Selling the Subway

The MTA is selling off its old signs, train parts, and furniture from stations, like a 10-foot, 200-pound wooden bench retired from the Lexington Ave. line or pieces of old Redbird trains. As the Daily News points out, it would have "graffiti inlay and weather-beaten look provided free of charge!" Mike Zacchea, from the MTA asset recovery bureau., tells the DN, "Normally, this material would be put in scrap containers and sold for scrap material." Instead, the sale of these items has brought in $35,000 so far, plus given collectors and people looking for a good deal the opportunity to own a little piece of New York.

Before Gothamist gets a 10 foot long bench, we need to put about ten coats of polyurethane to feel that some of the subway ickiness (we love the subway, but we also have some idea of what's gone on on these benches - spilled drinks and gum are only the tip of the iceberg.) Plus, there are surplus items for sale, like the sponges the MTA uses.