Archive for the 'View from Underground' Category

As MTA budget hangs in the balance, crews prep for service upgrades

Wednesday, July 23rd, 2008

While the newspapers today are again plastered with negative stories about the MTA’s budget crisis, I found, this evening, a glimmer of hope in the New York City subway system. On my way back to Brooklyn from the Upper West Side, I came across crews in the 96th St. subway station preparing new signs promising [...]

The R160s are still a bit confused

Wednesday, July 16th, 2008

Where: Don’t let the photo confuse you; that’s an N train, and it’s not an Atlantic Ave-Pacific St. Rather, it was en route to 14th St./Union Square on a Sunday night two weeks ago.
What: One very confused train (and, thus, some very confused passengers). On Sunday, June 29, at a time when, according to the [...]

Why so tense, New York City?

Tuesday, July 8th, 2008

Two nights ago, I had the distinct pleasure of driving on some of the worst roads in the area. I had just dropped my parents off at the 4 terminal at Woodlawn so they could journey down to Yankee Stadium, and I had to get our car back to its garage on the Upper [...]

The Taking of Photographs of Pelham 1-2-3 and bridge-crossing trains

Thursday, July 3rd, 2008

On and off over the last few months, I’ve posted about the remake of The Taking of Pelham 1-2-3. Today, we have some pictures. An intrepid Subchatter with insider access to some of the subway cars used as set pieces posted a whole bunch of neat photos. The photos include an old R62 car dressed [...]

A state of _____ repair

Monday, June 30th, 2008

The 7th Ave. station along the Culver line in Brooklyn has seen better days. (Photo by Benjamin Kabak)
A state of good repair. The MTA tosses that phrase around a lot these days, but no one really knows what it means.
New Jersey Transit defines it as follows: “‘State of Good Repair” is achieved when the [...]

Subway news and views from around the Internet

Friday, June 20th, 2008

We’ve had a busy week what with the MTA’s Board shenanigans and the forthcoming service enhancement plans. I’ve missed a few good blog posts in the interim. So let’s do it up, bullet-point style.

Ephemeral New York, quickly rising on my list of new favorite blogs, remembers the subway token, five years after its demise.
Pardon Me [...]

A subway system easier to navigate

Wednesday, June 18th, 2008

The most useful poster nowhere to be found. (Courtesy of Vignelli Associates. Click to enlarge.)
In 1966, the newly formed Metropolitan Transportation Authority was busy planning for its subway system takeover, still two years away. Within the five boroughs, the Metropolitan Commuter Transportation Authority, as it was originally called, faced the challenge of rebranding a subway [...]

The Bronx is down, and the Battery’s up

Wednesday, June 11th, 2008

Where: The last car of a Canarsie-bound L train
When: Yesterday evening, shortly after 6:30 p.m. at Lorimer St.
Pardon the blur. It’s tough to grab a photo and sneak out of the subway doors as they’re closing. It seems that some enterprising prankster or some oblivious MTA worker had some issues with the subway map. Or [...]

An Ironic Green Metrocard

Thursday, May 22nd, 2008

Where: Express tracks on the 7 at Shea Stadium
What: A discarded green MetroCard thrown out by a Mets fan heading back toward Manhattan.
For some reason, I don’t think this is what the MTA had in mind when they started their green campaign. A MetroCard thrown on the tracks is litter even if it’s yellow, green [...]

Sinking subway cars

Tuesday, May 20th, 2008

Man overboard! (Photo courtesy of Reuters)
Last Tuesday, I noted the impending reefing of a bunch of old subway cars. Well, bad weather postponed the sinking of the old cars until Friday, and three days ago, Reuters reporters and photographers were on hand to capture the subways going down to the sea bed. The news wire [...]