Riding the NYC subway was a highlight of our trip four years ago. It’s great. As mentioned above, it operates 24/7, and any decrepitude tends to lend it a certain charm. Love the tile work in many stations too.
We did see some buskers, but like others have said, nothing spectacular.
The only unique thing I’ve noticed about the NY subway is the sheer number of panhandlers who will walk into a car and give a sob story. I haven’t noticed that in any other city’s subway.
I bet none of you remember when some of the older subway cars had wicker seats . . . really old worn wicker with pieces sticking out. This was back in the '60s, so those cars were probably from the '20s or '30s. The rest rooms were open then, but come to think of it, I saw people going in, but rarely coming out :eek:.
The last time I lived in NYC was in the early '90s. Nice to know the graffiti is gone. Does that include the tags scratched into the window glass? And do they still have some exits that you have to walk through like egg slicers? I was always a little scared of those.
If anyone’s interested, there’s a great transit museum in Brooklyn. Lots of old cars, etc.
I’ve felt totally safe on them, and I used to ride them 1978-1980, when I was in junior high school. I wasn’t allowed to ride them alone at night, but I was allowed to ride them during the day, and I was allowed to ride them at night if I was with other people. Parents just didn’t hover back them.
I rode them again as a young adult in the 1990s.
I have ridden subways in DC, and Moscow on a regular basis, and while the ones in Moscow are cleaner, and the ones in DC breakdown a little less (and to be fair, are quite a bit newer) the ones in NYC are perfectly fine. I’ve ridden subways in other cities, including London, and the train in Chicago, albeit, as a tourist, but I’ll say that for me, NYC ranks only behind DC as the best subways in the US, and of course, the DC subways aren’t practically an underground city. I used to get bagels in a place in Penn station, and the were great. Back in the day, when shoes had to be polished every day, my father polished his own shoes every night, until he was “doing better,” and could afford to stop and have his shoes shined in the subway on his way to work. Some men don’t shave themselves, but stop at barbers in the subways.
Most people think the shops in the subway are like the shops in airports, but there are some quality places taking advantage of the concentrated foot traffic. I bought papers from a news vendor in the 90s, and he had everything. He had every major national paper, including the Indianapolis Star, plus every little rag in Manhattan, including the free ones. I read the NYT only on Sunday, but I made the trip to his stand to buy it from him (got some bagels too). His son worked that day, but he worked the other six days.
Gosh I miss New York sometimes.
I give panhandlers non-perishable food. Seriously.
Four years ago, we didn’t see any graffiti or tags scratched into glass. And yes, we did exit sometimes through those egg slicers.
I remember those! Wicker seats, no air conditioning, and fans on the ceiling. And open rest rooms, but there was stuff going on there. . .
They still have the egg slicers, although they’re newer models. Not much grafitti. Hardly any, and the scratched windows are few and far between.
The transit museum is well worth a look for anyone visiting New York. Or anyone who lives here, too.
Hota Ling’s (not sure about the spelling)? Great place. All the papers, from everywhere in the world.
The transit museum is fantastic and I highly recommend it. They have a large collection of old cars from a number of different eras, (including wicker seats and ceiling fans) even outfitted with period-appropriate advertising. They also have interesting exhibits on signaling equipment, track maintenance, new construction, etc. The museum is in the disused Court Street station in Brooklyn.
Here’s a tip for those who have never rode the subway before - If a crowded train enters the station, **never **get on the one empty car. It’s empty for a reason. Your nose will thank you.
The subway runs 24/7, unlike some other cities where it may shut down during the night. The line I take seems to be busy at all hours of the night, even if I’m coming home at 3am the train still has a fair amount of people.
I’ve never felt unsafe, *because *like I said there are usually always people around.
The platforms & train cars are relatively clean, I mean I would not want to sit down on the floors but it’s not like they’re covered in garbage or graffiti or anything. Yeah the tracks themselves are nasty but it’s not like you go down onto them.
One of the more memorable subway performers I’ve seen was singer Alice Tan Ridley, who later appeared on America’s Got Talent and made it to the semi-finals. She’d always be in the Times Square station.
I’ve seen my fair share of crazy people as well, and the way to deal with that is to simply ignore it. Someone will get on the train ranting & raving to him/herself and no one will even look. New Yorkers have perfected the art of not looking at anyone even on a crowded train.
Everyone rides the subway here. Rich, poor, from all backgrounds, I’ve seen many Broadway actors & well-known names, it’s not a class thing, it’s just how people get around.
The subway was a treat when I visited the city as a kid, with the fake wicker seats (they were plastic, not cane) and the actual leather straps to hang onto. There is a particular smell of ozone in the air I’ve never noticed anywhere else (and I try to ride the subway in every city I visit).
Last I visited, they were just like the were when I was a kid, just with different seats and straps.
I’m not sure why that would be hard to believe. That’s a fairly common thing to do with panhandlers. I just thought it was unusual to see so many on the subway.
It’s smelly.
But beyond that, it’s one of the better subway systems I’ve seen, in that it goes everywhere. I’ve been on the montreal subway, the Toronto underground, the Chicago subway, the DC subway, and I can’t even remember where else. Chicago is by far the cleanest subway I’ve ever seen, and the people were ridiculously nice. Montreal is spoken in French so you have to listen closely. DC subways are works of art.
But NYC goes to every place and it’s easy for someone like me, who is mediocre at directions, to follow and figure out and follow. I only feel a little afraid when I am there late at night, otherwise in the daytime there’s so many people there I don’t feel afraid.
I remember seeing a wonderful Chinese musician playing what we call an ektaara, and playing so mournfully and beautifully stunning.
I can’t remember which subway and I am too lazy to look right now that only goes in a loop. A tiny loop at that. It’s stupid. 
Maybe the Marta?
I take the subway just about every day.
Does it pretty much run always on time?
I would say mostly yes, but as others have said, in the past maybe 5 years, we are seeing a lot more delays related to deferred maintenance. And even then, in most cases, the delay isn’t THAT long, so it would be fine if you were out and about for leisure reasons, but can get annoying if the delay is impacting something like getting to work.
How clean are they?
The cars are clean, the platforms are (mostly) old and grubby, but cleaned of trash often. I love the artwork in the subway stations, both the historic tiles and the new contemporary art that has been installed throughout the system.
The biggest thing that I have noticed seems to surprise some people is that unlike other cities, the stations and platforms are not air-conditioned, so in the summer it’s very muggy down there, on a very hot day it’s awful. The train cars themselves are air-conditioned (and another reason to avoid an empty car on an otherwise crowded train – it could be an odor issue, or the AC is broken).
Have you ever seen some of the above performers?
Sure, people perform all the time. I’m not very interested in them and tend to zone out. The other thing is that some of the performers one sees that seem very unique the first time … you end up seeing a million other people with the same act. There are fewer performers during rush hours when it’s mostly NYers trying to get to work or get home from work, and more during weekends and midday, I think because it’s more of an appeal to tourists.
How safe do you feel?
Completely safe, even as a woman, even when I’m by myself. There are always other people, even late at night. The cars and the stations are very well-lit, around the clock.
In the 60s, I often took the west side IRT local up to 110th at 4 AM and in the winter there were people on the train with skis, going up to Van Courtland Park. And yes, I remember those wicker seats. Aside from the above, the only comment is don’t expect to get on the east side IRT local (#6) during rush hour. Horribly overcrowded. But basically, I like the NYC subway and I have never felt unsafe.
There is the occasional unusual fatality.
Sadly that is no longer true unless that work of art is Dante’s Inferno.
They would be, if you could actually see them.
In The London Underground they say,** “Mind the Gap.”** In The NY Subway they say, “Mind the Rat.”
Amusing.
Is this because of construction, or what? I haven’t been there in a few years. I was impressed by them, both the height of some of them, the arching tops, and just in general the entrances and exits were grand compared to NYC. NYC subways are rather utilitarian.