Brooklyn Couple's Mission: Reminding Passengers About Subway Etiquette
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - There have been numerous MTA campaigns to remind subway riders about proper etiquette.
A Brooklyn couple has taken matters into their own hands to get people to behave on trains.
Pole hogging, manspreading, and sloppy eating are some of the worst offenses subway riders see.
"Eating sandwiches where the lettuce falls out. Not cool," one passenger said.
To remind people to mind the gap, as well as other proper subway etiquette, the MTA launched a courtesy campaign a while back. Chances are you glanced at the posters and forgot about them.
Outside the subway stations and underground, Nicholas Heller is on a mission.
"I just hate when people don't know how to behave," Heller said.
Heller - a lifetime New Yorker - created pamphlets with his girlfriend: The subway do's and don'ts, keeping it light with funny illustrations of tips and tidbits.
"That's pizza rat, eating from Joe's Pizza which is my favorite pizza place," Heller said. "That's a roach. You got all the New York City critters. You the pigeon, the pigeon with Uggs and a yoga bag."
Heller is a filmmaker with 142,000 followers on Instagram, so some people have been actively seeking out the pamphlets to collect.
Heller has been passing out the flyers since last Friday, and he's going to continue to do it, but he says he's going to keep the days he does it random, and the locations a secret, CBS2's Alice Gainer reported.
Some people take the flyers, and some don't.
Heller's hoping the flyers sheds light on what's acceptable for riders.
"Nobody wants a crappy subway ride like everyone wants a subway ride where people are behaving the right way," he said.
"It's New York and if you're not polite there's going to be at least one person on the train who lets you know about it," said another passenger.
Or they'll take a picture and shame you on social media.
So what does the MTA think?
They say they love the enthusiasm and say this serves as a reminder of how New Yorkers look out for each other.