Yesterday, we ran an item circulated via Park Slope Parents about someone getting oral sex on a staircase at the 15th Street F Train station, and re-ran it this morning because we had server problems yesterday (again). There is follow up and react as well, including an email suggesting that it’s about poverty. Here goes:
The best way of doing something about security and such things as [the public oral sex act] is to do something about poverty. I dare say that you rarely find middle-class people having sex in public. Middle-class people are also not described as “drunks and people generally up to no good”. Those are descriptions we use for poor people. Last time I checked, the poverty in this country was grinding for those who experience it. If you have concerns about security, contact your representatives and tell them that you don’t want your kids to grow up in a world where so many people must live in abject conditions, and that security would be greatly enhanced by re-distributing income in ways that makes this country live up to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Here’s another reaction from another email, pointing out that middle class people (and, God Forbid, the wealthy) have been known to do the nasty in public:
Having sex in public is illegal, and not just the plight of the poor (anyone heard of the “Mile High Club?”). There are horrible problems with poverty in this country, which are getting worse and which put more pressure on the poor. But it insults the dignity of any person, homeless or not (as well as their unwilling audience), to excuse private sexual behavior performed in public. Obviously there are problems to tackle on a macro level (homelessness, lack of substance abuse treatment facilities, etc etc) and personal choice problems (where to get your needs met). There’s no reason we can’t approach the problem from all sides—i.e., call 311, and write our representatives, AND try to treat all persons in our neighborhood with dignity, while maintaining high standards for everyone.
The truth is that our local public parks and our homeless shelter for women with substance abuse problems make our neighborhood home to all kinds of citizens. I prefer to teach my children ways to be compassionate AND to set limits (i.e, no sex in public from anyone, rich or poor) so that we can all
enjoy our neighborhood…I do think that the 15th street station needs more patrols, as it has also been used for robberies, subway jumpers and other shennanigans. The multiple exits and relative isolation
makes this sort of stuff easier to do.
Any wagers on many extra cops end up at 15th Street on, uh, patrol.
12 responses so far ↓
1 t-money // Aug 11, 2008 at 10:43 am
I’m middle-class and I have had sex in about 6 different bar bathrooms in the past 5 years. Yeah, I know, nasty. But not poor.
2 Matt // Aug 11, 2008 at 12:15 pm
POVERTY causes bad behavior in public? Maybe it’s drunkenness and drug addiction that causes it? When my wife & I lived in the neighborhood, I got into a huge shouting match with a shelter resident outside Terrace Bagels one Sunday AM. She was begging for “Money to ge something to eat.” I offered to BUY HER BREAKFAST! She cursed at me, and demanded money when I told her that I wasn’t going to enable her crack habit! One of my “enlightened” neighbors told me that I was being mean, and that I “should understand where she’s coming from.” The blame for bad behavior and illegal activity rests where it starts- At the feet of the person committing the act, not society!
3 don't believe it or not // Aug 11, 2008 at 2:15 pm
Sorry about that. I live in the Bronx, she lives in Sheepshead Bay. Park Slope is the halfway point for us and with hotel prices these days…. As for the eye contact – I just thought it was rude that you stared while I was getting a beejer. As for your judgement – you have a kid! We know you’ve been knocking boots!
4 Resa // Aug 11, 2008 at 3:19 pm
I frequently find condoms in the Prospect Avenue Station in the mornings on my way to work. If you go in and walk all the way down to the back of the train, just look around on the platform.
I don’t think that all of those gay guys who have sex in the park are poor.
5 Phil // Aug 11, 2008 at 3:23 pm
That station is ideal for crime too. At the 15th street entrance you hardly ever see a soul. You really got to be drunk though to be getting or giving a blowjob on a station. What is this Deadwood?
6 Frank // Aug 11, 2008 at 3:26 pm
The sad thing is only well to do people have time to go on to blogs and complain about people getting head or how much income said people getting head make. Get your head out of your ass and take a look around. While your complaining about the current financial status of your fellow Americans some one is having exciting and debaucherous sex in public.
7 Brooke // Aug 11, 2008 at 6:10 pm
What is so bad about a little oral on a subway staircase. I think the lady should have just smiled back and been on her merry way. Why rock the boat. If you had no home, you’d be doing the nasty in some strange places too!
8 Bill // Aug 11, 2008 at 6:52 pm
I grew up in Bklyn and the NYC motto was alway’s “anything goes”. I remember the thrill of seeing public sex acts as a kid. It helped expose me as it were to the world. Many residents of Park Slopish neighborhoods are transplanted yuppies who want to bend things to their perception of how NY should be. They tend to look down on lower income brackets after taking over their neighborhoods. This is NYC and anything goes. If you can’t handle the thought that misdemeanors do occur in the street street move to Westchester. BTW, I am not poor and never have been. I just understand NY.
9 KRS // Aug 11, 2008 at 9:27 pm
1. I grew up between Madison and Park, and yes, we rich folks have public sex all the time. Maybe it’s you bourgie middle class types who don’t.
2. I’d say go back to the suburbs, but my friends who grew up in the burbs (nice, white ELITE ones) tell me that public sex goes on all the time. WHERE THE HELL DO YOU COME FROM?
3. Most of the bad drunken behavior in my neighborhood is committed by the children of privilege. Go figure.
10 Donny // Aug 11, 2008 at 11:59 pm
I’m pretty rich but I have fucked chicks outside in “public” plenty of times. It’s because we were super drunk and horny and thought it would be fun. And it was.
11 kensington dude // Aug 12, 2008 at 12:07 pm
you should have asked her for some pointers.
she obviously was doing a good enough job to distract the dude from your approaching,
one day when your husband leaves your frigid blogging crybaby elitist no fun having boring shell of a human being. you;ll be wondering if you should have gave up the anal entry and your one a month 5 minute head sessions with listerine on the bedside table.
12 Bill // Aug 13, 2008 at 3:03 pm
Hi,
I must chime in again. This is why I love NYC. The reaction to bullshit when a NY’er sees it. My favorite so far is from kensington dude. Now that was a great post.