At 7:11 PM -0400 7/22/10, David Smith wrote: >No, not really.. Though I'll admit my knowledge of NYC is limited, >I have been tricked into giving people money in the streets before.. >Some guy convinced me he was a Taxi driver on a smoke (pointed down >the street to a Taxi waiting) and said I could buy a Metro Card off >of him and take me wherever I needed to go... I had just came out of >Penn Station with a backpack and pulling my luggage.. Plenty of >people around and they didn't seem to pay any attention to him or me >so it seemed pretty normal.. So yea, he took my money for a Metro >card, walked over to where the Taxi was but then I saw he wasn't the >driver.. He then hopped in and took the ride out of there himself >and waved from the window.. Kind of funny in retrospect, but yea, I >tend to be more cautious because things like that tend to find me >pretty easily... > >Perhaps just my lack of travel experience to blame, or perhaps just >really horrible luck.. I'm not saying NYC is unsafe.. I'm just >saying, I lost money in broad daylight with tons of people around, >and so I tend to be strongly on the side of caution.... Even if my >post helps one person, I'll be happy.
If your post causes even one person to hide in their room, afraid to go out and explore NYC, you have done a disservice to the community. Yes, be careful -- remain alert and aware of your surroundings (day or night) -- but don't spread fear about the City being so dangerous that no one should ever go anywhere alone, simply because someone convinced you to hand over your money to them. As others have said, NYC is, for the most part, a safe place to explore -- even alone. The subway is generally safe any time of day. If you are on the subway at night and there are very few people around, for a little sense of security you can get on the middle car (where the conductor who opens and closes the doors of the train is stationed, so if you get mugged at least someone will hear you scream). All subway lines and most bus lines run 24 hours a day, but very late at night/early in the morning that can mean one train per hour, so make sure you have a book to read -- and pay attention to the Service Alerts posted in the station as sometimes track work can result in the rerouting of trains. All legit yellow cabs have the same NYC Taxi logo on the side. The fare for a cab ride is the amount shown on the meter (plus at least a dollar tip, or 15% -- whichever his higher). Unlike some cities I've visited, cabs in NYC charge one price for the ride no matter how many people are with you. Don't pay the meter multiplied by the number of people. Always get a receipt for your cab fare, it will have the unique ID of the cab on it and will be helpful for recovering anything you might accidently leave behind. New Yorkers are more friendly than the movies and TV make us out to be. We're usually happy to give directions or suggest a good place to eat -- But if someone seems a bit too friendly, find a polite way to end the interaction and walk away. Try to only use ATMs that are in a real bank, not the machines in small stores. If you are not sure where you are (in Manhattan), don't get worried or act lost. Just keep walking, most of Manhattan (above Houston Street) is a simple grid and you'll eventually cross a street you know. (For reference, Houston is 0 on the grid of numbered streets). Count your change before walking away from the register. Do not buy drugs on the street, no matter how much you might want them. The Brooklyn Bridge is not for sale. --Eric _______________________________________________ Debconf-discuss mailing list Debconf-discuss@lists.debconf.org http://lists.debconf.org/mailman/listinfo/debconf-discuss
