You'd think you could add to the myriad stirring defenses of drinking in New York the fact that you can usually take the subway and don't therefore imperil yourself and others by driving drunk. Uh, well, hold up, wethead. A new Columbia University study shows that nearly half a quarter of the 668 subway-related deaths that happened between 1990 and 2003 were of drunk people, usually those who fell into the tracks or went down there to retrieve a cell phone. Time to appoint a designated dropper. [Crain's NY]