MTA's Latest Folly

The MTA is fighting two battles - a massive budget shortfall and the increasing cost of replacing train windows damaged by so-called scratchiti artists. The latest solution being tested: full window advertisments. The ads both bring in additional revenue and supposedly discourage vandalism of the windows.

However the ads are made of some material that only allow riders to see out, not in, making it impossible for people outside the train to see potential muggings. And any New Yorker will tell you that if a packed train with one empty car pulls into the station, there is probably a good and very stinky reason that car is empty. These days NYC subway cars are virtually free of graffiti, with only the ugly scratched up windows to mar their appearance. I hate the shitheads that scratch up the windows with their double-dumbass tags, but this is a supremely stupid solution.

(Via - Gothamist)