"A sign of the times: Coffee the Train Man helps commuters catch the subway"
Found this story in my local paper....not everyone waits for others to help them....
1. "The MTA is spending hundreds of millions installing countdown clocks at subway stations, but one Ditmas Park entrepreneur provides the same service for just a cup of coffee, a half-smoked cigarette, a few bucks, or nothing at all.
2. Coffee the Train Man, as he is known around the Cortelyou Road Q train station, makes his living as the human version of Penn Stations big board,...yells from the sidewalk above the outdoor station, letting straphangers know when he sees the light of an approaching train on the tracks below. Manhattan Q train coming!
3. Many subway riders stop to greet Coffee before they enter the station, where he holds court every day from 4:30 am to 8:30 am.
4. He lets you know how much time you have in case you have anything you need to do before going into the station.
5. Coffee says the free cirgarettes and the 14 cups of coffee he drinks on the job...
6. Theres also the salary. People give the tips I never ask, said Coffee, who lives at the Park Slope YMCA.
7. The tips, which can add up to more than $100 over a ten-and-a-half hour day including jaunts at two Manhattan subway stations, are his main source of income.
8. Coffee became the train man after struggling with drug addiction four years ago. Thats when some women in the neighborhood offered him $200 if he promised to get his act together. He says he used the money to outfit himself with some warm gear and heavy boots and set about learning the train schedules.
9....its unclear if he is in the good graces of the MTA. An agency spokeswoman said the MTA prohibits panhandling inside stations and on trains but Coffee swears he never begs and mainly stays on the sidewalk.
10. I like this job, said Coffee."
A sign of the times: Coffee the Train Man helps commuters catch the subway The Brooklyn Paper
I teared up at #8.....
God bless Americans....and the American spirit.
Found this story in my local paper....not everyone waits for others to help them....
1. "The MTA is spending hundreds of millions installing countdown clocks at subway stations, but one Ditmas Park entrepreneur provides the same service for just a cup of coffee, a half-smoked cigarette, a few bucks, or nothing at all.
2. Coffee the Train Man, as he is known around the Cortelyou Road Q train station, makes his living as the human version of Penn Stations big board,...yells from the sidewalk above the outdoor station, letting straphangers know when he sees the light of an approaching train on the tracks below. Manhattan Q train coming!
3. Many subway riders stop to greet Coffee before they enter the station, where he holds court every day from 4:30 am to 8:30 am.
4. He lets you know how much time you have in case you have anything you need to do before going into the station.
5. Coffee says the free cirgarettes and the 14 cups of coffee he drinks on the job...
6. Theres also the salary. People give the tips I never ask, said Coffee, who lives at the Park Slope YMCA.
7. The tips, which can add up to more than $100 over a ten-and-a-half hour day including jaunts at two Manhattan subway stations, are his main source of income.
8. Coffee became the train man after struggling with drug addiction four years ago. Thats when some women in the neighborhood offered him $200 if he promised to get his act together. He says he used the money to outfit himself with some warm gear and heavy boots and set about learning the train schedules.
9....its unclear if he is in the good graces of the MTA. An agency spokeswoman said the MTA prohibits panhandling inside stations and on trains but Coffee swears he never begs and mainly stays on the sidewalk.
10. I like this job, said Coffee."
A sign of the times: Coffee the Train Man helps commuters catch the subway The Brooklyn Paper
I teared up at #8.....
God bless Americans....and the American spirit.
