Home View from Underground Holiday shopping with the MTA

Holiday shopping with the MTA

by Benjamin Kabak

While the MTA, like many other institutions, is struggling to make ends meet these days, savvy train buffs and subway enthusiasts alike can turn to that tried and true method of boosting consumer confidence: Christmas shopping. The Transit Museum, purveyors of all things MTA, have quite the selection available at their store this holiday season. Let’s see what we can find.

To the right are some snazzy ornaments. While the Museum shop is low on Hanukkah gifts, they’ve got something for the Christmas celebrants around the city. The ornaments are available for all lines except the L, S, V and soon-to-be-extinct W. You can also decorate your tree in MetroCards, tokens or my personal favorite, Santa Claus riding the subway.

For those of us who don’t have a tree to decorate, there are many more practical gifts on sale. Are you always getting lost on the subway? Never sure what line to take? Now, you can have easy access to a subway map. The next time someone asks you for directions, just drop your pants and point them on their way with these handy subway map boxers. Nothing points to lovin’ quite like these silk undergarments.

If you find yourself metaphorically lost in the kitchen, a subway map pot holder may be the right accessory for you. This Manhattan-centric item also comes in oven mitt and apron form. The store also carries some subway hot sauce, but that’s not a connections I’d like to think too much about.

Perhaps you’re more of a snazzy dresser than a Top Chef hopeful. To that end, the $70 cufflinks made form recycled subway maps complete the best of outfits. The token charm bracelet hearkens back to a different era when swipes were unheard of. The station mosaic reproductions lend an air of authenticity and Heins & LaFarge or Squire Vickers grandeur to even the smallest of New York studios.

The Transit Museum has something for the heavy rollers too. Designed by renowned artist Boris Bally, the subway map chair is available for the low, low price of $2200 or just 1100 swipes of your pay-per-ride MetroCard. The special one-of-a-kind Times Square-themed chair checks in at the same price. Looking for something equally as, um, unique but not as pricey? Try an air gauge for just $62.50.

Finally, we end with the practical gifts. Want to know how long you’ve been standing there at Lorimer St. waiting for the G train? Well, then, get your own G train watch, guaranteed to be on time for often than the train itself. Take a few shots out of the MetroCard Shooters. With fares going up, we need all the relief we can get. And here’s to that rainy day with a subway map umbrella. For passengers watching yet another packed 7 train go by, at least you can stay dry while being reminded of the sad fact that you have no other choice of train line.

But in all seriousness, the Transit Museum Store has you covered this holiday season for all your subway-related gifts. While our fares might be going up, the Transit Museum and its stores while away the hours, reminding us of days when the subways cost 5ยข and MetroCards were but a futuristic device far off in the future. It’s a fun place to visit, and you never know what you might find lurking in the gift shop.

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14 comments

rhywun November 25, 2008 - 8:23 am

If the current map wasn’t so ugly, some of these things might sell better. Those boxer shorts look like someone threw up all over them.

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Cap'n Transit November 25, 2008 - 8:36 am

Honey, every time I see you it’s like a condo tower going up in Williamsburg…

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Kid Twist November 25, 2008 - 9:07 am

I just checked out the store. For some reason, they just raised the price of one of those ornaments to $1.2 billion.

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Todd November 25, 2008 - 1:36 pm

HA!

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Scott E November 25, 2008 - 9:14 am

I saw the picture of that chair, and for a moment I was stricken by fear. I began to think that the MTA was following the lead of the two local football teams and selling Personal Seat Licenses for the Second Avenue, 7-extension, and East Side Access trains. Just think: selling PSL’s for thousands of dollars, which give passengers the right to buy season (monthly) tickets on those brand-spankin’-new trains. They could make a fortune!

Thankfully, it was just a passing thought which no one will ever (seriously) speak of again.

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Marsha November 25, 2008 - 9:33 am

I have a subway map umbrella (got to use it earlier today in fact) and I am always being stopped and asked where I got such a cool umbrella. There should be more advertising on subway cars for MTA merchandise.

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rhywun November 25, 2008 - 10:14 am

Were you walking down Cedar Street a couple minutes ago?? I just saw one of those umbrellas, for the first time in fact. It gave me a little smile.

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Marsha November 25, 2008 - 2:32 pm

Not me but I’m glad you liked the umbrella.

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Julia November 25, 2008 - 12:44 pm

The bubble umbrella is amazing!

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At a Downtown Club, Green is the New Black - City Room Blog - NYTimes.com November 25, 2008 - 12:59 pm

[…] A shameless plug for Metropolitan Transportation Authority merchandise. But hey, maybe if we buy enough boxer shorts and potholders plastered with the subway map, then maybe we can prevent more severe service cuts. 92nd Ave Sagas] […]

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Roosevelt Island 360 (Eric) November 25, 2008 - 1:05 pm

The subway car themed wooden toy trains are a big hit with the toddler set.

Just remember the annual holiday train exhibit opened up in the GCT transit museum annex and it gets packed real quick in there. So try to visit off hours of you are there to shop.

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Kai November 25, 2008 - 7:36 pm

The G-Train watch is by far the best! Although I think you mean “far more often”.

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Paul B December 5, 2008 - 6:47 pm

I work for a T-shirt company and I’ve been trying to convince the MTA to do new t-shirts to compliment the existing ones. But these shirts would have pictures of the actual subway cars on them.

I know there are a lot of railfans who would love these shirts.

To get an idea of our work, check out http://www.asiwear.com, link to the fire/rescue pages.

This is not an ad to buy our products, we only sell to the company that creates the shirts. We do not sell to individuals, if you order our shirts, you make the money.

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nursery furniture March 16, 2009 - 5:02 pm

Haha ^^ nice, is there a section to follow the RSS feed

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