Lounging on the New York subway with feet up on the seats was costly to lazy riders fined by the city last year, police said on Tuesday.

More than 7,000 riders on New York City subways were ticketed last year for putting feet on the seats or otherwise taking up too much space, under a law that makes bad manners a crime.

The offenses, which ranged from putting a bag on a seat to blocking a door to stretching out for a nap, carry $50 fines, police said.

In all, 7,373 riders were issued tickets in 2011 for being unable to confine themselves to a single seat. The law making such behavior illegal was passed seven years ago.

While the crimes may seem benign, the New York Police Department said enforcement has made the subway safer.

It is not unusual for police to find someone they have stopped for poor subway etiquette has an outstanding arrest warrant, said police spokesman Paul Browne.

"One of the reasons that crime in the subways has plummeted from almost 50 felony crimes a day in 1990 to only seven now is because the NYPD enforces violations large and small," he said in an email.

Police often encounter "armed or wanted felons who were initially engaged in relatively minor offenses, like putting their feet up, smoking, walking or riding between cars, or fare beating," he said.
警方本周二称，纽约地铁里那些把脚跷在座位上的懒散乘客去年都付出了惨重的代价。

根据一项将举止不佳列为罪行的法律，去年有超过七千名乘客在乘坐纽约地铁时因为将脚跷在座位上，或者因为占据了过多空间而遭到罚款。

警方称，将包放在座位上、挡住车厢出入口、躺下睡觉等犯罪行为都将被处以50美元罚款。

共有7373名乘客在2011年因占用超过一个座位而被罚款。将这一行为规定为违法的法律条款在七年前就获得通过。

尽管罪行并不严重，但纽约警察局称执行这一规定使地铁变得更安全了。

警方发言人保罗•布朗称，警察时常发现地铁中被拦下的举止不佳的乘客是重要的通缉犯。

他在一封电邮中说：“地铁犯罪的发生率从1990年的每天五十起重案直降到今年的每天七起，其中一个重要原因就是纽约警察局与大大小小的违规行为作斗争。”

他说，警方经常遇到“武装重犯或被通缉的重犯，他们最初犯的只是一些比较轻微的罪行，比如在地铁里把脚跷起来，吸烟，在车厢间走来走去或者骑车，还有逃票。”

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