Some subway station benches in NYC are being replaced by a new contraption: leaning bars. The new features have popping up on some subway platforms. The MTA says it will save money, but is it also an effort to keep homeless people from sleeping on benches? NBC New York’s Marc Santia reports.
There are new additions at the West 4th Street-Washington Square subway station — and not all riders are leaning into the pilot program.
For those waiting for an A, C or E train, you can stand or you can lean at the Greenwich Village stop. But you won't be sitting.
The MTA has removed the old benches, except for a couple, and replaced them with leaning bars.
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WATCH HERE“I don’t like them,” said commuter Felicia Keitt.
“I feel like it’s kind of pointless. People need to sit,” added commuter Ty Evans.
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SIGN UP The MTA said the leaning bars are part of a pilot program, installed at the high-traffic station to see how they work. Riders like Keitt say after a long day of work, the leaning bars just don’t work.
“You have people who literally work all day. You’re coming home, you’re tired, you just need to sit down for a minute,” she said.
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“People are tired. Like we work all the time, it’s NYC,” said commuter Glenda Pena, noting that everyone has the ability to lean. "As the public, we view the world from our abled bodies. And it’s a privilege, but you’re right, there’s a lot of people that can’t stand for a long period of time, who just need to sit."
“I think piloting things like this is what we should be doing to show that we are looking forward to provide the best we can for customers,” said Demetrius Crichlow, president of NYC Transit. He said the leaning poles just make fiscal sense.
“The reality is they are so much cheaper than our current benches,” said Crichlow.
Some riders believe the leaning bars will prevent homeless people from sleeping on the benches.
"The homeless people used to sit here. The seats are booked so people who are sick or not feeling well they couldn’t sit because of those people. I think this problem is being solved by MTA," commuter Shaif Fardin said.
“You have elderly people, you have disabled people. If there’s an issue with the homeless population than the city has to find another way to deal with it,” said commuter Keitt.
The MTA says this is the only location where benches are being removed and replaced with leaning bars.
