Sexie Sadie

The cover story on today’s amNew York (the free daily tabloid that’s handed out like free candy outside of Penn Station every morning) reads: DOWN in the DUMPS. Although I generally walk to the east side to work from Penn rather than take the subway, I am still outraged that I was not aware of the fare increase (from $2 base to $2.25). A 12.5% increase is no small matter. 

“The MTA voted to increase fares to $2.50 in March,” according to amNew York, “but softened the blow after state lawmakers came through with $2.3 billion in additional funding last month.” The article talks about a “tug of war over the bailout” — wow, so the guys up in Albany really can’t get it together, ever. 

I understand that New York is a big state, and I know that there is a reputation of Manhattanites to be self-involved and selfish. Perhaps this is me playing to that stereotype. But let’s be real here: New York City is a big deal. Not just to New York, not just to the U.S., but to the world. You’d think that the drips up in Albany would step up and take ownership of this city that is their responsibility. A metro pass in Paris is 1 euro, equivalent to about 1.39 USD. As a tourist in Paris not long ago, I thought that this was absolutely fabulous and took advantage of the metro system at e very chance. If I was a tourist in New York — the little of them that still come in the first place — a $2.25 one-way MetroCard is looking bleak. Not to mention how it looks to a NYC commuter. And I thought the LIRR was a pain in the ass…