Atlantic Terminal Commuters React to Proposed Food Ban

Brian Noonan balanced his double-shot Starbucks latte in one hand while swiping his MetroCard through the turnstile on Monday morning at Atlantic Avenue subway station in Fort Greene.

Once safely through the barrier, Noonan cooled his heels while waiting for a Manhattan-bound No. 2 train, taking a huge bite out of a Clif energy bar—an action that might one day incur a fine of $250, if a handful of state legislators get their way.

Sen. Bill Perkins, D-Manhattan, recently introduced a bill that would ban straphangers from eating food on subway trains, platforms and shops in an effort to make the system cleaner and safer for all.

Noonan, still munching on his morning meal on the way to work at his Times Square office, said the idea smacked of "Big Brother government."

"It's the wrong solution to a real problem," he said.

The plan comes months after the state-run Metropolitan Transit Authority implemented the in a bid to cut down on subway littering. 

At the time, Councilwoman Letitia James, D-Fort Greene, doubted the efficacy of MTA's plan, saying, "It is not clear to me how removing bins will lead to less trash because riders will continue to eat, read newspapers and otherwise go about their normal routines."

Left unclear by the most recent proposal was whether the $250 fine would be levied against straphangers for violating the system's little-enforced open container ban for liquids.

Downing a Monster energy drink while waiting for his train at Atlantic Ave Station, Flatbush resident James Garrett said the problem of littering on subway platforms, trains and tracks would be solved not with legislation, but with common sense.

"If everyone cleaned their mess, it wouldn't be a problem," Garrett said. "But you can't do it alone. Everybody has to do their part."