Something Gets in Subway Riders' Eyes

Around 10 a.m., people were evacuated from the 53rd Street and 7th Avenue subway station in Midtown because riders on a B train had complained of eye irritation and trouble breathing. The FDNY and other emergency service crews were on the scene for a possible hazmat situation. Now it turns out the issues were caused by an overheated elevator motor. That makes us feel so much better about the MTA budget gap.

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By Jen Chung in News on August 12, 2008 10:44 AM

Comments [rss]

everyAframe

Southpark cop: Just an overheated elevator folks, nothing to see, move along. You'll be bale to breathe in a while and your eyes should stop bleeding once we cool down this elevator motor. Oh, and the maple syrup smell over manhattan a year or two ago was just a huuuuuuge stack of pancakes.

palndrom23

@jaems

wow, great catch. you've done your good dead for today and the world is safer now...

jaems

@eyekantspel

"MTA hopes to save almost $2,000 (per each escalator)"

ed_Extinct

too bad those elevators can't go into "sleep mode"

djwerdna

This explains why the crazy guy on the D train kept saying "Not going to stop, not going stop" as we approached this station. The train did stop, but the doors didn't open. The crazy guy was quite confused "Why it stop?! It said it won't stop" When the train left the station, the crazy guy said "See, it don't stop"

eyekantspel

Don't forget the update on those green escalators-- NY1 reported this morning that they WEREN'T slowing down when no one was on them the way they were supposed to.

Reported annual power savings for greener escalators:

$2,000 a year.

Cost for the TWU to install new escalators, and then fix them so they work as promised?

Priceless.