G Smell to Bid Farewell?

amNew York follows up their G line sewage-stinky-smell story with this news: The DEP thinks it's close to solving the problem of the mysteriously putrid smell between the Broadway and Flushing stations. Yay! But this is a little scary:

Inspectors found a two-inch pipe protruding in a portion of tracks near the Broadway stop that may have been the culprit. But the pipe, which is now capped, is a mystery itself.

"The pipe is not attached to the sewer line. We don¹t know where it goes or where it comes from," Millner said.

WTF - a random pipe no one has knowledge of is what was making it so awful? Were rats going in there to do or poop? Gah! Anyway, a sewer pipe near the G does not seem to be the origin of the stench, so that theory is out the window. We just hope they get to the bottom of this - on these hot hot hot days, subway smells seep into us - we want to put Vicks VapoRub all over us so we can't smell anything.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Chung in News on August 2, 2006 6:01 PM

Comments [rss]

Organic Market Forces

The IRT was actively driven to insolvency, by the public sector which wanted control of it's lines. The BMT was profitable (in spite of the politically motivated IND, the artificial nickle fare, and every other trick up the government's and Robert Moses's sleeves) till Unification in 1940.

The subways were never wholly private nor were they intended to be. It was city owned, but the design, construction, operations, and maintainence was contracted out. And yes they were financed with government subsidies and debt (like the MTA) but also from equity (unlike the MTA).

"Also, don't forget that we are catching up for decades of neglect with the subway system."

Guess who neglected it.

stank

My least favorite stench in the subway system is the exit by the 14th St. Food Emporium entrance. So nasty! I can't figure out if it's homeless stank, rotting yeast residue from Au Bon Pain upstairs or some really foul cleaning product the MTA uses.

Also, the escalators at that exit almost never work. Within the past couple of years, a sign went up posting the phone number of the management company responsible for maintenance of the escalators . I called once to complain and actually spoke to someone. She said, basically, "Yeah, and?"

thfs

the system originally was run by two private companies under franchise from the city, and both the IRT and and BMT went bankrupt.

Syntax99

Privatize it? No way. I don't want to take the "taco bell" line and transfer to the "overstock.com" line to get home tonight.

k.zhang

what about 51st street station? The path to the downtown 6 trains always smells like raw sewage.

mg

Besides, this isn't even the MTA's jurisdiction, it's the DEP's pipes.

Toby

To those who want to privatize the subway, all I have to say is look at ConEd.

Also, don't forget that we are catching up for decades of neglect with the subway system.

andrew

eeeeeegh?

privatize it? then they would be accountable to *nobody*, and fares would skyrocket.

don't forget how much the city subsidizes the system. The AirTrain to JFK is the one branch that isn't subsidized, and look how much that costs for such a short trip!

NYC's experiencing some latent growing pains lately. It'll eventually get fixed. The thing is that the *stations* themselves are not necessary to keep the system running, which is probably why they have fallen into such terrible disrepair. The newer batchs of subway cars have been *very* nice (compared to the old ones at least)

Danielle

When those stations first opened they must have looked so sturdy and immaculate. Sigh and now...

Organic Market Forces

The perpetually repeating announcement at Union Square station that ends with: "...you're safety matters to us" is such a farce.

The level of neglect of our subway system at the hands of this bureacracy is appalling. The twenty layers of paint on the pillars are all that's keeping them solid on the G line. When those stations first opened they must have looked so sturdy and immaculate. Sigh and now...

Just privatize it.

kevin bracken

there are dozens of doors in the subway to which there is no longer any key, or knowledge of where they lead! ask the mole people; they might know.