Broadway Actor Victim of Subway Attacker

[Mr Roxy]

Alex Weissman of Harry Potter becomes the latest subway casualty. He was,attacked today by someone who sucker punched him damaging one of his eyes

Even if Broadway returns it will mean nothing if the subways continue to be a Wild West show. Tourists would not think to kindly to being a target of a NY wacko.Big Bird is clueless so the next mayor better get up to speed really quick .

[BroadwayNYC2]

I don’t know what point you think you’re making but this ain’t it

[Mr Roxy]

Think about it. It is not to difficult to figure out. If you can't such is life 

[Mr Roxy]

[ArtMan]

After reading Mr Roxy's post and doing a search on this attack, other attacks were shown.  A woman was pushed onto the tracks yesterday, as a train was coming onto the station by some nutjob.   Another woman, this week, was beat up by a group of teens at a Brooklyn station.  As a tourist myself,  I think Mr Roxy's point is pretty clear.

[Kad]

Roxy's point is very clear because it's the same point he's been hammering for years, even pre-pandemic: that New York is falling apart. While he feigns sadness over it, he's not at all sad. He takes delight in sharing any news item that reinforces his opinion.

Meanwhile, he no longer even lives in the city.

[SouthernCakes]

So he can’t care about the city because he doesn’t live here anymore?

I don’t remember the last time I’ve eaten outside and someone didn’t ask me for money or some crazy just was standing in the middle of the outdoor dining.

[Highland Guy]

SouthernCakes said: "I don’t remember the last time I’ve eaten outside and someone didn’t ask me for money or some crazy just was standing in the middle of the outdoor dining."

 
I do so very much appreciate your compassionate attitude during this worldwide tragedy.  

[South Florida]

Kad knows all.  Roxy you are and always will be an outcast.

[FindingNamo]

You know the first thing I think when somebody is the victim of violence is the deleterious effect it will have on Broadway.

[TheatreFan4]

I just love the thought of Roxy clutching his pearls over an occasional subway attack that he'll never ride on because he makes a B-Line straight to the Time Square Olive Garden. 

[ColorTheHours048]

Subway attacks always happen, and have always happened, in New York City. It just doesn’t always happen to someone with a big enough social media following to get in the NY Post. This is not some kind of death knell, as Roxy seems to think it is. It’s just grasping at straws to paint some kind of picture of a deteriorating city, when that’s not the case.

This pandemic has really showed people’s a$$es around these parts. Few moreso than Roxy.

[ArtMan]

Are three subway attacks in one week (and those are the ones that I am aware of) the norm in NYC?  After my most recent trip (Flea Market weekend 2019),  I have been thinking about reducing and/or eliminating my Broadway trips altogether.  As a tourist, it is an expensive trip just to see shows.  Yes, I try to do other things to occupy my time before and between shows, but that is getting harder and harder for me.  I'm not a shopper nor a fancy eater.  My 2019 trip was not that great.  The icing on the cake was paying an unexpected $100 for a cab to JFK when the E was not running early in the morning.  So I already have reservations about future trips.  Hearing about the subway attacks and random assaults on the street just add, to me, a tourist, more reasons to check the " no" column.  Mr Roxy's post was not about how this would affect some of you, who already live in or close to NYC.  But the tourist, like me, who flies in to see Broadway shows.  Are the subway attacks or the street assaults the only factors that would keep me away?  No.  I have travelled to some of the more dangerous places in the world that had Travel Advisements against it.   But it certainly doesn't help in my decision for a future trip.

[uncageg]

A lot of tourists know what is going on. I watch international tv and 2 stations I watch have news shows that focus on NY specifically. I have even had tourists ask me about some things that have happened here.

ArtMan, that might be a hard question to answer. Not sure if we are hearing about these attacks more because there are so few people out and about these days. I would suspect that in normal times there were actually more incidents that didn't make the news or papers. That is just my thought.

I also find that outside of the area when things hit national news they sometimes just say New York. People immediately think it is in the city when the incident is in an outer borough. I have had to explain that to some people from out of the country and even people visiting from the West. I have a friend who said she will NEVER come back to the city with all of the shootings. I explained where they were happening but she said she still will not come back. (This was right around the time that poor little child got shot in the stroller in Brooklyn.) So people outside of the city just think it is happening everywhere.

I don't think tourists will stay away in droves because of these reports. They have come for years. I remember going up to NYC in the 70's when pick pocketing was rampant. We put our cash in our socks. I think tourists will be more mindful. We are still a number one destination for people from abroad (I actually just "attended" a meeting on the comeback of the city).

ArtMan, sorry about your 100.00 cab ride. According to my concierge friend. At this point the set price for a cab ride to JFK is 56.50 with toll.

[Kad]

The number of crimes on the subway has increased this year... by low percentages. It's alarmist and dovetails with the Trumpian "our big cities are anarchist hellholes" argument.

[ArtMan]

ArtMan, sorry about your 100.00 cab ride. According to my concierge friend. At this point the set price for a cab ride to JFK is 56.50 with toll."

Uncageg, Thanks for your input and perspective.  After being directed by multiple clueless subway station employees,  I began to panic that I would miss my flight (even though I had began my trip to JFK, 4 hours early ) I had less than 90 minutes to make my flight.  I believe there was an extra cost for the early time of the morning and I gave the cab driver a  very nice tip.  Even though I am complaining about it now, I was just grateful to get to the airport and not miss my flight.

[BroadwayNYC2]

Don’t take cluelessness out on New York. We’re doing fine without it

[Marianne2]

ColorTheHours048 said: "Subway attacks always happen, and have always happened, in New York City. It just doesn’t always happen to someone with a big enough social media following to get in the NY Post. This is not some kind of death knell, as Roxy seems to think it is. It’s just grasping at straws to paint some kind of picture of a deteriorating city, when that’s not the case.

This pandemic has really showed people’s a$$es around these parts. Few moreso than Roxy."

All of this. I feel like I hear about these at least once a month. My parents even told me that there used to be a lot of bomb threats on the lines in the U.K. back in the 1980s. My mom got stuck on a train one evening going into London because of that. 

 

[Marianne2]

ColorTheHours048 said: "Subway attacks always happen, and have always happened, in New York City. It just doesn’t always happen to someone with a big enough social media following to get in the NY Post. This is not some kind of death knell, as Roxy seems to think it is. It’s just grasping at straws to paint some kind of picture of a deteriorating city, when that’s not the case.

This pandemic has really showed people’s a$$es around these parts. Few moreso than Roxy."

All of this. I feel like I hear about these at least once a month. My parents even told me that there used to be a lot of bomb threats on the lines in the U.K. back in the 1980s. My mom got stuck on a train one evening going into London because of that. 

 

[uncageg]

Watching the news this morning. They are reporting that the rate of attacks are up. If I am not mistaken, they went down. So are they back to "normal" now? I suspect this whole year has a lot to do with it.

[ArtMan]

An update to my prior post.  I just read that on Wednesday, a second person was thrown onto the tracks, when he refused to give money to a homeless man.  In addition, on Saturday, a man was slashed by someone with a box cutter in a Brooklyn station.  My original question was "are three subway attacks in one week the norm in NYC?".  So.... are FIVE subway attacks in one week the norm in NYC?    Again.....and then again....Mr Roxy's post had to do with what a TOURIST'S reaction to this would be and what effect it would have on tourism including Broadway.   

[ColorTheHours048]

Since I don’t have subway incident reporting in front of me, I couldn’t give you exact figures, but if you Google “subway attack New York City,” you’ll find articles from every year that all say the same thing: violent crime on the subway is rising.

Yes, incidents on the subway have increased by a small percentage (just as they have in years past), but this is largely due to the fact that fewer people are using the subway and fewer people are around to hold assailants accountable. But it’s alarmist to act like New York is some lawless ghost town. I live in Manhattan. It’s just not the case.

I would bet, on average, there are actually more than 5 attacks that happen each week. But news outlets weren’t always this desperate to paint a portrait of NYC as a hellscape when it was so heavily populated with tourists.

[yankeefan7]

"Yes, incidents on the subway have increased by a small percentage (just as they have in years past), but this is largely due to the fact that fewer people are using the subway and fewer people are around to hold assailants accountable. But it’s alarmist to act like New York is some lawless ghost town. I live in Manhattan. It’s just not the case."

Yes but you need to look at this from a tourist perspective. They read or hear about attacks from media outlets and it does not paint a pretty picture for somebody who is thinking about spending thousands of dollars in NYC. (hotel, food, entertainment). Perception is often reality in the mind of tourists. 

Can NYC rebound, sure it can but it will take a long time. How many NYC restaurants that closed due to COVID will never re-open? Let's be optimistic and say Broadway re-opens by summer of 2021. How many shows will not come back, will there be enough to replace them? Will tourist feel comfortable attending Broadway show in 2021 even if the vaccines are as good as the test results have predicted? Will sports teams be able to play games again to a full stadium? DeBlasio has defunded the police department, I don't think anybody believes this will lead to a safer NYC. Hotel industry has been devastated due to COVID, will possible higher hotel room rates due to COVID losses effect NYC tourism? 

Let's pray that NYC can rebound to it's glory again, it truly has been the greatest city in the world. Happy Thanksgiving !!

[Kad]

The NYPD has not been defunded.

I don't care about the tourist perspective, because, in this thread, what that means is a handful of people who do not live in the city telling people who *do* live in the city that it's not safe. And that's infuriating.

[CarlosAlberto]

The rise in attacks on the subways is concerning, and I am a born and bred New Yorker, and as a born and bred New Yorker, I know the drill - don't EVER stand near the edge of the platform while waiting for a train! And that's just because I grew up in the 1970s when the city was TRULY dangerous. 

I'm glad that none of these incidents resulted in fatalities, but they are very concerning - especially if you're just going on about your business and some sh!t off his rocker muther fuuker is going to jump you and start slamming his fist into your face or start stabbing you. That sh!t right there is crazy...and then some people ask themselves why others are packing heat.