Don’t Lose Stuff On The Subway Because You Might Not See It Again

The MTA’s lost-and-found procedures focuses on the former at the expense of the latter:

Misplacing valuables like a diamond earring or wallet stuffed with money in the city transit system may mean losing them forever, according to MTA Inspector General reports released Thursday, which found that less than one in five commuters are reunited with their lost item.

As part of a year-long probe, auditors tested New York City Transit’s lost and found procedures by handing over 26 items — including cell phones and cameras — that they claimed commuters left behind. Only three of those items made it to the Lost Property Unit.

In another probe, auditors tracked 10,000 lost articles received by the unit and found less than half got there within 10 days of being turned in to transit employees. About 13 percent took more than a month to reach the unit.