By Emily Nonko, Tue, October 27, 2020 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.
The Interborough Rapid Transit Subway, or IRT, was the first subway company ever in New York City. The company formed as a response to elevated train lines springing up 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, according to NYCsubway.org. And so 116 years ago, on October 27th, 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.
Here’s what you need to know about the day
By Devin Gannon, Tue, October 20, 2020 Courtesy of the MTA
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority on Tuesday released a new digital map of the New York City subway system that provides service updates to riders in real-time. As first reported by Curbed, this map uses data from the MTA to update as service changes are happening, allowing users to click on stations and individual train lines to see the actual wait time for the next train. When zoomed in on the map, little gray blocks move along the colored lines, depicting the train’s actual movement from station to station. Created by design and technology firm Work & Co., the map modernizes both Massimo Vignelli’s iconic 1972 map and the current map designed by Michael Hertz, combining the geometric and graphic design-friendly Vignelli map with the geographical elements of Hertz. The new live map is the first major redesign of the NYC subway map in 40 years.
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By Devin Gannon, Thu, October 8, 2020 Interior of the money train via Wikipedia
In order to collect fares from various stations, the MTA created a special armored train that moved all the subway and bus fares collected to a secret room at 370 Jay Street in Downtown Brooklyn. As Untapped Cities learned, the money trains, which ran from 1951 to 2006, had 12 collecting agents and one supervisor, all of whom were armed and wearing body armor. After the Metrocard arrived, the revenue collection system changed, and the final armored train rode in January 2006 on the same day the Money Room closed.
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By Devin Gannon, Thu, September 10, 2020 Photo: Marc A. Hermann / MTA New York City Transit on Flickr
Riders on public transit in New York who refuse to wear a face mask will now be fined $50, Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced Thursday. Starting Monday, riders of the city’s subway and buses, the Long Island Rail Road, and Metro-North will be subject to the new penalty for not complying with the mandatory face-covering rule, put in place by executive order in April.
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By Devin Gannon, Wed, August 26, 2020 Photo credit: Billie Grace Ward via Flickr
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority on Wednesday laid out a grim plan detailing service cuts and fare hikes that could be implemented without additional federal aid. Without at least $12 billion in funding from Washington, subway and bus service could be cut by up to 40 percent, a devastating blow to millions of New Yorkers and the city’s economy. During a board meeting on Wednesday, Chair Pat Foye said the coronavirus crisis has had a far larger toll on ridership and revenue than the Great Depression a century prior.
Details this way
By Dana Schulz, Tue, August 25, 2020 Photo © James and Karla Murray
When the New York City subway opened on October 27th, 1904, it was the magnificent City Hall station that served as the backdrop for the festivities, with its arched Guastavino-tiled ceiling and skylights. But by 1945, the newer, longer subway cars could no longer fit on the station’s curved tracks, so it was closed. Today, the New York City Transit Museum occasionally offers tours of the abandoned station, which is how photographers James and Karla Murray were able to capture these beautiful photos. Ahead, see more of the station and learn all about its history.
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By Devin Gannon, Mon, August 10, 2020 Sally Librera, Senior Vice President of Subways, distributing free face masks to transit customers on July 23; Photo: Marc A. Hermann / MTA New York City Transit on Flickr
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority on Sunday asked Apple to develop a more simplistic face-recognition system to prevent riders from removing face coverings to unlock their smartphones while commuting. An update to the company’s Face ID feature is currently in the works, but in a letter to CEO Tim Cook, MTA Chair Pat Foye requested the technology be expedited. “We urge Apple to accelerate the deployment of new technologies and solutions that further protect customers in the era of COVID-19,” Foye wrote, according to the Associated Press.
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By Devin Gannon, Thu, July 23, 2020 Photo: Patrick Cashin / MTA New York City Transit
In May, for the first time in its history, the New York City subway system shut down overnight as part of a nightly disinfection plan to kill traces of the coronavirus on trains and buses. To ensure the subway resumes 24/7 service, seen as an integral part of the city that never sleeps’ DNA, the State Senate on Thursday passed legislation that would require nonstop subway service when a state of emergency is not in effect.
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By Dana Schulz, Tue, July 21, 2020 Photo by Patrick Cashin courtesy of MTA via Flickr
After one year of service disruptions, the much-talked-about L train “slowdown” wrapped up in April. The MTA has now turned its attention to the F train’s Rutgers Tube, which is the last of 11 subway tunnels to be rebuilt after suffering damage from Superstorm Sandy in 2012. Using the same tactics as were employed for the L train, the Rutgers Tube will only be shut down on nights and weekends, affecting F train service from August 2020 through March 2021.
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By Dana Schulz, Wed, July 1, 2020 All photos: Marc Herman / MTA NYC Transit on Flickr
As of yesterday, the MTA rolled out 12 PPE vending machines in 10 busy subway stations. The machines, which offer reusable face masks, gloves, hand sanitizer, and sanitizing wipes, were installed as part of the MTA’s larger effort to keep subways sanitized and safe during the current COVID-19 pandemic.
Check ’em out
