No Pants Subway Ride in NYC

[Marge_Simpson]

Does anyone want to join me this Sunday?
Info here:
http://improveverywhere.com/2012/01/...-for-new-york/

[nubka]

Here's hoping you have good weather that day!

[Buzz]

Yikes.... hope this sort of thing does not migrate up north!

[Jenny]

Amusing, but yuck.

Sit in the car as you normally would. Read a magazine or whatever you would normally do.

The last thing I want to touch any part of the subway system is any part of my bare skin. Back when I used to ride the NY subway to work everyday, I could achieve the entire journey without actually touching anything. If I could have figured out how not to breathe either, I would have felt that much better.

[Marge_Simpson]

I am off to NYC. Hopefully I will not be arrested.

[oleada]

Good luck, Marge. You're braver than I am

[milanessa]

Wheeeeeeeee!

[orbitz]

Everyone - Remember to wear clean underwear !!!

[Cheylana]

I saw this going on last year. The train was crowded, and I was dangerously close to lots of junk!

[milanessa]

I saw this going on last year. The train was crowded, and I was dangerously close to lots of junk!

That's a bad thing?

How'd it go, Marge?

[kedrin]

http://opinion.latimes.com/opinionla...bway-ride.html

Looks like you shouldn't get arrested.

Here's my question, do you remove your pants on the train, at the station, or before you leave your house?

[IceAlisa]

The only problem is the cold. Can't they do it in LA?

[Erica Lee]

Yikes.... hope this sort of thing does not migrate up north!

They happen all over - not just NYC.

Info: http://improveverywhere.com/2012/01/...way-ride-2012/

[Tinami Amori]

The only problem is the purposelessness of this.. If my pants were wet or stolen or fainting from heat and I had to ride a public transport in my underwear, nobody better stop me. It’s a necessity. But to ride without pants just to be au-contraire is silly…..

There are other ways to distiguish oneself....

[milanessa]

The only problem is the purposelessness of this.. If my pants were wet or stolen or fainting from heat and I had to ride a public transport in my underwear, nobody better stop me. It’s a necessity. But to ride without pants just to be au-contraire is silly…..

There are other ways to distiguish oneself....

You're getting old, Tinami.

[Tinami Amori]

You're getting old, Tinami.

Then I was "old" at eighteen........ I never left graffiti on the wall unless I was mad at the store owner..... I never dropped acid unless I had a good book to read, a good movie to see, or an idea to contemplate.... I never snorted coke unless I was going dancing or skating.... Never put my hair up in a mowhawk and painted it green unless I wanted to scare off attackers in a bad neighborhood or it went with design of my outfit... I never sent dead fish by DHL just for fun instead of revenge…

There must be RHYME AND REASON TO A MADNESS....

[orbitz]

I saw this going on last year. The train was crowded, and I was dangerously close to lots of junk!

Ummm, some of these pantless people are hot

[aliceanne]

I'm watching the news and they just showed the No Pants Subway riders in DC. Most of them were young and hot.

The weather was mild (50 degrees F), but still brrr... It is usually a few degrees cooler in NYC. Poor Marge!

I kept my pants on and went skating outdoors.

[milanessa]

Then I was "old" at eighteen........ I never left graffiti on the wall unless I was mad at the store owner..... I never dropped acid unless I had a good book to read, a good movie to see, or an idea to contemplate.... I never snorted coke unless I was going dancing or skating.... Never put my hair up in a mowhawk and painted it green unless I wanted to scare off attackers in a bad neighborhood or it went with design of my outfit... I never sent dead fish by DHL just for fun instead of revenge…

There must be RHYME AND REASON TO A MADNESS....

Rhyme and reason are in the eye of the beholder. Times change. You are getting old.

[Marge_Simpson]

It was a hoot.
I joined the group that was meeting in Central Park, near 103rd St. All the groups would eventually converge at Union Square. I arrived early so I could suss things out; but it was easy to tell who the participants were. We eyed each other with a speculative look: Is that a fellow no-pantser?
We had quite a crowd, I'd estimate about 500 of us. Most were dressed very casually, but there were 2 guys in tuxedos and another wearing a fox fur with the head still attached. (This gave me flashbacks to my childhood, I had a great aunt who had a similar fur, complete with head. I did not understand that the fox was dead; I was terrified to get near her in case the fox bit me. But I digress.)
There were some police cars there; I suppose they'd been sent there just in case we all decided to strip naked and streak through the park. But they barely paid us any mind, I saw 2 of them sitting in their car and reading the NY Times.
We got divided into 2 groups, one group would head for the C train; the other for the #1. Then we were further divided into 10 smaller groups; one group for each car of the train. We were given our instructions: After the doors closed on the train, the first person would stand up, take off their pants, and exit the train. They would stand on the platform in the same place, wait for the next train, get on, and travel down to 14th Street. Then take the L train to Union Square and exit.
At the next stop, several more people would take off their pants, exit the train, and wait for the next one. And so on.
We all proceded to follow our leaders to our subway stations and take up our designated spots on the platforms. The 103rd Street station has an electronic signboard announcing how many minutes until the next train; a big cheer went up from our group when it said "One Minute."
I had originally planned to read something on my Nook while I was on the train. But on my way out the door I had a better idea. I went into my kitchen and grabbed my copy of "The Naked Chef".
We boarded the train, which was crowded, and our first "de-pantser" took off her pants and exited at the next stop. What happened then happened at every stop: people who looked 30 or younger glanced up, then seemed to think "yeah, whatever" while older people looked scandalized and looked around at others to see if they also found it shocking.
I was one of the people who got off at the 66th St (Lincoln Center) stop. As I stood on the platform in my fake fur and my boy shorts, my inner exhibitionist came out. We'd been told to stand in the same spot so that we'd get back into the same # car when the next train arrived. But I paced up and down the platform, hoping everyone would look at me.
Eventually another train arrived and I got in and opened up "The Naked Chef"
There were quite a few people with no pants by this point! We went down to 14 St and had to walk a bit to transfer to the L. The MTA had some construction project going on, so we were all ogled by the maintenance crew. They seemed appreciative, several of them started calling out "Go ladies, go ladies!"
There were only people with no pants on the L train, so we didn't shock anyone there. We got off at Union Square, exited to the street, and everyone whooped and took photos. Just as I was putting my pants back on, someone called my name. It was a former coworker of mine from when I worked at the Hospital from Hell. He was there with his 6 year old son. We caught up for a few minutes and then I nipped off to eat dinner.
This has to be one of the most demented things I've done. And I'm glad I did.

Edited to add: I probably shouldn't post this, but here I am:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ennuipo...57628785250751
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ennuipo...in/photostream