I hate the free papers in the morning. Notice I don't dignify them by calling them newspapers. Let's be clear about one thing, they are just waste paper that blows across subway platforms, stairwells and sidewalks. They create fire hazards on the tracks, and slip hazards on the stairs.
The hawkers block subway entrances on the street, and some even stand in the stairwells, blocking people from efficiently going in or out. The narrow stairways are bad enough on a good day, but on rainy days, with wet papers on the ground, people trying to open umbrellas, and some guy in an orange vest blocking your way as he thrusts an excuse for advertising at you — it's simply offensive. Except it is worse than that. Their piles of papers and wire racks create a hazard — they're a disaster waiting to happen should there be some reason to evacuate a station quickly (not like there aren't a dozen reasons to claim there's a disaster waiting to happen). Except that this dangerous blocking of the entrances at rush hour must be illegal.
Call your councilperson to complain. Write your newspaper. Write the fish wrap they give out at the subways. It's an outrage!
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