JP, in all honesty, unless there is more to the story than what's in the email, the guy on the subway was a non-event. I always stand up in the NYC subway, regardless of the number of seats available, and I always remove my watch and tie clip before getting on the subway to reduce the incentive for criminal activity. Why do I always stand? Because I'm 6'2" and a very solid 210 lb., and therefore, I am less likely to become a target for theft or harrassment when standing tall as opposed to sitting short. Second, in the event of an emergency or other "incident" I can react a lot faster from a standing position than from a sitting position. BTW, I've ridden the "el" between O'Hare and downtown and I've always stood for the entire ride.
As far as the closing of the newstand, things like that have been happening since the newstand was invented. The reasons could be loss of lease, insolvency/bankruptcy, illness, merger/consolidation, retirement, security, or beauracracy, among others. Now if a bunch of newstands and gas stations start to close, then you may want to head for the fallout shelter.
Are you Arab with a backpack coming from O'Hare? ;)