Czar alert! Yesterday the state Senate confirmed Jay Walder for the position of chairman and CEO of the MTA. That's equivalent to rank of czar, according to the Post, which reports that Walder told lawmakers he "will be back" to try and wrest $10 billion from Albany for the MTA's five-year plan, which includes finishing the fabled Second Avenue Subway. The Senate's 47-13 vote was preceded by some debate, during which Democratic Staten Island Senator Diane J. Savino spoke for her constituents: "There is a level of discontent that exists between the M.T.A. and the people in this room, the people who should be your partner." more ›

With some new signs, the MTA is trying to remind subway riders that trying to push through a train car's closing doors slows subway service down. CityRoom describes the graphic, "The image above shows a rider wedged into the door, his body awkwardly positioned as the panels slam shut. (Whether he made his way into the train car, and succeeded in getting to his destination, remains unknown.)" If only the other people on the train car were shown with their annoyed expressions! more ›

Oh, NYC Subway, you don't act a day over 75! Some key dates and events: On October 27, 1904, the Interborough Rapid Transit Company opened its subway (cost: 5 cents), with the slogan, "City Hall to Harlem in 15 minutes!" Then came Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (BMT) opening in 1915 and City Owner Rapid Transit Railroad (IND) in 1931. In 1940, the city took over all the lines, and in 1953--the year the token was introduced-- the State Legislature created the NYC Transit Authority to oversee the management of the subway system (the NYCTA joined the newly created MTA in 1968). The MTA started five-year capital programs to rehab the system in1982, as the subways had declined with rising crime; by 1990, it was back to a state of good repair. The Metrocard arrived in 1997 and the token said good-bye in 2003. Ridership is now at record highs (over 5 million on a weekday) and the future of numerous renovation projects is unclear as the MTA's budget looks scary. more ›

Okay, maybe it's not a news flash, but New York City Transit Riders Council has put it on paper--61 pages to be exact (PDF)--as it reported that many stations are in need of cleaning and care. The NY Times noted that the worst conditions at some included "water damage, exposed wires, rodents, foul odors, clogged track drains and general filth." more ›

"White guy" Streeter Seidell created a White Folks’ Guide to the NYC Subway System, though he admits he should have left in Columbia. Our stop was omitted, was yours? View larger image here. [via Gawker] more ›

“He’s a good designer and it’s an interesting map,” Mr. Boylan said. “The design is important, but the thing we’re concerned with is the best directional guidance. We design a map for use, not solely to look good, and we think it looks good.”Reading the profile of him in The New York Times, it's easy to see that Eddie Jabbour is not a man easily deterred. The graphic designer for Kick Design continues to work on his map nights and weekends, asking his 17-year-old daughter, Ellie, for feedback every weekend when he prints out another revised variation of his design. more ›

Via Triborugh, the New York Public Library has this cool map showing the Brooklyn Bridge Station and City Hall loop. The station was first opened at the start of the Interborough Rapid Transit Line on October 27, 1904, but it closed in 1945 - there were big gaps between the platform and doors of newer and longer trains. Since the station wasn't used very much, the MTA decided that the Brooklyn Bridge station was enough. more ›

Run, Santa, Run, by David Reeves. more ›

+ And happy 102nd birthday, NYC Subway! You don't seem a day over 85! more ›

We used to think it was pretty sweet that disabled people got themselves a handsome little discount when riding subways and buses. But we always felt that there was probably some downside that we didn't see. In fact, it turns out that only a little over 10% of the subway stations in NYC are actually even accessible to the disabled. And apparently even a $300 million renovation of the Stillwell Avenue Station in Brooklyn wasn't enough to ensure that elevators at the stop would be ready in time for actual traffic. We were pretty excited when the terminal reopened two years ago, with its solar panels and all. But its elevators, that were supposed to be up and running in May, weren't ready until last month and even then experienced frequent service outages. Sadly, since the stop was listed as an all-access type, many disabled people who rode out there found no way out of the station and had to turn around and go find another way out. more ›

After months (and probably years) of planning, the MTA and Mastercard unveiled the contactless payment system at 30 subway stations along the 6 line - plus two non 6 stations in Queens, you know, where the Citibank building is at Court Square. We saw the sensors back in June, and now the whole test is called "The NYC Subway Trial." Which is kind of unfortunate, because it made us think about how sometimes riding the subway is a trial in and of itself. Those in the program would tap their Citbank Mastercard keychain fobs against the sensor (the rider would pre-purchase rides on their Citbank account). The problem is the fares are per ride (with every 6th ride being free) - there's not "Unlimited Metrocard" feature. And you can't use it on buses. But we'll find out more in the coming months - the trial will last through December 31. more ›

- The Straphangers' Campaign's Gene Russianoff has a blog! more ›

We'd like to take a moment to talk about the High Entrance Exit Turnstile (HEET) at many subway stations. A friend was telling us how he was fined for allowing another straphanger enter the station with him. Our friend wasn't trying to deliberately flout the law - he thought he was being a Good Samaritan because the straphanger had just swiped through, but accidentally turned the turnstile from one behind where you're supposed to, so he was out of luck on his unlimited ride Metrocard, thanks to the 15 waiting period before using it again. Now, this is something Gothamist sees at least once a day - some more, unsuspecting person doesn't realize that when you use a HEET, you need to be right inside in order to get to the other side. So, our friend let the poor chap enter the station with him on his card - only for a cop to ticket him. D'oh! more ›

Last night Gothamist went to look at the new R160 subway car for New York City Transit, which features one major change - the FIND system (Flexible Information and Notice Display). FIND replaces single line maps that are currently on the R142 (2, 3, 4, 5, 6) and R143 (L) that have bulbs indicating stops along the line, instead using a display that can change depending on the location and line that the train is running on. The Times has a couple of quotes from people that viewed the car, including a 72 year-old retiree. The R160 is part of a $952 million, 660 car contract that will put a test train into the subway system next Summer with further delivery starting in 2007 if all goes well. The R160 is built to run on the IND/BMT lines (the lettered ones), but no announcement has been made as to which line yet. more ›

Delicious has long been an indispensible tool for our work here at Gothamist-- we have bookmarks for dozens of tags and monitor them throughout the day. Our favorites include Brooklyn, New York, and Photography, but our favorite tag is definitely "NYC." Starting today, Josh and his pals have added a new feature to make the NYC tag page even better: you can now see the most popular recent NYC tags. The default view for the NYC page is to show every link tagged with NYC-- often the same ones repeat, and it's a lot to keep up with-- this page makes it much easier to see the most important links. As of this morning, these are the NYC links that top the list: more ›

Smith/Ninth Sts., Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, F and G lines: "The protective overhangs have large holes, paint peels everywhere and concrete crumbles."These selections sort of match up with the report from the Transit Riders Council last year; the City Council also found the Bronx typically had the worst stations. The NY Daily News blames these struggling station with a lack of MTA funding. Vote Yes on Proposition 2 for the Transportation Bond Act! more ›

The huge fire in the Bronx this morning that turned into a six alarm fire is definitely suspicious. It's apparently the third fire since August that has hit a strip of stores and apartment buildings. We can't wait until further coverage, especially from the tabloids, to delve into whether it's the building owner, a disgruntled tenant, a business rival, or just a lunatic who have been causing the fires. And we didn't realize there was an alarm fire beyond five-alarm. more ›

As the feds close in on the people who leaked the maybe, maybe not terror alert, Gothamist would like to take a moment to look at the MTA's evacuation plans for subway riders. If you go to their Evacuation procedure subpage, and you'll find links to videos and, better yet, some animated diagrams of what you should do in case of an emergency. Now, we want to know how many evacuation trains there are to pick people up. Clearly, it's time to go through NYC Subway. more ›

Probably one of the best "source" quotes ever in today's Daily News story about how the MTA will nix a ban on drinking beverages (non-alcoholic ones, natch) on the subway because "It ain't worth the fight." No, it ain't! This comes after straphangers were outraged to learn they couldn't drink their tall half-caf mocha lattes or even bottles of water (Gothamist included). But the Daily News says the MTA will pass the rule that ban walking between subway cars. Before you say that is the biggest load of crap you've ever heard, the MTA sources claim that there will be "common sense enforcement," which means that people who are trying to get away from, oh, let's say, dudes who are sharing a little bit too much, won't be fined $75. Meh. This is still kind of crazy, but the MTA won't stop at trying to indemnify themselves from "incidents." more ›

A woman was stabbed 13 times as she waited for a J train at the Bowery stop on Saturday afternoon. The Queens woman, a home care attendant, was attacked from behind, as a man grabbed her purse then punching and stabbing her. She is hospitalized and her son was angry about the lack of police presence in that particular subway. That was something Gothamist wondered about: Even though police presence is ramped up in certain stations, there are simply so many of them, and ones that are traditionally quiet, like ones for the J/M/Z would seem to get lost in the shuffle. Something else that we'd heard has stuck: There's a hypothesis that subway crime is up because the criminals that would have jumped turnstiles (and been caught by police) are now simply paying the fare and getting on subways. more ›

Sometimes there are fun subway ads, like the Bronx Zoo ads. Sometimes there are bizarre ones that become a part of your brain's fabric, like the Dr. Zizmor ads. And then there are the unbearably lame ones, like the Mitchum Man ads that try to appeal to men's machismo or something, with phrases like, "If you're pretty sure you could kick out the window in the event of an emergency, you're a Mitchum Man." And the NY Times confirms that the ads flout the MTA's own rules. Now, Gothamist believes in some MTA rule flouting, but after seeing some of the other Mitchum ads, like "If menage a trois is the only French you know, you're a Mitchum Man," we're pretty pleased that the MTA is now annoyed that Viacom (which handles their advertising) let the ads through. The Times breaks down that the "if you've ever hurdled to get the subway" ad is problematic because slips and falls are 74% of the accidents reported in the subway (and we're sure the MTA gets lawsuits all the time) and the window kicking ad is "almost certainly be illegal, and taxpayers, who pay about $2 million for each new subway car, may not take kindly to a window-kicker's choice." But this doesn't mean the MTA is exempt from stupid advertising: Check out this photograph on Flickr. And join the NYC Subway Photo pool on Flickr! more ›

A month after they were proposed, the MTA is adopting a new set of rules of conduct that will see fines being handed out for things like drinking (non-alcoholic beverages) in a subway car, putting your feet on a seat, and riding between subway cars. And you can't ride your bicycle, wear you Rollerblades or be atop a skateboard, either. The MTA says that police officers, who we have been seeing in droves at subway stations lately, will be "reasonable" when asking people why they are changing subway cars; the NY Times has this quote that proves why moving between cars is important:

Mark Page, the city's budget director, who represents Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg on the board, observed: "It is, from time to time, convenient to absent oneself from a car or from a particular group of people." more ›

As it was suggested last year, the 9 train is leaving the NYC subway system. There's a NY Times story about how signs will be taken down as the 9 train will go to subway heaven on May 31. For instance, the "9" will be taken down from the flashy Times Square subway entrance, and the 9 information are probably black-decaled over on the platforms. The 9 train had served as a way to help get people living uptown to their destinations faster by offering skip-stop service (the 1 would go local). But now that there are more trains overall, and more people living uptown, the 9 is an old-fashioned throwback. Lawrence Reuter, President of NYC Transit, told the Times:

"Skip-stop service on the 1 line is an idea which today doesn't make sense for our operations or our customers. By eliminating skip-stop service, the majority of riders along the 1 line will benefit from shorter travel times and will no longer have to stand on platforms as trains pass them by during rush hour."

more ›

While taking a look at NYC Subway, we noted that there was a new, "geographically correct" New York City Subway Route Map by SPUI. Gothamist likes the map, because it gives us a sense of how the city really looks (reminding us once again that Manhattan does not run North-South) and gives us ammo for the "We knew the train take a sharp turn at..." But in terms of day-to-day use, it doesn't really work as well, since there are too many colors. Now, if someone could design an interactive subway map - perhaps on a website - which would have alerts/service advisories pop up for each of the stations. more ›

The Daily News might not be able to hold a Scratch 'N' Match contest, but they do love using subway cellphones to prove points! On their cover today, the News announces that a subway flasher in Queens was caught via cameraphone by some Catholic schoolgirls. Apparently, the suspect, Wilfredo Ponte (whom the News calls "the alleged pervert"), had flashed previously on the F, but when he flashed some girls at 179th St. station, they fought back - fought back with technology! A police source says the freaked out girls found a police office and showed him the picture; then the police officer nabbed Ponte from a train. The source added that the officer took him "upstairs where the girl IDs him. A little bit of new-age policing." Ha! And the NYPD and MTA wanted to ban photography on the subways? Not so fast! Gothamist is stunned that the girls got it together to take a picture, because when we got flashed (well, not so much flashed as forced to have a dude pleasuring himself right next to us), we just wanted to vomit. And, no, we don't want that picture on the NYC Subway Flickr page...most anything else we'll take. more ›

The MTA and riders will be entering another new era of subway service as token booth clerks start to move outside to help customers and new unmanned token booth kiosks are unveiled. NYC Transit President Lawrence Reuter said that since most riders use unlimited ride cards, token booth clerks have been selling less cards - and now they'll be able to help commuters who swipe swipe swipe to no avail. The booths are a new addition to the MTA's plans to eliminate token booths; originally, the MTA wanted to save money by getting rid of the booths, but when a man died at a station where there was no clerk on duty, they rethought things and won't end up saving money, chalking it up to providing better customer service. more ›

Though the MTA has been a bit of a pain lately, Gothamist loves the subways and even enjoys our commute (when we have stuff to read, when we don't have to unduly transfer extra times, when we aren't pressed up against the population of Rhode Island in a train car). Travis Ruse has put together a photoblog of his commute, Express Train, to capture his Park Slope-Grand Central journeys. more ›

get to the opposite tracks while still in the station. And in our experience in stations, when we've entered the wrong side, the subway clerks have been very nice and let us get in the other side (they might check your Metrocard, to see that you've swiped into the station, but still, it's nice). Either way, walking across the tracks is really not a good idea. [Via Candice at kittypower] more ›

NYC Subway on the West Side IRT. more ›