纽约地铁多占座位属犯罪

Lounging on the New York subway with feet up on the seats was costly¹ to lazy riders fined by the city last year, police said on Tuesday.

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。

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 offenses², 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 benign³（良性的，和蔼的） , 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 etiquette⁴（礼节） has an outstanding arrest warrant, said police spokesman Paul Browne.

"One of the reasons that crime in the subways has plummeted⁵ from almost 50 felony（重罪） crimes a day in 1990 to only seven now is because the NYPD enforces violations⁶ large and small," he said in an email.

Police often encounter "armed or wanted felons⁷ who were initially⁸ engaged in relatively⁹ minor¹⁰ offenses, like putting their feet up, smoking, walking or riding between cars, or fare beating," he said.