Second Ave. Sagas

Colbert on kittens, subway station numbers, and the weekend service advisories

Written by

Benjamin Kabak

in

Take a gander at Stephen Colbert taking on the subway kittens (or click here if the embed isn’t working), and then we’ll delve into some other political issues.

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Most New Yorkers probably don’t know that, depending upon how they’re counted, there are either 468 or 421 stations in the subway system. It’s perfectly fine not to know that as it’s generally an esoteric piece of New York City trivia. Earlier today when I posed the question to my readers, the majority were in the right area. That’s better than our mayoral candidates are doing.

I asked the question in an intentionally vague manner. I wanted to see how close you would get to the right answer, and 63 percent of respondents guessed that New York City has between 400-500 subway stops. I’m sure that’s far better than the average person-the-street would do, but what about the people who are all, in one form or another, running to have a greater say on New York’s transit policies?

Earlier this summer, amNew York issued a quiz on city trivia to the mayoral candidates and printed the responses today. One question concerned the number of current subway stations, and while a few front-runners didn’t respond, among those that did, the results were ugly. Joe Lhota, former MTA CEO and Chairman, and John Liu, former City Council Transportation Committee head, both got it right, and no one else did. Anthony Weiner guessed 231 stops while Independent candidate Jack Hidary proposed 526. Sal Albanese said, “A lot. I don’t know the exact answer but a lot. Christine Quinn said 182, off by only 286 subway stops.

To me, this is a shocking result. Now, I don’t think it’s necessary to know how many subway stops there are in New York City to be an effective mayor, but most of these guesses weren’t even in the same ballpark. Quinn has made city control of the MTA a centerpiece of her transit proposals and was off by a magnitude of two and a half. Can we trust her to know about MTA operations if she doesn’t understand the extent of the system? What else doesn’t she know about transit?

As an aside, none of those who responded knew what year the MTA introduced the Metrocard either. It was 1993. Sal Albanese guessed 2002, and Weiner pegged it at 2000. Everyone else eyed the mid-1990s which I think is acceptable since the MTA’s slowly rolled out the technology throughout the system.

Anyway, enough of that. We all know not to expect much from the mayoral candidates, but what of this weekend’s train service? Keep reading after the jump.


From 11:30 p.m. Friday, September 6 to 5 a.m. Monday, September 9, there is no 1 train service between 137th Street and 242nd Street in either direction due to brick arch repair at 168th Street and 181st Street. 1 service operates between South Ferry and 137th Street only.
Customers may use free shuttle buses:

  • Between 137th Street and 168th Street
  • Between 168th Street and 191st Street (and the M3)
  • Between 207th Street and 242nd Street

Customers may transfer between buses and trains at 137th Street (1), 168th Street (A) and 207th Street (A) stations. For Dyckman Street and 207th Street, customers may use nearby A stations. Transfer is available between the 1 and A trains at 59th Street-Columbus Circle.


From 5:45 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday, September 7 and from 7:45 a.m. to 7 p.m., Sunday, September 8, Dyre Avenue-bound 5 trains run express from East 180th Street to Dyre Avenue due to track tie block and surface replacement north of Morris Park and cable work north of Baychester Avenue.


From 6 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday, September 7 and from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., Sunday, September 8, 5 trains run every 20 minutes between Dyre Avenue and Bowling Green due to track tie block and surface replacement north of Morris Park and cable work north of Baychester Avenue.


From 5:45 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday, September 7 and Sunday, September 8, Pelham Bay Park-bound 6 trains run express from Hunts Point Avenue to Parkchester due to electrical work at Elder Avenue and rail work north of Whitlock Avenue.


From 11:45 p.m. Friday, September 6 to 6:30 a.m. Saturday, September 7, from 11:45 p.m. Saturday, September 7 to 6:30 a.m. Sunday, September 8, and from 11:45 p.m. Sunday, September 8 to 5 a.m. Monday, September 9, Far Rockaway-bound A trains run express from 59th Street-Columbus Circle to Canal Street due to cable work north of Jay Street-MetroTech.


From 3:45 a.m. Saturday, September 7 to 10 p.m. Sunday, September 8, Lefferts Blvd-bound A trains skip 104th Street and 111th Street due to track panel work at Lefferts Boulevard.


From 6:30 a.m. to 11 p.m., Saturday, September 7, and Sunday, September 8, Euclid Avenue-bound C trains run express from 59th Street-Columbus Circle to Canal Street due to cable work north of Jay Street-MetroTech.


From 9:45 p.m. Friday, September 6 to 5 a.m. Monday, September 9, Jamaica-bound F trains are rerouted via the M line from 47th-50th Sts to Queens Plaza due to station work at Lexington Avenue-63rd Street for the Second Avenue Subway project. F trains run express from Queens Plaza to Roosevelt Avenue.


From 11:45 p.m. Friday, September 6 to 5 a.m. Monday, September 9, Coney Island-bound F trains are rerouted via the A line from West 4th Street to Jay Street-MetroTech due to cable work north of Jay Street-MetroTech.


From 11:45 p.m. Friday, September 6 to 5 a.m. Monday, September 9, there is no G train service between Court Square and Nassau Avenue. G trains operate between Nassau Avenue and Church Avenue. There is no G service at Greenpoint Avenue, 21st Street and Court Square.

Free shuttle buses operate on two routes:

  1. Via Manhattan Avenue between Nassau Avenue G and Court Square
  2. Via McGuinness Blvd between Lorimer Street L and Court Square

Customers may transfer between:

  • G trains and shuttle buses at Nassau Avenue
  • L trains and shuttle buses at Lorimer Street
  • E and 7 trains and shuttle buses at Court Square


From 11:45 p.m. Friday, September 6 to 5 a.m. Monday, September 9, there is no L train service between Lorimer Street and Myrtle-Wyckoff Aves due to track tie renewal at Lorimer Street and Graham Avenue. L trains operate in two sections:

  • Between 8th Avenue and Lorimer Street
  • Between Myrtle-Wyckoff Avs and Rockaway Parkway
  • Free shuttle buses provide alternate service between Lorimer Street and Myrtle-Wyckoff Avs.


From 11:45 p.m. Friday, September 6 to 5 a.m. Monday, September 9, Coney Island-bound N trains are rerouted via the D line from 36th Street to Stillwell Avenue due to track panel work south of 8th Avenue.

  • Trains stop at New Utrecht Avenue-62nd Street
  • For 45th, 53rd, and 59th Streets, customers should take the R instead.


From 10:45 p.m. Friday, September 6 to 5 a.m. Monday, September 9, 57th St-7th Ave-bound Q trains run express from Sheepshead Bay to Newkirk Plaza due to station component work at Cortelyou Road, Beverley Road and Parkside Avenue.

Comments

21 responses to “Colbert on kittens, subway station numbers, and the weekend service advisories”

  1. subway-buff

    It is officially 468 but that is wrong! They do not count Aqueduct Racetrack.
    For complex stations such as Times Square each set of platforms is a station: We have the IRT station, the BMT station, the 7 Line Station,the IND station and the Shuttle station meaning Times Square is counted as five stations

    Reply
    1. Epson45

      No, they do count Aquedcut RaceTrack regardless if its closed on racing days or only the northbound platform. Its on the ridership stats and MTA counts Aqueduct Racetrack as a station.

      Reply
    2. Chris C

      No it is not wrong – you are!

      If you look at the wiki page for stations in Queens then Aqueduct Racetrack is included

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L….._in_Queens

      otherwise the 468 figure would be incorrect

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L…..f_stations

      The MTA even states 468

      http://www.mta.info/nyct/facts/ridership/

      and lists the race track in the ridership stats.

      http://www.mta.info/nyct/facts…..annual.htm

      I think the MTA would know how many stations it has – even if some of them aren’t open 24/7.

      Reply
  2. Stephen – NYC

    “Quinn has made city control of the MTA a centerpiece of his transit proposals…”
    I think they _her_ proposals.

    Reply
    1. Stephen – NYC

      ..are.._her_proposals.

      Reply
  3. Heather

    If Lhota botched the stop question, that would be pretty sad.

    Ben, I think your comment about Quinn is right on the money, it further illustrates how clueless about transit she really is if she can’t even be in the ballpark for subway stations – and she wants city control of the MTA?

    Reply
  4. SEAN

    This inability to kno the correct number of subway stations sort of reminds me of the 1992 presidential race. Bush SR didn’t know what the cost of milk when he was asked durring one of the debates.

    Not knowing the cost of milk or the number of stations by it self is no big deal, but it does seme as you could be out of touch when you try to sell your self to the voting public.

    Reply
    1. Bolwerk

      Meh, that’s the same non-think “conservatives” employ. How many people would know what the cost of individual items at the grocery store are and why does your typical person need to know? How many subway stations there are is even less important.

      Here’s what a politician needs to know about food consumption: how much does having a nutritious diet cost every week or month and how well are people affording it?

      Reply
      1. SEAN

        Conservatives think? LOL Too funny.

        Reply
  5. asar

    i mean not knowing the exact amount of station stops in the mta is not really a big part of being mayor,it’s how u run the system and the city, knowing what should be done to improve the subway. not creating stupid plans like the triboro rx plan like christine quinn for example. and if she guessed 126, a lot less work is going to be done

    Reply
    1. Chris C

      She actually said 182.

      Not sure which is worse – her getting the number wrong or you given that the Ben listed what her answer was in the article !

      Reply
      1. asar

        So what does that matter. She was still so many statons off

        Reply
        1. Chris C

          It does matter because you got the figure wrong despite the figure Ms Quinn gave as an answer appearing in the article !

          If you are going to criticise someone for giving an incorrect answer it does not help your case if you yourself cite a totally different and incorrect figure !

          Reply
  6. Nets Cowbell Guy

    Q running express to Prospect never seems to happen on Sunday nights when I need it

    Reply
  7. Bolwerk

    Still would be nice if they’d at least bring the M to Essex when the L is out in Brooklyn.

    Reply
    1. Tower18

      Especially since they announced they were going to do that anyway in 2014.

      Although it just occurred to me…could it be that extending the M to Essex and increasing frequency on the G is in preparation for closing the 14th St Tunnel for some period?

      Reply
  8. BrooklynBus

    I’m sorry Ben, but you asked the question wrong and it was subject to misinterpretation. You should have asked how many stations are in the subway system, not how many subway stations are there. An elevated station is not a subway station in my book. You walk down to the subway, not up or in the case of Canarsie, there are no stairs involved.

    It is possible that the candidates you criticized were strictly responding to “subway stations” not subway and elevated stations which is the answer you were looking for.

    Reply
    1. VLM

      Nope. Go back to proposing intermodal bus shelters for the middle of nowhere Brooklyn. It’s a better look for you then this moronic comment. It’s incredibly clear what the question was and what the right answer, especially in light of the amNew York article.

      Your “book” that doesn’t include an elevated station as a subway station in New York is about as bright as you seem to be.

      Reply
      1. BrooklynBus

        You have clearly demonstrated on numerous occasions that you are incapable of making an intelligent comment without being incredibly insulting.

        If the question is so incredibly clear, which you are so certain that it is, how do you explain the fact that only 40% of an intelligent audience regarding the subways such as Ben’s, got the answer correct?

        There is no reference to an AM New York article in the post with the quiz for any further context.

        The question was ambiguous as it was worded, otherwise I dare say at least 70% of the readers of this website would have chosen the correct answer, though I am not so sure about our elected and prospective elected officials.

        Reply
  9. Duke

    More properly the number at the moment is 420. 421 includes Cortlandt Street on the 1 train which hasn’t existed for the last 12 years. The MTA continues to list it as “closed” but I don’t really think it should count until it’s actually rebuilt. :\

    Reply
    1. BrooklynBus

      How do you get 420? Are you counting multiple stations with transfers as a single station? I don’t think that would be correct since those stations such as Times Square were built as separate stations with connections added later.

      Reply

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