Is that an armrest in your pocket or are you just happy to see me? (Photo by Michelle V. Agins/The New York Times)
Rest easy, commuters. Your pants are safe from the terror that are the armrests on commuter rail trains. The MTA has heard your cries, and they will fix the problem of the pants-eating armrests.
According to The New York Times, Metro-North and the L.I.R.R. plan to submit a request to the MTA board this month asking for a $3.59 million contract to purchase replacement armrests that won’t tear unsuspecting passengers’ pants. As William Neuman notes, that comes to about $70.50 an armrest. The armrest replacement project should be completed by the end of 2009 on L.I.R.R. cars and mid-2010 on Metro-North.
The Times notes the PR benefit of this move:
What the railroads are really buying is goodwill from riders. Together, the railroads have paid out more than $100,000 in claims to hundreds of riders whose clothing has been torn on the armrests. Interviews with riders suggest that hundreds or thousands more have damaged their clothes but never submitted a claim.
The old armrests are made of a rubbery material that seems to latch onto clothes and not let go. They are also long and tapered and are attached at an angle that allows them to slide unobserved into pants pockets as a rider sits down.
The new armrests are shorter, with a smoother finish, which, according to the board summary, “does not ‘grab’ clothing.”
While tailors around Penn Station and Grand Central Terminal lose out, commuters are sure to be thrilled with armrests that fill their pockets with loving caresses instead of tearing glances. Phew.
7 comments
“hundreds or thousands more have damaged their clothes but never submitted a claim”!!!!!!!!!! oh no! hundreds or THOUSANDS?? this is a scandal.
amazing how they could let such a thing pass through design and inspection…
Oh thank Jesus they’re fixing this. My father AND mother were both killed by renegade armrests! This will finally bring peace to my family…
[…] critical of the MTA as it is just laying out the facts. Where the report is most critical is in the infamous LIRR armrest issue. The arm rest settlements have exceeded $285,000. That’s a lot of torn […]
[…] critical of the MTA as it is just laying out the facts. Where the report is most critical is in the infamous LIRR armrest issue. The arm rest settlements have exceeded $285,000. That’s a lot of torn […]
[…] first came to my attention during the early days of Second Ave. Sagas, and in 2007, the authority vowed to fix it. Now, in order to save $3 million, the pants-ripping armrests will remain, and the authority will […]
I was just rummaging through the old LIRR posts here, and was surprised to see this. We’re more than halfway through 2010, and I don’t recall seeing any fixes to these armrests. I commute on the LIRR 5 days a week, and have fallen victim twice. Not a bad percentage, but it happens. Any update on this fix or have they moved on to larger issues?