ever since i was a little (or, littler) boy i’ve always loved the subways in new york.
when i was really young in the late 60’s and early 70’s i’d take the train into the city with my grandfather and ride the 6 train downtown to his office. then in the late 70’s and early 80’s my friends and i would sneak into the city on metro-north and then ride the 6 train down to canal street and then back up to union square to see shows at the palladium (this was in the early 80’s when union square was a pretty notorious park for junkies).
then in the mid 80’s i had a girlfriend at columbia, so i’d take the grand central shuttle to the 1,9,2, & 3 trains.
then when i moved into the city in the late 80’s i commuted to my job on 9th ave on the L train from my apartment on 14th and 3rd, and then when i moved to little italy in the later 80’s i learned about the F train in all it’s snakey glory.
then in the 90’s when i started spending more time in brooklyn i found myself taking the JMZ and the N,R, sometimes even going as far as coney island.
then in the middle of the last decade i briefly moved to the upper west side and took the B,D down to my studio in the lower east side.
which is a long, nostalgic way of saying i’ve always loved the subways, and they really are the easiest way to get around nyc. every now and then i get stopped by someone on the subway with the question, ‘why are you riding the subway?’ to which i say, ‘because it’s fast and i love it.’
so, today i was taking the 6 train from 59th street down to bleeker and i made these quick little subway-phone movies. if you’ve never ridden the subway in nyc, here’s a tiny taste (minus the hordes of people at rush hour). if you haven’t ridden the subway in a while then here’s a reminder. and if you ride the subway every day please feel free to completely disregard this entire update.
thanks,
moby