Security breach! Everyone panic! That, at least, is the word coming out of the Second Ave. Subway this morning, but should it be? The story, as reported sensationally by The Post, goes as follows: Four twenty-somethings who label themselves urban adventurers were arrested and charged with criminal trespass early Sunday morning when they were spotted entering the Second Ave. Subway tunnel at 112th St. The Post, trying to equate this development with a PATH tunnel breach as well, claims these incidents are indicative of a lack of security surrounding the city’s rail infrastructure. I’m not so sure the two are analogous.
What happened underneath Second Ave. is, whether we admit it or not, a common happenstance. A savvy, if unsubtle, group of explorers who know about the preexisting parts of the Second Ave. Subway well north of and disconnected from the current launch box at 96th St. hopped into the abandoned tunnel to take photos. Despite The Post’s reporting, these trespassers were not able to gain access to any areas of the Second Ave. Subway under construction. This happens at abandoned stations and shuttered areas of the subway system all the time. It’s happened at South 4th Street with the Underbelly Project; it’s happened at City Hall in that abandoned station. It simply shows that off-limits areas of the system are not immune from penetration.
The bigger question concerns our personal safety. Should we be worried about the porous nature of the subway system? I’ve written in the past about how vulnerable our subway system is, and in the post-Bin Laden era, that still holds true. It’s nearly impossible to protect and guard over 700 miles of track and open-ended tunnels. I doubt terrorists are going to target an abandoned half mile of subway along 112th St. and Second Ave, but access is easy enough for those willing to try.
8 comments
The thing that bothers me is they brought roman candles. Seriously? You couldn’t bring a flashlight?
And when did the NY Post start using Facebook for their comments?
Also, you have an extra quote at the end of the NY Post URL.
Their timing could not have been a coincidence.
Like they think it’s funny to do things like that right after it came out about how Bin Laden was considering attacks on American trains.
These people do this stuff all the time. It’s a hobby. Whatever Bin Laden train threat blahblah is going on means little to someone who does this stuff on a regular basis.
As the Madrid and London bombings have shown us, terrorists are likely to attack a train from *within*… compare the relative difficulty of sneaking into a tunnel to place some sort of explosive that requires extra apparatus to detonate while a train is in the near vicinity VS. just throwing the thing in a backpack and “forgetting” it on a train. Terrorism experts know this, but for some reason they’re content with letting the misinformed hysteria take hold of the public, resulting in non-stories like this. People go in tunnels ALL THE TIME. The only notable thing about these individuals is 1.) They had the balls to pop a hatch on a public sidewalk and 2.) They got caught.
“reported sensationally by The Post”
in other news, water is wet, heat is hot
I was with NYCT for almost 37 years – including many years in Subways. The kids have been going into the tunnels from time immemorial – always have and always will. I went into the tunnels when I was a kid, before working for NYCT. Everyone who works in the subway knows this. I don’t see why this is such a big surprise to everyone. Leave it to the NY POST to make such a big deal out of it.
I walk by that entrance all the time (it’s a subway emergency exit in the sidewalk) and think how awesome it would be to go down there some time.
when I was in high school I remember hearing about a party in an unused tunnel in Chinatown. I think it was a part of the full 2nd avenue plan that was built but not used; IIRC, there’s an entrance to it on the southern pedestrian ramp to the Manhattan bridge but my friends and I never figured out how to get in.
A disappointing night if there ever was one.