I’ll Miss the New York City Subway

When I first moved to New York City in the summer of 2005, I was obsessed with the subway as a living part of a vibrant city. All these people sweating on each other, crammed buttock to buttock and yet treating each other with decency and dignity, were following rules and norms that I was eager to learn. That is gone now -- and with it, I’m afraid, a big part of what I love about this place.

It’s hard to see how the subway can be made safe anytime soon. Consider the newly instated 1-to-5 a.m. disinfecting. Cleaning poles, seats and other surfaces makes little sense. Last time I rode the subway two months ago, nobody was touching them. And in any case, the questionable benefit will last only until the next passenger walks in and coughs all over everything. The problem is people in close proximity, and a total lack of air circulation that makes breathing unsafe without an N95 mask.