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Under the Radar, the theater festival that brightens New York City every January with more than 30 free and affordable shows citywide, returns this month for its biggest edition yet. Running through January 25, the event features boundary-pushing productions, from a tasteful adaptation of James Joyce’s "Ulysses" at The Public Theater to performances at Lincoln Center, the Irish Arts Center, and more. On Friday, Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced that the festival will offer 1,500 free tickets to New Yorkers, as the festival aligns with the administration’s push for greater accessibility and affordability in the arts.
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Events & Things To Do

NYC subway and bus fare to increase to $3

Photo by Felicity Tai from Pexels

October 1, 2025

NYC subway and bus fare to increase to $3

It will officially cost you 10 more cents to ride New York City subways and buses starting in January. On Tuesday, the MTA Board voted 11-0, with two abstentions, to approve fare hikes raising the base fare from $2.90 to $3. Reduced fares will go up from $1.45 to $1.50 and express bus fares from $7 to $7.25. The agency did scale back increases to its 7-day fare-capping program from $36 to $35 in response to rider feedback.
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MTA looking into cooling subway stations with geothermal technology

181st Street Station. Photo by Famartin via Wikimedia

September 29, 2025

MTA looking into cooling subway stations with geothermal technology

The MTA is exploring a new way to cool sweltering subway stations: geothermal technology. According to a request for information (RFI) published last week, the agency is considering a system that would use the Earth’s subsurface to transfer heat out of stations and store it elsewhere, to keep platforms between 82 and 85 degrees on hot days. As first reported by The City, the MTA is targeting the 1 line’s 168th Street and 181st Street stations, which rank among the system’s hottest because of their depth.
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NYC subway delays fueled by aging cars and equipment, report says

Credit: Matthew LeJune on Unsplash

September 10, 2025

NYC subway delays fueled by aging cars and equipment, report says

Aging subway cars and equipment are causing increasing delays for New York City commuters, according to a report released Wednesday by State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. Of the 2.7 million scheduled subway trips in 2024, 486,614 arrived late, with infrastructure and equipment failures responsible for 31 percent of those delays—up from 24 percent in 2023. The report also found that over a quarter of subway cars are past their 40-year lifespan, and major service disruptions linked to car issues nearly tripled, from 27 to 77 in the first six months of 2025.
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Second Avenue Subway extension moves ahead in Harlem with $2B contract

106th Street. Rendering courtesy of the MTA

August 18, 2025

Second Avenue Subway extension moves ahead in Harlem with $2B contract

East Harlem is one major step closer to having better subway access for the first time since the 1940s. The board of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority on Monday approved a nearly $2 billion tunnel-boring contract for the second phase of the Second Avenue Subway, which extends the Q train from 96th Street to 125th Street. The tunneling contract marks the largest awarded in agency history.
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Hop on and off vintage NYC subway trains in Brooklyn this weekend

Credit: NY Transit Museum

June 6, 2025

Hop on and off vintage NYC subway trains in Brooklyn this weekend

The New York Transit Museum’s beloved Parade of Trains returns this weekend, giving New Yorkers a rare chance to ride the rails in vintage style. Rolling out on Saturday, June 7 and Sunday, June 8, the event features three iconic trains from the museum’s collection, offering a glimpse into what it was like to ride the New York City subway more than a century ago. The vintage trains will run from Brighton Beach’s B and Q platforms and the Manhattan-bound B and Q platform at Kings Highway, operating from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day. Admission is free with subway fare.
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Christopher Street subway station renamed in honor of Stonewall

Photo courtesy of Marc A. Hermann / MTA on Flickr

June 6, 2024

Christopher Street subway station renamed in honor of Stonewall

The Christopher Street-Sheridan Square subway station in Greenwich Village was renamed in honor of the Stonewall National Monument. A bill sponsored by Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal and Assembly Member Deborah Glick passed the New York State Senate earlier this month, directing the MTA to rename the station to "Christopher Street-Stonewall National Monument Station" to memorialize the site's crucial role in launching the modern LGBTQIA+ rights movement. The unveiling on Friday marks the 55th anniversary of the historic uprising.
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10 best under-the-radar holiday events in New York City

Photo courtesy of Winter Lantern Festival.

November 30, 2023

10 best under-the-radar holiday events in New York City

By Lidia Ryan

Holiday magic permeates New York City each year as locals and tourists alike flock to the Fifth Avenue window displays, the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree, and the many holiday markets. And while tradition is good, it’s also fun to step out of the box and celebrate the holidays with some off-the-beaten-path events (and maybe even start some new traditions). Here are 10 holiday events in NYC that go beyond Manhattan’s classics.
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Events & Things To Do

You can ride retro NYC subway trains this weekend

Image courtesy of the New York Transit Museum

September 5, 2023

You can ride retro NYC subway trains this weekend

This weekend, take a special ride on a historic New York City subway train. The New York Transit Museum's annual Parade of Trains event returns on September 9 and September 10 with a selection of vintage trains running between Brighton Beach and Kings Highway on the B and Q lines. Admission is free with subway fare.
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NYC subway stations near rivers have worst air quality in the system

Photo of High Street station entrance by The All-Nite Images on Flickr

January 19, 2023

NYC subway stations near rivers have worst air quality in the system

New York City subway stations that lie beneath the city's rivers may expose commuters to higher levels of harmful pollutants compared to other stations, according to a study published this month. Known as the "river-tunnel" effect by researchers, tunnels that are beneath water have limited ventilation, which ends up trapping harmful particles, according to scientists from New York University's Grossman School of Medicine. According to the research, stations neighboring river tunnels had 80 to 130 percent higher concentrations of potentially dangerous particles compared to stations only a few stops away.
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Transit

A guide to the Gilded Age mansions of 5th Avenue’s millionaire row

The Cornelius Vanderbilt II Mansion on 57th Street and 5th Avenue, now demolished. Photo via A.D. White Architectural Photographs, Cornell University Library.

March 10, 2022

A guide to the Gilded Age mansions of 5th Avenue’s millionaire row

By Michelle Young

New York City's Fifth Avenue has always been pretty special, although you'd probably never guess that it began with a rather ordinary and functional name: Middle Road. Like the 1811 Commissioner's Plan for Manhattan, which laid out the city's future expansion in a rational manner, Middle Road was part of an earlier real estate plan by the City Council. As its name suggests, Middle Road was situated in the middle of a large land parcel that was sold by the council in 1785 to raise municipal funds for the newly established nation. Initially, it was the only road to provide access to this yet-undeveloped portion of Manhattan, but two additional roads were built later (eventually becoming Park Avenue and Sixth Avenue). The steady northwards march of upscale residences, and the retail to match, has its origins where Fifth Avenue literally begins: in the mansions on Washington Square Park. Madison Square was next, but it would take a combination of real-estate clairvoyance and social standing to firmly establish Fifth Avenue as the center of society.
More on how the gilded mansions of 5th Avenue came to be

For $1.8M, a charming Clinton Hill duplex with a two-level backyard and a downstairs rec room

Photos courtesy of Douglas Elliman

December 27, 2021

For $1.8M, a charming Clinton Hill duplex with a two-level backyard and a downstairs rec room

By Michelle Cohen

Asking $1,825,000, this airy duplex garden condo at 260 Greene Avenue in Clinton Hill has two official bedrooms and two and a half baths. A sunny backyard spans both levels, serving as an outdoor extension of a lower-level rec room. Known as Copper House, the new-construction condominium residence was completed in 2014.
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What it was like the day the NYC subway opened in 1904

The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Picture Collection, The New York Public Library. “City Hall Subway Station, New York” The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1906.

October 27, 2021

What it was like the day the NYC subway opened in 1904

By Emily Nonko

The Interborough Rapid Transit Subway, or IRT, was the first subway company in New York City. The company was formed in response to elevated train lines around the city; it was time to go underground and build a rapid transit railroad to help combat street congestion and assist development in new areas of New York. On October 27, 1904, the first IRT subway line opened with the City Hall station as its showpiece. It's no overstatement to say that after this date, the city would never be the same. And the day was one to remember, with pure excitement over the impressive feat of moving the city's transit system underground.
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September 24, 2021

MTA unveils colorful new subway mosaics at Bedford and 1st Avenue L train stations

This week, the MTA unveiled two new mosaic series at the 1st Avenue and Bedford Avenue L train stations. In the East Village, artist Katherine Bradford created Queens of the Night, a fanciful tribute to the creatives and essential workers (depicted as superheroes) who ride the L train. And in Williamsburg, artist Marcel Dzama created No Less Than Everything Comes Together, a collection of theatric fairytale-like figures under the sun and moon.
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April 13, 2021

20 underground and secret NYC attractions you need to check out

While visiting the major, most popular attractions of New York City can be fun, it can also be stressful, overwhelming and full of selfie-taking tourists. However, the great thing about the Big Apple is that plenty of other attractions exist that are far less known or even hidden in plain sight. To go beyond the tourist-filled sites and tour the city like you're seeing it for the very first time, check out 6sqft's list ahead of the 20 best underground, secret spots in New York City.
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Inside the graffiti-covered 191st Street tunnel, NYC’s deepest subway and only underground ‘street’

All photos and video © James and Karla Murray

August 17, 2020

Inside the graffiti-covered 191st Street tunnel, NYC’s deepest subway and only underground ‘street’

The deepest subway station in New York City lies 173 feet below ground (18 stories!) at the 191st Street stop of the 1 train. This stop is also known for the 1,000-foot-long tunnel that connects its station at St. Nicholas Avenue to an entrance on Broadway. Called "Tunnel Street," this is technically the only underground street in the city. For years, however, it was a dark and dingy passageway that troubled locals, so about six years ago, the city commissioned six artists to paint the tunnel with colorful murals. Ahead, photographers James and Karla Murray give us a video tour of the tunnel, along with the insanely deep subway station.
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MTA report says subway speeds should be increased by 50 percent

Photo by Ed Schipul / Flickr cc

October 9, 2019

MTA report says subway speeds should be increased by 50 percent

In June, Governor Cuomo advocated for an MTA task force that would specifically address issues related to subway speeds. After an initial analysis, the Speed and Safety Task Force found that subways in 2019 were running slower than they did 20 years ago due in large part to a flawed signal system and deficient posting of speed limits. Using that information, the Task Force released this week its preliminary findings, which note that "train speeds could be increased by as much as 50 percent" if these issues are fixed.
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MTA is paying outside contractors $9.5M to deep clean subway cars and stations

Via MTA on Flickr

January 28, 2019

MTA is paying outside contractors $9.5M to deep clean subway cars and stations

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is paying outside contractors $9.5 million to clean 3,000 subway cars and 100 stations, the Daily News reported last week. While the transit agency currently employs thousands of station cleaners, the MTA is contracting the dirty job out because the cleaning, as an MTA spokesperson told the News, is a "level of work that our maintenance employees do not perform."
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Transit

With no details from de Blasio, Fair Fares pilot program misses Jan. 1 start date

Via Flickr

January 3, 2019

With no details from de Blasio, Fair Fares pilot program misses Jan. 1 start date

A program to provide discounted MetroCards to low-income New Yorkers missed its target start date of Jan. 1, and the city has not provided any concrete details on its rollout, amNY reported Wednesday. The Fair Fares pilot program, which was agreed upon in June by Mayor Bill de Blasio and City Council Speaker Corey Johnson, would provide half-price MetroCards for those who fall below the federal poverty line. One day after the original launch date passed, the mayor on Wednesday told reporters that more information on how to apply for the program will be provided "in literally just a few days."
More on the Fair Fares flop

Stopped in its tracks: The fight against the subway through Central Park

Photo by Phil Roeder / Flickr

November 1, 2018

Stopped in its tracks: The fight against the subway through Central Park

By Lucie Levine

In 2018, Mayor Bill de Blasio closed all of Central Park’s scenic drives to cars, finishing a process he began in 2015 when he banned vehicles north of 72nd Street. But not all mayors have been so keen on keeping Central Park transit free. In fact, in 1920, Mayor John Hylan had plans to run a subway through Central Park. Hylan, the 96th Mayor of New York City, in office from 1918 to 1925, had a one-track mind, and that track was for trains. He had spent his life in locomotives, first laying rails for the Brooklyn Union Elevated Railroad (later the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company, or BRT), then rising through the ranks to become a conductor. In that capacity, he was involved in a near-accident that almost flattened his supervisor, whereupon he was fired from the BRT. Nevertheless, Hylan made transit his political mission, implementing the city's first Independent subway line and proposing that it run from 59th Street up through Central Park to 110th Street.
So, what happened?

In 1988, Donald Trump wanted to repair the Williamsburg Bridge, but the Mayor said no thanks

Williamsburg Bridge and Donald Trump via Wiki Commons

August 30, 2018

In 1988, Donald Trump wanted to repair the Williamsburg Bridge, but the Mayor said no thanks

In addition to thinking he could own the Empire State Building and build the tallest building in the world, Donald Trump also had a pipedream of single-handedly repairing the Williamsburg Bridge in 1988. Yesterday, Gothamist's Editorial Director Jen Carlson tweeted a series of stories from the time detailing how the Donald presented the city with a proposition to get the necessary repairs (the then-85-year-old bridge was closed due to cracked and corroded beams) done quicker and cheaper. According to the Associated Press, "Trump said the deal could work the same way as [Central Park's Wollman Rink] construction in 1986 - he would advance the money, get the job done and be reimbursed for costs."
So how'd he screw this one up?

History

July 30, 2018

The New York City subway in fascinating facts and figures

By Michelle Cohen

When it comes to New York City’s subway system, you may think you know the letters (A,B,C,D,E,F,G,J,L,M,N,Q,R,S,W,Z) and numbers (1 through 7), all too well. But a few of the fun facts and staggering stats that add up to the seventh busiest public transit system in the world might surprise you. From the longest route (the A line is 31 miles) to the world's highest rapid transit station at Smith-9th Streets (it's 88 feet above street level), there are plenty of figures that even the most well-versed New Yorker likely doesn't know.
More stuff you never knew about the subway

De Blasio agrees to fund half of the MTA’s $836M emergency subway rescue plan

Image © 6sqft

April 2, 2018

De Blasio agrees to fund half of the MTA’s $836M emergency subway rescue plan

After months of refusal, Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Saturday the city will pay for half of the emergency rescue plan for the subway, which was announced by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in July. The mayor's decision to fork over $418 million for subway repairs came after the state lawmakers passed on Friday Gov. Andrew Cuomo's $168.3 billion budget. The approved budget includes giving the state power to take funding from the city if it did not pay for its share, as the Daily News reported. The state has already paid its half of the $836 emergency plan, aimed at repairing, upgrading and stabilizing the beleaguered transit system.
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Underground moving sidewalks were NYC’s transit plan of the future at the turn of the 20th century

Photos courtesy the New York Public Library’s Digital Gallery

March 30, 2018

Underground moving sidewalks were NYC’s transit plan of the future at the turn of the 20th century

By Emily Nonko

As the city currently tackles a plethora of issues with its public transit system, New Yorkers have been presented with no shortage of innovations to make commuting (hopefully) better. Take a look back at the turn of the 20th century, though, and the moving sidewalk was considered the future of urban transportation. According to Gizmodo, "The moving sidewalk represented a bold new vision for tomorrow... This idea of rolling pavement appealed to people in major cities who didn't yet see the rise of the automobile as inevitable and were looking for an affordable alternative to more elaborate infrastructure like subway trains." In 1903, an article in Harper's Weekly said that moving sidewalks were the perfect solution for the city to tackle congestion issues that would arise with new bridge connections bringing people from Brooklyn into New York City.
They would move at 9MPH

New York City’s subway system has a water problem- a 13 million gallon one

Workers pumping seawater out of the L-train tunnel after Hurricane Sandy in 2012, photo courtesy of the MTA on Flickr

February 13, 2018

New York City’s subway system has a water problem- a 13 million gallon one