I am so eagerly waiting for my WTF subway shirt. But it hasn’t arrived yet. So in order to console myself, (and in my boredom) I created some more amusing subway WTF-ness. Now not only can Metro-North hate me, but NYC Transit (I still love you, I swear!) can hate me too! And maybe even Parker Brothers, who publish the game.

Instead of Community Chest (what the hell is that anyways?), I opted to replace it with the “Service Change.” For pieces, I figured it might be amusing to throw in a delightful subway rat, and even a pigeon in there. If you bought the “extended version” of the game, there would even be a special “limited edition” Sadie the Subway Cat piece. Gotta market that stuff! And everybody loves cats!

As for the properties in the game, and how I determined where each of them belong, I used the 2009 Subway Ridership Facts & Figures. Blue, green, and yellow properties (the highest value) are the top subway stations, system wide. Red represents Manhattan, Orange is Brooklyn, Magenta is Queens, Light Blue is the Bronx, and the top subway stations for each (not counting any stations previously used). The Purple spots are the bottom two stations in the subway system by use. Instead of the four railroads typically used in Monopoly, there are the other MTA entities: Metro-North, Long Island Rail Road, Long Island Bus, and the other half of NYC Transit, the bus system. There are no “utilities” but instead MTA Bridges, and MTA Tunnels.

Oh, and in order for you to get thrown in jail, you are caught with a copy of the master key.

By now you’ve probably heard of the unauthorized WTF posters popping up in the subways. It has been big news in the New York area, and online. They were designed by the Working Families Party. They would have even paid the MTA for the advertising space… had the ad not been rejected. If you need a bit of amusement in your day today, I suggest checking out ABC 7′s video regarding the subject, complete with reporters attempting to use acronyms at every possible chance, and old people getting interviewed that have no idea what WTF means.

But those posters are so yesterday, old news. Now you can wear your very own WTF T-Shirt. All it takes is a minimum donation of 14 dollars, and you can then ride the subway in style! I ordered mine last night… once it arrives I’ll certainly take some pictures, and possibly post them up.

The only thing I keep thinking is that MTA made things worse by rejecting the ad. The whole rejection has been getting a lot of coverage, had the ad actually been put up would people be saying as much? Would these T-Shirts even exist? Maybe not.

So this trip certainly started off interesting… I was debating whether I should leave to go to the airport really early or not… the fact that I woke up at around 4am and couldn’t sleep sort of decided that for me. Everything was sort of unremarkable on the first part of the ride in, I took the train that conductor Peter is on, he used to be on my train in the evenings. Honest to god though, a 5am train? I don’t know how he does that every day… and stay so chipper the entire time. He’s ever the optimist.

The subway was where the fun began, however. When I got on the E train it was pretty packed full of people, so there was no place to sit. And there was a guy with a ginormous backpack that prevented me from really moving around or grabbing onto a pole for support. There was a man sitting in one of the seats stretched out, and he moved over and offered me a seat. I sort of didn’t want to sit next to him, he was acting strange. And even if I did, backpack man was preventing me from really moving.

I kept swaying back and forth attempting to hold my luggage as the train was moving, which wasn’t working too well. The guy in the seat kept saying I was going to fall over, and I should sit next to him. I ultimately gave in and sat next to him. It was then that I was close enough to smell that he had alcohol on his breath. Definitely drunk.

The real hilarity began when the train stopped and new people entered. The guy seemed starved for human attention. Whenever someone walked in he had to ask them a question. And really stupid questions, too. “What time is it?” — Well the board with the station stops has that right on there. “Is this an express train?” “Is this train going to Jamaica?” Those are also repeated over and over by the train. Then there were the especially lucky females that he turned his attention to. He asked them all, “Do you remember me? I remember you.” One lady played along. Another lady ignored him completely. He kept saying, “Miss? Miss? You don’t remember me?” She turned and looked the other way, and he saw the back of her head. And she just happened to have her hair pulled back in a ponytail. “Oh yeah, I remember you. I remember that ponytail. Uh huh, oooh that ponytail, baby.” I wanted to burst out laughing.

After that lady got off the train, he got up, placed his bag on the seat, and opened the car doors leading to the other car. I was wondering what the hell he was doing. Did he have a bomb in the bag, and was leaving it on the train? The whole “if you see something, say something” and look out for unattended bags thing is deeply ingrained in my mind. After a minute or two that he spent riding in between the two cars, he reentered my train car, while pulling up and zippering his pants. He fucking peed out the subway doors as the train was moving.

Anyways, that is about it from me.

There is this sentiment in the news today, with the internet and all “competing” with the “real” news. That sentiment is “who cares about the facts, as long as I report it first”. And this sentiment sickens me. Seriously.

I have been having issues with my laptop charger, so I haven’t been on my computer quite as much this week. So I totally missed the other day’s story about the person getting killed by the 6 train at 77th Street. Maybe it was good I missed it. Maybe because the story was complete and utter bullshit. Check out the story on The New York Times‘ website, and read the comments. You will see something drastically different than what the story reports. Why? Because the story was changed as the “real” information came in.

Apparently the original story reported that a young girl was struck by the train. Not only that, witnesses report that the girl was possibly pushed off the platform, as students were horsing around. That is pretty fucked up. A person getting pushed? That is murder on the subway! But hey, guess what, that story was completely false. It is now reported that the person that was struck was not a child, but a forty-eight-year-old woman named Rose M. Mankos. And not only was she NOT pushed, the story now reports that she dropped her bag on the tracks, and JUMPED DOWN TO RETRIEVE IT. That on the other hand is NOT murder. That is complete and utter stupidity. I am so sorry, but that woman got what she deserved. You may call me heartless, but if you jump down on the tracks, you are an idiot.

People, never, never, NEVER go down on those damn tracks. Just don’t do it. Losing something on the tracks does happen. New York City Transit estimates that it happens perhaps twelve to fifteen times per day. If you do lose an item, you need to report it to a police officer or employee. There is an Emergency Response and Track Lubrication Division, and they respond to these events. Once the call is made, a track specialist responds and will retrieve the item. It may not happen instantaneously, and you may have to return later to pick up the item, but at least you will be safe. Life is worth more than whatever stupid possessions you may have dropped. You can buy a new iPod. But your poor family members (whom I am truly sorry for… having to identify that mangled mess of your daughter / sister in the morgue) can’t buy another you.

Note: This post has been edited, because I am a moron and wrote that this happened Friday, when in reality it occurred on Thursday. Talk about criticizing the “media,” hah! It has also been updated to reflect the response I got from NYCTSubwayScoop on Twitter regarding the procedure for retrieving a lost item.

If I haven’t said it before, I think it is pretty cool that MTA has been embracing social media, and the various agencies have twitter accounts. There’s MTA, Metro-North, Long Island Rail Road, New York City Buses, New York City Subways, MetroCard Promotions, and the NY Transit Museum. The Transit Museum seems to be the newest of the bunch. A little less than a month ago, the museum sent a tweet, giving a little sneak preview of the new exhibit opening in the Annex in Grand Central, which has been closed since January:

How long does it take to make exhibit mounts for 100 ceramic sherds? Our preparators will know soon.

Why exactly were they making exhibit mounts for ceramic sherds? It doesn’t much sound like something transit-related. But in fact, all of the objects on display in the new exhibit do in fact relate to public transit… they were all excavated from under the South Ferry subway station. I’ll let the museum take it from here:

Construction in New York City is always complex, but it raises particular concerns when it cuts through the most archeologically rich section of town. In February 2009 a new South Ferry subway station opened on the southernmost tip of Manhattan, a place where environmental, historical, and commercial interests collide. In order to build the station, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) was required to conduct an archeological review and excavation. This provided an extraordinary glimpse into the very place that the modern city has its roots, and the basis of an exciting new exhibit at the New York Transit Museum. Where New York Began: Archeology at the South Ferry Terminal will be on view at the New York Transit Museum Gallery Annex and Store from March 18 – July 5, 2010.

In addition to unearthing portions of the city’s early infrastructure, excavations yielded over 65,000 artifacts, including ceramic sherds, shells, coins, tobacco pipes, and architectural materials. These pieces document 400 years of city life and embody the cycle of building, razing, and rebuilding that is a hallmark of New York City. Over 100 of these objects will be on view along with historic maps and photographs, and field images and video of the archeologists at work.

This also marks the grand reopening of the museum’s retail store, which features a dynamic new design, new fixtures and lighting to better showcase the Museum’s unique product mix.

The museum is going to have an opening for members on the 18th, which I will be attending. I’ll be sure to take lots of photographs, and post them up!

Starting on January 19th, and continuing into March, the Transit Museum’s Annex in Grand Central Terminal will be closed for renovations. New fixtures and lights will be added in that time, a redesigned store, as well as a new exhibit. The reopening date in March has not been announced yet. When I hear anything about the reopening of the Annex, I will let you all know.

If you need to purchase any transportation items or gifts from the museum, you can either visit the museum’s main location in Brooklyn, or purchase items online at transitmuseumstore.com.

Anyone who normally uses the museum to redeem a TransitChek, or a Commuter Check for a MetroCard, there are several alternate locations you can use during this time period:

TransitChek

Commuter Check

In regards to TransitCheks for Metro-North, some people have written in saying that the additional ticket window closures will make it difficult to cash their TransitCheks. Now I have never done this, but a few friends of mine have, and claim this is acceptable. Use your monthly ticket from the previous month on the morning of the first day of the new month. Tell the Conductor that when you arrive at your destination (Grand Central) you will be purchasing a new monthly ticket, since you need to purchase the ticket from an actual person. My friends insist that you are able to use your old monthly on the first day of the new month, only for the morning ride. Has anyone else done this before? Is doing that considered acceptable?

You may not know it, but across the globe there are several working cats that reside at train stations. One of the most famous is named Tama, she is the “Super Stationmaster” at Kishi station in Wakayama Prefecture, Japan. In New York we too have a “working cat” – you can call her the Subway Cat. Her name is Sadie, and she resides at the New York Transit Museum in Brooklyn.

When I first encountered Sadie I was downstairs at the museum taking photos of all the different subway cars. When I entered the money car they have on display, I saw a cat lounging on one of the shelves. I leaned out the door of the car and shouted to my friend, “Hey! Get over here now! There’s a cat inside this car!” I must admit I was surprised, as I wondered where the cat came from. But then I noticed a tag on the collar, which read “Sadie, Transit Museum”. Sadie was adopted from a shelter by the museum, and is not the first feline resident. Previously there was a cat named Token. Token disappeared one day (one museum employee I talked to is convinced Token was just taken home by somebody, as opposed to disappearing on his own). Sadie stays at the museum, though on long weekends or holidays she goes home with one of the employees.

But as I said, Sadie is a working cat. Sadie’s job description is rodent control. Though I’ve never been able to get a straight answer from anyone whether she has actually caught a subway rat before. Some people are disgusted by that. “She catches the RATS in the SUBWAY and you TOUCHED her?!?!” She has a bell on her collar, which apparently scares the rats away. If you go to the museum to see Sadie, be sure to note that she is grey and white. She is not brown. If you see something large and brown running around, it is probably a Sadie-size subway rat.

Upon a visit to the museum, I had this conversation with the ticket collector:
Me: So is the rat catcher around today?
Him: The what?
Me: The cat. Sadie. Is she around?
Him: (Laughs) She’s around somewhere, probably catching more Z’s than rats though!

Whether she catches rats or not (I have been assured that she has at least caught some pigeons though), Sadie has become somewhat of a mascot of the Transit Museum. In the gift shop you can purchase a stuffed cat, with her picture on the front of the package, that comes with markers so you can decorate her. If you ask me though, they ought to play up the mascot role a bit more for her. Maybe get her a mini cat-sized conductor’s hat to wear (yeah right). Or maybe even use her in some advertising, or the educational programs for children.

Supposedly the aforementioned cat, Tama, brought a million dollars into the local economy just by being cute, and encouraging people to ride the train. Hey Sadie, want to go save the W and Z trains? I hear the MTA could use a little money.

In other news, I continue planning my own trip to Japan in April. I will be posting my train adventures, and hopefully I will be able to go to Kishi station, and meet the “Super Stationmaster” herself!

Wow, I am tired after a long day in the city… It will probably take me the next few days to go through all the photos and videos that I took, all of which will eventually get posted on here. I have a lot of pictures and video of the Holiday Train Show in Grand Central, photos and video from the Holiday Gift Fair, and a video of the Holiday Laser Light Show. For all these videos, I decided to make a YouTube account for this blog. There is nothing on there yet, but there will be shortly. If you are interested, you can subscribe to be notified when these videos are uploaded. But they will also be posted here.

But for now, enjoy the photos I took today at my tour with the New York Transit Museum of City Hall Station. Quite honestly, this tour was the reason why I became a member of the museum. And I had a great time. I took some video there as well, and I’ll post that at some point as well.

As an additional note, the Transit Museum will be running Holiday Nostalgia Trains every Sunday in December from 10am to 5pm. The trains will run in regular passenger service on the V line between
Queens Plaza & 2nd Avenue.

You’ve admired them sitting stationary at their home in the New York Transit Museum. Now Car No’s 100, 484 and 1575 are going for a spin! For the next four Sundays, these old friends from the 1930′s to 1970′s will be pulling in and out of V line stations. With luck and timing you can catch them!

Step in and enjoy the ceiling fans, padded seats and incandescent lights, all state-of-the-art back in the day. This Holiday Nostalgia Special will run on the V line, Sundays in December, between 10am and 5pm. For departure times and stations, please see below.

Happy Holidays from the New York Transit Museum!

For additional information about schedules, check out this information page.

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If you’re looking to go to the victory parade for the Yankees tomorrow, Friday November 6th, Metro North will be running a few extra trains on both the Harlem and Hudson Lines. Extra cars will be added to trains on the New Haven Line.

The ticker-tape parade will begin on Broadway at Battery Place at 11 AM and continue uptown along the “Canyon” to Chambers Street, ending at 12:30 PM. At 1PM a ceremony will be held at City Hall Plaza, where Mayor Michael Bloomberg will present the Bronx Bombers with the Keys to the City. The ceremony will end at 2:30 PM.

The extra train on the Harlem Line will make the following stops:
Southeast: 8:30 AM
Brewster: 8:33 AM
Goldens Bridge: 8:43 AM
Katonah: 8:47 AM
Mount Kisco: 8:53 AM
Chappaqua: 8:59 AM
North White Plains: 9:10 AM
White Plains: 9:14 AM
Harlem-125th St: 9:37 AM
Grand Central: 9:48 AM

From Grand Central, you can take the subway, 4 or 5 train downtown to any of the following stations:
Fulton Street, Wall Street, Bowling Green or Brooklyn Bridge–City Hall. Additional subway and bus information can be found here.

Also, for anyone who rides the train in the Wassaic area, trains will not be running this weekend due to bridge work, November 7th and 8th. Instead, buses will ferry riders down to Southeast. These buses will follow the normal train schedule.