All he wanted to do was get his beers up the escalator on a trolley. It wasn’t as easy as it seemed.
What to Know
- A man with a shopping cart full of Budweiser and Heineken was seen trying to push it onto the subway escalator
- But it wouldn't fit, and the beers started falling off and riding up by themselves
- The incident went viral on Instagram, with New Yorkers weighing in with tips and support for the man's tenacity
We've all been there. Forced to take the subway with a piece of impractical luggage -- an obnoxiously large suitcase, a desk bought off Cragislist or a giant bunch of balloons. For one man it just happened to be a shopping cart full of beer.
Filmmaker Bingham Bryant captured the man's struggle at the Delancey/Essex St. subway station last week. With his cart loaded to the brim with cases of beer, the man approaches the narrow escalator with what appears to be a plan to push it on to a step and ride to the top.
It was not to be. While the operation starts off well -- the man carefully guiding the shopping cart with precision onto the escalator -- physics is against him.
The back wheels appear to become stuck at the bottom of the escalator as the front wheels start to smash against the ever-advancing steps.
Richard Richards, operator: Honestly, as an operator, I have to tell them something. In an attempt to keep the customers calm you tell them we have traffic ahead, we have delays ahead, but in honesty we don't always know 'cause they are not telling us and radio communications can be choppy.
nJoe Costales, conductor: The system is antiquated, the relay for the radio systems are not kept up, they are not repaired, they are not constantly checked so there are black-out areas.
nCrystal Young, conductor: We may talk to them over the radio and they can hear us but we can't hear what they are saying. Sometimes when we are on a train it's not that we don't want to let the customers know what's going on, we don't have the communications to let them know what's going on.
Costales: All the time.
nRichards: They had hot-plates they had TVs, they literally lived back there.
nCostales: You see them coming out. A lot of times people who get hit by trains, are the ones living in the subway.
nBrandon Patterson, conductor: Sometimes when we go to set up tracks we go down there and they get mad because they think we are invading their home space.
Richards: I've seen people actually having sex on the train.
nCostales: Masturbating, having sex.
nRichards: And they've got a bed set up, they tap into the third rail and they are watching TV.
nYoung: One time someone brought a goat on the train. They bought it at a live mart.
Tramell Thompson, conductor: The E train has been dubbed 'The Homeless Express', it's one of those lines that doesn't go outside. So from terminal to terminal it's underground. It's pretty warm. You have new, nicer trains over there, it's clean over there. And you know the homeless, you go on there at midnight, you'll see five or six homeless people in each car. But the homeless isn't really the issue with us, it's mainly the drunks.
Richards: In the middle of the car. You don't want to sit in the corners [because that's where people throw up and urinate]. Also by the doors, you'll be on your phone and as soon as the doors get ready to close, they snatch it and they're off.
Conductors: A safe place to ride on a subway train would be in the middle of the train in the conductor's car or in the very first car where the train operator's going to be. That way at least you're closest to a crew member to help if they have to.
Conductors: Absolutely.
nYoung: At the end of the line they have a sign that shows on-time job performance, where they literally track to see how many people were injured while in performance of their duty so that's what they are concerned about. It's easier for a passenger to make a complaint versus us making a complaint because they just want to keep that train moving.
nPatterson: The MTA's logo is 'Every second counts,' so every second counts to them.
nYoung: Some superintendents, if someone has to take a comfort they want you to write a [note]. So you have to, as an adult, write down on a piece of paper that you had to use the bathroom. God forbid if you use the bathroom too often, then they will try to write you up.
Tramell Thompson, train conductor: Anything, EDPs (emotionally disturbed person), anything. Could be a disturbance on the train, fights.n
Eric Loegel, train operator: Unattended package, suspicious package..."customer injury" as they say. A customer injury is generally someone who has been struck by a train. And we internally refer to that as a 12-9.
Patterson: No, I try not to. I tell [my kids] not to touch anything, I carry hand sanitizer.
nRichards: I don't touch the poles or I sit in the middle...I'm a big guy, I brace myself.
nCostales: We transport millions of people, it's hard to keep it that clean.
Patterson: Standing behind the yellow line, the [public] leans over looking for the train, they could slip, and that's what causes 12-9s and delays
nRichards: I've seen people fall on the tracks 'cause they hear the announcement and they think the train is on their track and they start straight walking because they are online...we get conditioned, oh the train is here, they start walking and they fall.
Local
Bottles can be heard clanging inside their boxes and soon the boxes themselves start to tumble with the motion.
A box of Budweiser is one of the first to fall, as though saying, "I'm just going to go up by myself." Video shows the case riding the escalator to the top on a step, and it's soon followed by yet another case.
Bryant stopped filming after this, deciding it was going to be more time efficient for him to take the stairs.
"I went up the stairs and saw that he had a buddy waiting for him above ground, who was now shouting at him to put the crates on the escalator one by one... but you could hear that thud-thud-thud that meant he was still pushing," he said.
A friend shared the video on Instagram where it made it to the popular New York subway page @subwaycreatures, posted with the caption, "Never stood a chance."
New Yorkers were part amused, part bemused, and some tried to offer advice and support.
"Bruh, you gotta put your foot on that little step down by your feet push down with your foot and tilt upwards," one said.
"Never give up!" another added.
Others were thinking ahead -- or above -- to the lucky person who might be walking past at the top of the escalator. "Being at the top of the escalator and seeing a box of ice cold Budweiser just arriving with no one to claim it and then you start hearing the choir," one commented.
"Big win for people at the top!" another said.
Location: Unknown, New Jersey Turnpike
Complaint: First of all she was yelling at me to hurry up when I was trying to get my change for her. I gave her $5.00 and was getting the other $1.65 when she yelled at me, “THIS ISN’T ENOUGH MONEY I SAID 6.65” and mumbled under her breath “You’re so dumb.” When I gave her the rest of the money she had a cigarette hanging from her arm and her ashes got on my hand and arm.
n
Location: East Orange, Garden State Pkwy
nComplaint: I proceeded to drive through the cash/receipts lane and handed the toll collector a $5 bill. He handed me back $4.50, but the money had blood all over it…[name redacted] asked another employee to exchange the money that was given to me with clean money. When I got to my destination and went to use the money, I noticed that one of the dollars was the same dollar that was given to me with the blood on it. Whomever handled it simply wiped the blood off and gave me back the same money.
n
Location: Secaucus Transfer Station, New Jersey Turnpike
nComplaint: [Complainant] is handicapped. At Int 15X at 16.18 on Friday, [the collector] dropped the money, told the patron to get out of the car and get the money and they made fun of him with arm movements.
Location: Delaware Memorial Bridge, New Jersey Turnpike
nComplaint: Patron claims collector dropped money when handed to him. Collector made homophobic slurs.
Location: East Orange, Garden State Parkway
Complaint: The employee...engaged the driver of the vehicle by first saying hi. She responded back and he continued saying how it was “so hot out” to which she smiled and nodded in agreement. He then went on to say something to the effect of “I know you all are hot, I’d be hot too if I had to wear that monkey suit like you.” Please note that we are black women, and that at the time of the incident were in full garb as we are Muslim and were on our way to prayer.
Location: NJ-3, Lincoln Tunnel, Secaucus, New Jersey Turnpike
nComplaint: While collector returned coin portion of change, 25 cents made it into hand, 40 cents landed on ground. Collector refused to replace, told patron, “You dropped it.” Patron is disabled.
Location: NJ-33, Hightstown, Freehold, New Jersey Turnpike
Complaint: Last night my girlfriend was exiting the NJ Turnpike. She attempted to hand her toll payment to the man in the booth. He grabbed her hand and pulled it to him. She jerked her hand back and he then proceeded to tell her how beautiful a woman she was. She then told him she does not like men. His reply to her was, “That’s because you have not been [explicit] by a Puerto Rican man before.” I am not sure what your hiring requirements are, but you need to evaluate your employees more closely.
Location:NJ-3, Lincoln Tunnel, Secaucus New Jersey Turnpike
nComplaint:Patron states that collector "snatched" money and ticket out of his hand and the change was thrown back at him. Patron also states that collector told him to [expletive] his mother then a rock was thrown at his car.
Location: NJ-3, Lincoln Tunnel, Secaucus, New Jersey Turnpike
nComplaint: After the toll was paid, collector was “acting funny.” Patron claimed that collector was asking for money, if he could “help out.” Patron said he didn’t have money and that’s when collector spit at him.
Location:NJ-3, Sportsplex, E. Rutherford, New Jersey Turnpike
nComplaint:[Patron] says he drives from 7A every day to 16W. He was shorted once before but did not report it, but this time he was shorted $9.00. The patron stated to me that this was the second time he had to wake her up from sleeping. [He] gave the collector $20.05 from 7A and she returned to him $3 not $12.
