In April of this year Marvin Franklin, a subway track inspector, was struck and killed by a G train. It quickly came to light that Franklin, who had worked underground for 22 years, was also an accomplished artist. He held an arts degree from FIT and dreamed of opening his own gallery one day, giving the proceeds to the homeless (which he once was, and who were frequent subjects in his sketchbooks). Franklin's art......

Reader Steve said he heard a rumor that the NYC Transit Authority was "testing some type of new device that detects trains and warns workers via a clip on unit." And it turns out the rumor was true. The Post reports that the MTA started testing the ProTracker. This is how the ProTran1, which makes it, describes the device:The ProTran1 ProTracker Train Transceiver is designed to be mounted in the cab of a train and......

Last Sunday, subway track inspector Marvin Franklin was struck and killed by a G train at Brooklyn's Hoyt-Schermerhorn station. He was buried yesterday in Queens after a service where family and friends remembered a generous friend with an artist's soul and a compassionate heart. His ex-wife was the minister who eulogized him. His current wife, three children, five sisters, and four brothers were all present. Michael Williams, a neighbor and co-worker who would drive to......

Last week, retired NYPD detective Robert Volpe died at age 63 in Staten Island. He was not any ordinary detective: Volpe specialized in art thefts and frauds, tracking down paintings by Matisse and Raphael, Greek sculptures, and Tiffany glass, all while continuing to paint, teach and lecture about art. The NY Times had a vivid obituary of Volpe's life - it sounds just like a movie:Mr. Volpe essentially created his detective’s job after computer analyses......