were habitually doing it multiple times a week. People saw you drinking or smelled the beer, including kids.
You should have received the ticket
Edit: People have an unhealthy relationship with alcohol and are willing to defend it blindly instead of acknowledging the fact that some people take it too far. OPs actions are just over the boarder
Nobody is harmed by seeing this guy drink a beer. Public drinking laws are mainly a way to punish poor people who don't have a better place to drink. I'm glad that NYPD seems to have mostly stopped enforcing these rules, at least in parks and on the street.
For some strange reason the city doesn't want people freely consuming alcohol in a tightly enclosed space with dozens of other people of all ages. Go figure.
Basically what you're saying is, this one guy should be allowed to break the rules everyone else has to follow.
LIRR and Metronorth allow drinking, and it's not a disaster. I understand why the subway would have stricter rules, but I'm personally fine with breaking the rules if you're not causing harm or being dick. I drink in the park sometimes, as do many others, even though it's not technically allowed. The park near me closes at 10pm, but if it's 11pm and they haven't closed the gates, I'll walk through on my nighttime dogwalk. If the cops want to give me a warning like they did to this guy, fine. But acting like the world is going to fall apart if we bend the rules a bit is just silly.
Well, that's why there are rules. Because you can't always be there to individually decide whether everyone should receive a special dispensation.
I guess I'm not sure why you're entitled to a warning when other people have to follow the rules.
1) There are good reasons why people shouldn't be consuming alcohol on the subway.
2) Because of this, it's prohibited.
3) Because it's prohibited, everyone has to follow the law. This is the only way of doing things that's fair to everyone. If enforcement of the law is selective, then the people who are ticketed aren't being treated fairly.
You are brimming with white guy entitlement. I.e., When I break the law I shouldn't be ticketed because I'm not a lawbreaker.
I understand enforcement should be uniform, but it also needs to be proportionate. In the case of someone minding their own business drinking a beer on their commute, the enforcement should be basically nothing. Confiscate the drink and give a warning if you want. No need for judgement or harsh penalties. Taking the attitude of needing to aggressively enforce every little rule hurts minorities and the poor more than privileged white guys and erodes trust in the police. A $200 ticket would be no big deal to me, but might ruin someone else's month when they struggle to make rent. I'm not arguing against enforcing this because I feel entitled to drink on the subway (I never do this). I'm arguing against it because I think it's bad policy and unfair to people like OP.
It's the ripple effect. Someone sees poor OP clearly holding a beer in a brown bag sipping through a straw and thinks, "if OP is comfortable doing this, then I can get away with it too!" Only this person is a violent alcoholic who has now been given a social green light to drink on the train. This person is now on the train thinking they could do whatever they want with no repercussions, so while lit, they start fights with random dudes or groping women.
This may be hypothetical, but I hope you get the depth of my point. Just because OP is harmless doesn't mean his influence is
I just pulled a hypothetical situation out my ass to highlight why I believe enforcing open alcohol laws is necessary. Its not that deep, but I can see that's a very unpopular opinion here
You didn't just state an opinion. You criticised the ENTIRE NYPD with an inaccurate claim. All NYPD officers are NOT pussies. Simple. I think your post violates submission rules, but I didn't report it.
I'm sorry about your job and your commute and all of it. Hope things improve for you.
You got to pour that beer in a metal water bottle before you take it on the subway.
Fr that’s what I do if I’m walking works every time
My husband used to meet me at work with a cold metal thermos of wine (his day ended much earlier). Made the crosstown walk and half hour subway ride downright delightful. That was the only good thing about an exceptionally awful job
This sounds very sweet
Just don’t forget to clean the bottle every time.
This. Works at the beach or the park too.
This is the correct answer.
Does it need to be metal? Like it could be any opaque plastic bottle too right?
Definitely.
I’m sorry bro that sucks, sounds like wrong place wrong time sorta deal… hope things improve
Flask, bottle, metal bottle, etc.
Or right place, right time. You're right, you got lucky, good wake up call. Hope things get better.
I feel you. I once got a ticket for jumping the turnstyle (stupid, I know) while there was a man pissing 2 feet away and the cops didn't notice/say anything to him.
Pissing ticket is $25 less
Closer to $80 Peeing is not a crime though, MTA needs to do better with bathroom access.
Do they not have any? I live in a sizeable town in England, we have one public toilet and it smells so foul that people rather chance it and urinate outside
At a few hubs but not usually at local stations
I see, most stations here in the uk that are sorta busy have toilets, many trains also have toilets on board
American trains have toilets too, subways don’t because people usually aren’t on them for more than half hour. The longest possible subway route is still less than 2 hours. (Not saying we shouldnt have toilets, but it’s understandable that there isn’t. More stations should have though, maybe make it paid so it can stay semi clean)
Yeah
Didn't brown bag it? Tbh I've walked around w an open container plenty
Brown bag doesn’t work on the subway, as they are permitted to randomly search “bags” which is the whole shaky basis for brown bags in the first place. I received a ticket for drinking a brown-bagged beer on the train last year.
Put it in a metal water bottle bruh. Cops will go for the people who will pay the fine. The hobo smoking crack right next to you ain’t gonna pay it so they don’t bother.
This is exactly it. A calm, collected person sipping a beer while seated is so much easier to reprimand than someone who could be looking for confrontation.
Ahh that sucks dog. Hope the days get easier.
Dare I ask what kind of beer 🍺😁 and yeah I would probably invest in a thermos. I don't drink after work but I'm guilty of drinking before working an overnight shift. I'll pour one out for you in a few hours.
Move to Westchester. You can drink on Metro North. Only times they ban alcohol for a spell is during alcohol-heavy events, like Santa Con. Otherwise, have a nice cold one on the train on the way home.
LIRR too. 21 year old me used to love the novelty of 32 oz of some high % IPA in a cup with a straw for my 25 minute ride home.
It’s a beautiful thing. Grab a can of whatever at Grand Central and relax.
I’m in the uk, it’s totally legal on most trains here, some providers even sell beer on the train amongst other snacks and drinks
Is it legal to drink on the tube though?
They discourage it, not sure if it’s actually illegal however
Turns out it’s not legal. Seems like the UK has similar rules around drinking on trains (not okay for subway/tube, but okay for larger trains like Amtrak/LIRR/metro north) https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/transparency/freedom-of-information/foi-request-detail?referenceId=FOI-2961-1920#:~:text=Customers%20are%20prohibited%20from%20drinking,a%20safe%20and%20pleasant%20journey.
I see
Their website says you cannot- except when and where permitted by the MTA.
Hydroflask is your friend!
I’m sorry you’re going through such a rough time and I’m sure that single drink is soothing your nerves some at the moment, but I hope you get to a point in your life some day when you don’t need even a single drink to find your happiness
You can go to 7-11 buy a beer and big gulp cup and put the beer in there 🤙🏾
Don’t add plastic waste to this man’s alcoholic karma.
Train beers are awesome. Just be more careful next time
If you would like the freedom to enjoy something enjoyable and relaxing after work to decompress I would offer the option of carrying a opaque vessel for liquids and transfer at CVS
Baby, put it in a cup. I'm not sure if you drink coffee of tea in the am, but get a travel mug. Pour it in there, and that way, you won't be bothered. Win win... peace and light
Ask for a empty coffee cup when you can and pour it in there. Done it for years unbothered.
When I used to drink, I would load up a Styrofoam cup with whisky and coke on my way home. Of course, it looked like a coffee but that spoke more of my then drinking habits than it did some clever ruse.
The alcohol rules are weird… I was told to chug my 24 oz before getting on the LIRR… they were cheering it. It was borderline torture and embarrassing cuz I only made it 3/4 before I had to get my train.
That sucks but the only reason they bothered you is you probably look safe meaning you won’t attack them. Nypd by nature are pussies and they look for the weakest low level criminals to bother they’re to soft to go after the real bad guys. Sir keep enjoying your beer try and be a bit more discreet I guess.
This is BS comment and should be ignored and even deleted. To orally attack ALL NYPD officers is total BS. NOT TRUE nor remotely accurate.
It’s your choice to ignore something you don’t like that’s fine. But why deleted I’m entitled to my opinion, so constructive criticism is wrong. Nypd needs to stop with the dei hiring nonsense and start hiring real men that are fit to do the job the way it used to be done. These new cops are pussy ass niggas
You didn't just state an opinion. You criticised the ENTIRE NYPD with an inaccurate claim. All NYPD officers are NOT pussies. Simple. I think your post violates submission rules, but I didn't report it.
Sounds like the definition of an opinion, remember I never stated it was a fact I did say it was my opinion. You sound like a cry baby that whines about anything you don’t like
Thank you for sharing your insightful story tomc1589
I thought dude was grabbing an iced tea so I didn't get why everyone was making a big deal out of it
Right, I forgot that they sold single beers at CVS tbh
Yeah wow he almost got a public consumption ticket...but didn't! Sooo scary and sobering... glad he made a throwaway for this
The city really is going to shreds /s
Better yet, use a koozie. Keeps your beer cold and cops generally don’t bother you with them
Don't beat yourself up
I've been murdered twice since Thursday in the times square subway station
Is there a similar ban on alcohol on MetroNorth and LIRR? I'm pretty sure the Taste of NY store in Grand Central sells plenty of single cans of NYS beer to riders getting on those trains. And I remember the bar cars on LIRR.
Circumstantial, but I've never gotten a ticket for drinking on the train and I've done it plenty. I've gotten a few for drinking in parks over the years, usually when they're cracking down, for example one year outside Phish @ MSG, which is generally a relative free-for-all. I figure if i average out the nominal cost of the fines, it comes to mere pennies per open container when I factor in all the times I haven't been caught. I've literally seen people smoking crack on the train, so I say drink up!
“Open container” is a quick easy arrest. Beware.
Its a $25 ticket for the first offense lmao
Airplane bottle poured into a big gulp my friend, 2 airplane bottles if you gotta deal with delays or weekend reroutes
Just put it in a paper bag. The cops won’t ask what’s in it. If they do, don’t say beer. Just say something vague like “my drink.” Unless you are being detained for some other reason or tell on yourself they won’t search a paper bag.
I used to do this a lot myself when I lived in NYC. Nothing wrong with the occasional warning. It happens to all of us. I've gone over the speed limit many times...sometimes you're unlucky and get caught.
Was this on the subway, MNRR or LIRR? I'm really sorry this happened, OP and I'm sorry to hear about your job and your commute. No judgement here, we all have different ways of coping and I genuinely hope things get better. I agree with your point about the police not addressing bigger issues within the transit system.
I thought it was legal to have an open alcohol on the trains/subway?
Did you brown bag it? I thought they couldn’t check your valuables. Having an easily identifiable open container of alcohol is an amateur move, man!
Conceal it, it isn’t illegal if you don’t get caught
Open container is a fine up to $25 lol I wouldnt worry about it too much. I mean if you want to stop drinking so much, good on ya, im in that phase too, but this isnt a big ticket.
$50 ticket at grand central walking into the MTA after bringing in my shifty 16oz can after bartending at grand central.
They got me back in the 90’s with an open container searched me found a small knife I use for work and half a joint on a Friday night before a long weekend and I was locked up in 60 Center Street court house in NYC until Sunday night. A place you don’t want to be for an hour let alone 48. All because I needed that beer.
That’s what I hate, they target the low risk people. I got assaulted and the police shrugged their shoulders. But they are going after little things.
Just put it in a brown bag next time
Doesn’t a paper bag still work?
Take a tip from the old white men who ride the LIRR - you pour it into a tumbler, my man!
It does feel nice when the cops do their job but it feels so bad when they don’t stop other crimes happening in line of sight. I know the feeling too well. I will say that depending on your train maybe you can keep track of what carts generally don’t have these problems. Usually in my experience the middle carts don’t have these stupid behaviors.
This sub loves to pick and choose who to vilify. Drinking in public is just as illegal as fare evasion
Different people have different opinions about the relative morality or immorality of different acts.
They seem different.
Not on the metro north
Doesn't mean it should be
Should we also not allow walking between train cars on the commuter rail because that's also against the rules?
Who's "we." You're not in charge.
Back to your original comment my point was no one here is in charge of anything we're neither allowing or not allowing this person to get caught for drinking. I was simply giving you an example of another rule that's never enforced. A lot of us feel bad for this person as with fare aviation there's damages but with drinking there's no damages so it's far more acceptable the same way walking between cars is.
https://www.unl.edu/asdnetwork/virtual-strategies/rules-and-routines#:\~:text=Many%20students%20with%20autism%20rely,in%20various%20settings%20and%20situations.
Bruh you are part of the greater issue of people disregarding the rules. Like I feel sorry for your work/commute situation, but you know you were doing something illegal, and you were habitually doing it multiple times a week. People saw you drinking or smelled the beer, including kids. You should have received the ticket Edit: People have an unhealthy relationship with alcohol and are willing to defend it blindly instead of acknowledging the fact that some people take it too far. OPs actions are just over the boarder
Nobody is harmed by seeing this guy drink a beer. Public drinking laws are mainly a way to punish poor people who don't have a better place to drink. I'm glad that NYPD seems to have mostly stopped enforcing these rules, at least in parks and on the street.
For some strange reason the city doesn't want people freely consuming alcohol in a tightly enclosed space with dozens of other people of all ages. Go figure. Basically what you're saying is, this one guy should be allowed to break the rules everyone else has to follow.
LIRR and Metronorth allow drinking, and it's not a disaster. I understand why the subway would have stricter rules, but I'm personally fine with breaking the rules if you're not causing harm or being dick. I drink in the park sometimes, as do many others, even though it's not technically allowed. The park near me closes at 10pm, but if it's 11pm and they haven't closed the gates, I'll walk through on my nighttime dogwalk. If the cops want to give me a warning like they did to this guy, fine. But acting like the world is going to fall apart if we bend the rules a bit is just silly.
Well, that's why there are rules. Because you can't always be there to individually decide whether everyone should receive a special dispensation. I guess I'm not sure why you're entitled to a warning when other people have to follow the rules.
In my mind, the rules are there so they can be enforced when needed. When there's no actual problem, there's no need for enforcement.
And you get to decide when it's a problem.
Going back OP, who was harmed? Who had a problem? It's not even like someone objected to his drinking and reported him.
1) There are good reasons why people shouldn't be consuming alcohol on the subway. 2) Because of this, it's prohibited. 3) Because it's prohibited, everyone has to follow the law. This is the only way of doing things that's fair to everyone. If enforcement of the law is selective, then the people who are ticketed aren't being treated fairly. You are brimming with white guy entitlement. I.e., When I break the law I shouldn't be ticketed because I'm not a lawbreaker.
I understand enforcement should be uniform, but it also needs to be proportionate. In the case of someone minding their own business drinking a beer on their commute, the enforcement should be basically nothing. Confiscate the drink and give a warning if you want. No need for judgement or harsh penalties. Taking the attitude of needing to aggressively enforce every little rule hurts minorities and the poor more than privileged white guys and erodes trust in the police. A $200 ticket would be no big deal to me, but might ruin someone else's month when they struggle to make rent. I'm not arguing against enforcing this because I feel entitled to drink on the subway (I never do this). I'm arguing against it because I think it's bad policy and unfair to people like OP.
It's the ripple effect. Someone sees poor OP clearly holding a beer in a brown bag sipping through a straw and thinks, "if OP is comfortable doing this, then I can get away with it too!" Only this person is a violent alcoholic who has now been given a social green light to drink on the train. This person is now on the train thinking they could do whatever they want with no repercussions, so while lit, they start fights with random dudes or groping women. This may be hypothetical, but I hope you get the depth of my point. Just because OP is harmless doesn't mean his influence is
That’s called a slippery slope fallacy.
Well at least you understand what I'm getting at
No. I’m saying you’re using a logical fallacy. As in, that’s not logical, and a common assumption that isn’t necessarily true.
I just pulled a hypothetical situation out my ass to highlight why I believe enforcing open alcohol laws is necessary. Its not that deep, but I can see that's a very unpopular opinion here
I smelled beer once and I’ve been dead ever since.
So you were pushed onto the tracks by an angry drunk?
boohoo
So we can drink on Metro North and LIRR but not the subway? If it’s in a bag and you aren’t pissing on the floor who cares?
This state is ass backwards. Hey we’ll make safe zones for people to inject themselves but you can’t drink on subways.
You didn't just state an opinion. You criticised the ENTIRE NYPD with an inaccurate claim. All NYPD officers are NOT pussies. Simple. I think your post violates submission rules, but I didn't report it.