Have a problem with something MTA-related? Make a viral video! And get commenters to mention the word "lawsuit."
Wednesday we posted Dean Peterson's hilarious video of people tripping up the subway stairs at the 36th Street stop in Brooklyn. The naturally-occurring gag, according to Peterson, was due to a single stair that was a fraction of an inch higher than the rest:
The video, of course, was published all over the internets. Within 12 hours of its posting, it had received 330,000 views.
Of course, we didn't think it was a problem the MTA would fix immediately. We even joke tweeted @FakeMTA to see how they were handling the staircase crisis. (Their sensible response here.)
But perhaps we've underestimated the responsiveness of the real MTA. Or at least their absolute fear of litigation.
NBC New York reports crews have already been dispatched to fix the perilous staircase. Seth from BeerNation even has a photo of the station completely blocked off while repairs are made.
Commenters on Reddit, where the video was originally posted, called the staircase a "lawsuit waiting to happen." A phrase that likely strikes horror into the hearts of MTA officials.
As funny as Peterson's video is, if the staircase were left unfixed, someone would actually probably get hurt. So while we're sure the MTA probably has bigger fish to fry, it's nice to see a city government agency respond so quickly to a problem.