Misc. – chelsea's corner

96th St./2nd Ave. (Line Q)

On New Years Day in 2017, a new MTA subway line opened, with service to three new stations underneath 2nd Ave. in Manhattan’s East Side: 72nd, 86th, and 96th St.’s. However, there’s plans for extensions both north to 125th/Lexington & Park, and down to Hanover Square and Manhattan’s Seaport. This happens to be the northernmost of the 3 stations, and the current-day (as of writing this) terminus of the Q line. Welcome to 96th St./2nd Ave.

For some weird reason, despite it being defunct for many years now, these stations are all classed as ex-IND stations. Not sure why given only the MTA exists, and as far as I could find the IND was killed off in the ’50s when the system was unified into the present-day MTA (& as such also the ex-BMT and ex-IRT sections were merged in too, though only the BMT and IND are inter-operable, as the B division of the present-day system. If you need to know, numbered lines are the A division, lettered are the B division, essentially.) Anyways, with that out of the way, and the fact it took a REALLY LONG TIME just for these three stations to be built (& with phases 2, 3, and 4 in limbo presently), the station itself is really, REALLY overbuilt. Was the MTA really trying to channel the inner ex-IND energy here?! Like, gee, I get the IND in particular was overbuilt to handle the potential for crowding, but I don’t exactly think that’s an issue that needs apply here. This isn’t a major transfer station in lower Manhattan, for crying out loud! Nevertheless, while it feels a little sterile, it’s not to an extreme to where it’s overbearing. The stone accents are pretty cool, and the platforms all have standard amenities. There’s even countdown clocks and signs pointing to the next platform departing. Neat! The escalators down have a cool light installation (it was nighttime when I was here and was able to see it!). However, though, while the restrooms are closed overnights and between 12 and 1, Rome informed me the women’s restroom was essentially unusable. I didn’t even want to look in the men’s room for fear of being traumatized. On the upside, for buses, you primarily have the M15 which runs down 2nd Ave. between 125th St. and South Ferry, and the M96 crosstown route (that is, east-west). I do have one question though: WHY WASN’T THIS SECTION OF THE SYSTEM BUILT WITH CBTC FROM THE OUTSET?! I digress. Overall, not a bad station! And, I’m sure 72nd and 86th St.’s will hold up pretty well (given they’re largely carbon copies).

WAY OVERBUILT MEZZANINE, IF THE IND EXISTED TODAY!

The good: The lights outside look cool, as does the headhouse! The station itself is relatively pretty damn clean vs. the rest of the system (can be attributed to it still being a very new station), restrooms at least exist, and overall it’s a pretty decent station. Elevators also exist, with it still being new.

The bad: The women’s restroom is unusable (per Rome) and I am presuming the men’s room is outright traumatizing. This station is kinda overbuilt, too.

Nearby points of interest: There’s some section 8 housing nearby, along with some playgrounds and other green spaces. The Harlem River is also a stone’s toss away, if you can cross FDR Drive somehow.

Transit connections:
Broadway Line (Line Q)
MTA bus (M15, M15-SBS, M96)

Overall, this station isn’t that bad. A bit overbuilt, yeah, and admittedly not the best place to turn trains or to terminate them, but it really isn’t that bad in the grand scheme of things. And, given phase 2 of the 2nd Ave. tunnel has funding (that’s to build the tunnel to Park/Lexington Ave.’s, and to build stations at 106th, 116th, and 125th & Park/Lexington for a transfer to the #s 4-6 lines, which I think is a better place to terminate than in the middle of relatively nowhere), there’s actually a decent future for this station. Not bad! But, I do have a question though: Why IS this station classed as an IND station, if the IND is long dead?!

Rating: 8.5/10

Queensborough Plaza (Lines #7, N, W)

Queensborough Plaza is a particularly unique station on the MTA subway system, and has the distinction of being the sole cross-platform A/B division transfer station. That meaning, you can change lines on the same island platform, but they’re on opposite tracks. In this case, uptown 7s and N’s/W’s are on the same level, but opposite tracks. Same with downtown 7s/N’s/W’s. Either way, welcome to Long Island City!

This station is pretty standard in layout. On the lower level, you have downtown trains into Manhattan, with the next stop on the N and W being 59th/Lexington, and on the #7 line being 45th Rd.-Courthouse Square. Of course, this is not to be confused with Courthouse/ICA on the Silver Line in Boston. The upper levels have the uptown tracks for both lines, with the N and W heading to Ditmars Blvd. in Astoria, and the next stop on the #7 line being one covered here – 33rd/Rawson St.’s. This is also a pretty cool railfanning spot for the subway with how the tracks curve away in both directions, to be honest. There’s also elevators to the mezzanine, different countdown clocks for the A and B divisions, and otherwise nothing much to remark. The mezzanine is pretty standard with faregates, Metrocard machines, but no OMNY machine. There’s also restrooms here, but given this is the MTA…….yeah no thanks, I would rather not be traumatized. Sorry! Heading outside, you have stairs to street level and another elevator, of which Rome and I rode (they’re new and didn’t have time to let the piss scent kick in yet). Weirdly, they had “yes” and “no” buttons – cue the looks of confusion. As for buses, the B62 will bring you from here to Hoyt-Schermerhorn and the NYC Transit Museum in downtown Brooklyn, while the other routes will bring you to other places around Queens, including the Q39 to Ridgewood, the Q69 (hehe nice) to Astoria, and the Q102 to Roosevelt Island. Overall, not a bad station! And, pretty cool actually!

BROADWAY EXP (even though it stops at 49th St.)

The #7 line cresting the curve between Court Square and Queensborough!

The good: It’s an important transfer station between the A and B divisions and, weirdly enough, the only chance to do such a transfer in Queens (yeah, the IRT didn’t really do much in Queens). It’s also accessible, and primarily exists to serve LI City. It also serves as an accessible alternative to inaccessible stations nearby on the N line in particular (the #7 line doesn’t face this issue as badly, as Court Square’s #7 platform is accessible, and 33rd St. is not too close by). It’s also a cool spot for railfanning!

The bad: Yes???? no????? On a more serious note, the station looks a bit old, but functionally there’s really nothing offensively bad. However, I am kinda scared to peek into the restroom.

Nearby points of interest: For railfans, the station itself is a point of interest! The Northeast Corridor is also a short walk away! For stuff outside the station, there’s a USCIS office nearby, Silvercup Studios (you can see the famed sign from the #7 line!), JetBlue HQ, and even an Ecuadorian consulate! Other than that, it’s mostly corporate offices and your usual Dunkin’, Checkers, etc., albeit in a heavily gentrified neighborhood. Make as you wish of that.

Transit connections:
Flushing Line (#7)
Broadway Line (N, W)
MTA bus (B62, Q32, Q39, Q60, Q66, Q67, Q69, Q100, Q101, Q102)

Overall, it’s actually a pretty cool station, and I don’t have much to say negatively about it, and in terms of functionality, it’s one of my favorites on the MTA subway. Woohoo! However, the fact there’s restrooms scare me with what horrors lie within. D:

Rating: 7.5/10

Q70-SBS (LaGuardia Link)

The Q70-SBS is a short and simple run between 61st and 74th St. stations in Queens, to LaGuardia Airport. Let’s take a look at it, shall we?

This bus is a fare-free bus route on the MTA’s bus network, and is an important route too. In fact, it’s important enough to be a literal bendy bus hightailing it down the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway at 45 miles an hour. Certainly, not as fast as some RIPTA buses hightailing it down I-95, but for a highway in NYC, it’s not bad given buses move an average of 10 miles an hour seemingly. Nevertheless, there wasn’t much to see as this route is primarily to serve as the missing link between LaGuardia and the subway (or, in this case, the #7 subway line – the M60-SBS runs express to 125th St. and serves the Metro-North station, as well as most subway stations on that street). By extension of this route serving 61st St. station, it also has a connection with the LIRR. Neat! Unfortunately, though, I didn’t get many pictures as I was too busy talking to Rome about various things. However, this isn’t a big deal as there isn’t much to see anyways. Yeah, sorry!

The last picture before getting off the highway

Once off the highway, the bus does a loop, stopping at 74th St. Station’s front door, making a couple turns to Woodside Ave., stopping at Woodside and Roosevelt Ave. (to serve the 61st St. subway/LIRR station), and then proceeding back to 74th St. before turning back onto the BQE to return to LaGuardia. Overall, not a bad route!

Yes, this route has its own special wrap!

The good: It’s an important bus route, and arguably one of the single most important routes in all of Queens! It has connections to not just the LIRR, but also the #7 subway line, as well as lines E, F, M, and R at 74th Street. It’s also fare-free! Bus frequency ranges from every handful of minutes on weekdays, to every 10-15 on weekends, and every 20 overnight.

The bad: BUILD THE F*CKING LAGUARDIA AIRTRAIN, PORT AUTHORITY!!! WHY DOES THE MTA HAVE TO PICK UP THE SLACK WITH A BUS CONNECTION THAT’S HEAVILY SUBJECTED TO TRAFFIC?!

EDIT: apparently, it’s come to my attention there WERE plans for a LaGuardia Airtrain. Except, it had one issue: WHY IN THE NAME OF JESUS FUCKING CHRIST DID ANDREW CUOMO PROPOSE SENDING IT TO FREAKIN’ METS-WILLETT POINT INSTEAD OF SENDING IT TO, YA KNOW, WOODSIDE/61ST ST. OR 74TH ST./BROWADWAY/JACKSON HTS./ROOSEVELT AVE.?! FURTHERMORE, THE STUDY THAT WAS TIED TO SUCH A PROPOSAL, ONLY BEGET “LET’S MAKE IT FREE” AS THE ONLY OPTION. AND THAT, IS HOW THE Q70 BECAME FARE-FREE. FUCKIN’ “EQUAL OR BETTER” TYPE OF ENERGY RIGHT THERE! JESUS FUCKING CHRIST! YA KNOW, I STILL STAND BY “BUILD THE AIRTRAIN” EXCEPT, WITH A BIG ASTERISK: MAKE THE PORT AUTHORITY PAY FOR AN N LINE EXTENSION, MAYBE EXTEND THE G LINE TO WHITESTONE AND THROGGS NECK VIA HERE, AND BUILD THE ACTUAL AIRTRAIN – EXCEPT, YA KNOW, BUILD IT TO F*CKING WOODSIDE OR 74TH STREET! Thank you Max, for informing me of the fact the AirTrain proposal was a thing and the backstory behind making this route fare-free. Fuck you, Andy Cuomo!

Nearby points of interest: LaGuardia, Woodside-61st St., and Jackson Heights-74th St. are the big areas here.

Overall, this route is an important one, very important on the bus network, and among the most important in all of Queens. However, BUILD THE F*CKING LAGUARDIA AIRTRAIN!

Rating: 8/10

GATRA GO (Foxboro/Mansfield/Franklin/Norfolk, Pembroke, Plymouth, & Scituate Microtransits)

Oh golly. I promised on the Miles in Transit Discord server that I’ll try speedrunning GATRA on the basis of losing a bet, or something like that. Well, I kinda forgot about that and never had the time or motivation to. But, since then, we finally have…ONE GATRA entry. Welcome to GATRA GO! Unfortunately…this one was about a year in the making due to a number of mishaps in the making. Here they are:

ATTEMPT #1: I first attempted to review GATRA GO on the same day I visited Forge Park/495. Unfortunately, GATRA GO didn’t want to cooperate and it kept telling me there were no trips between Forge Park and Mansfield. How could this be?! They’re the same damn zone! Just look!

At first glance, you wouldn’t think twice of this! “I can just go from Forge Park to Mansfield!” Well….NOPE! Just look!

It turns out (thanks random internet person for this insight!) that, there’s actually a historical reason for this weirdness (you’d think it’d be fixed?!) AND not only that, you have to transfer LITERALLY ANYWHERE IN FOXBORO – BEING THE ONLY TOWN WITH A ZONAL OVERLAP. WHY?! So, I was left out in the rather cold November evening, having to dial an Uber to Mansfield Station, as GATRA fucked me over at Forge Park/495. I must also add – THIS REPLACED LITERALLY ALL THE FRANKLIN, NORFOLK, FOXBORO, AND MANSFIELD-AREA FIXED ROUTES! THIS ALSO REPLACED THE SLOOPY SLOOP IN SCITUATE! WHY GATRA?!

I was one with the quietness of Forge Park in the twilight…

ATTEMPT #2: A week or two later, I was going up to visit Brooke among other things in Boston, it was still very cold (it was December at this point), and I said “fuck it” and decided to get revenge on GATRA GO. Unfortunately, very VERY long wait times said “lol fuck you” and even though I got off my train at 8ish AM, I wouldn’t be picked up until closer to 10, guaranteeing missing a Foxboro train I wanted to connect to. This also meant I’d be stuck in Foxboro for a couple of hours. 🙁

ATTEMPT #3: About 10 months after, I decided to come back with pretty much the entire Franklin Line under my belt and with a much better understanding of how GATRA works, and having much more time on my hands (now that I wasn’t dating Brooke, though we’re still friends, and I wasn’t trying to ride her train either as I didn’t know if I’d still have steam – or make it to Heath St. in time). This set of circumstances worked in my hands, even if I still had to wait…

*checks notes*

40 MINUTES?! Oh brother…

That’s what a bus looks like – but I didn’t get this in Franklin

So, when I got off in Norfolk, I dialed a GATRA GO bus and it took 46 minutes to arrive, coming from the general area of Franklin. Yeah, those wait times are BAD. But, the bus actually DID come eventually. It came, crossed the Franklin Line grade crossing, and pulled into the station parking lot to pick me up. And, oh god…

So, there were four other people, the operator and three passengers. The passengers each introduced themselves (Liv and Maddie, who were vlogging, and their friend Elias. If any of y’all see this, hi!) and we all talked a bit. Everyone else was going to Crumbl at Patriot Place, and I said “eh, why not?” (I was planning on a lunch in downtown Boston or at Five Guys in Foxboro). The two ladies continued vlogging as we got on Pond Street. Really, this was a straight shot more than anything and we made pretty good time, for what it’s worth. Didn’t pick anyone else up along the way though, but it was a rather quick ride. Though, I must wonder though: why are there no fixed routes? I get “low ridership” but ya know, ADVERTISE THEM. RUN THEM AT A CONSISTENT SCHEDULE 7 DAYS A WEEK! I digress. And then, I think I might’ve heard the most Gen Alpha brainrot thing I’ve ever heard from anyone. I’m not even sure if Gen Alpha is old enough to use GATRA GO. But, here we go:

“Sigma Ohio Skibidi.”

Please bleach that one out of my memory. Bleh. Cue the gif of Homer Simpson pouring bleach in his eyes, even. That aside, the ride was pretty comfortable, relaxing even, and there wasn’t even a jiggly wheelchair lift. Good job, GATRA! (or whoever owns the buses for GATRA) Eventually, we made it to Patriot Place and parted ways. And, to Maddie and Liv, I wish y’all the best of luck with vlogging.

See, Weston?! Norfolk is nice enough to have sidewalks on their streets!

The good: It’ll get you literally anywhere in the zone!

The bad: WHY ARE THERE NO FIXED ROUTES?! LEGIT, PATRIOT PLACE CAN AND SHOULD BE A PULSE POINT FOR LOCAL GATRA FIXED ROUTES GOING TO FRANKLIN, FOXBORO, MANSFIELD, AND NORFOLK. SEND A DAMN BUS TO WALPOLE CENTER TO CONNECT WITH THE 34E EVEN. AND FOR THAT MATTER, WHY DID THE SLOOP GET REPLACED WITH THIS?! WHY DOESN’T IT CONNECT TO ANY FIXED ROUTES THAT LINK IT TO THE MBTA IN WEYMOUTH OR HINGHAM?! WHY DOES THE PLYMOUTH ZONE NOT CONNECT TO THE KINGSTON T STATION?! WHY?! WHY DOES THE PEMBROKE ZONE EVEN EXIST AS A SEPARATE ENTITY?! WAIT TIMES ARE ALSO GARBAGE UNLESS YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHEN YOU’LL BE LEAVING AND WHEN YOU’LL BE LEAVING YOUR DESTINATION FOR YOUR RETURN – MOST PEOPLE AREN’T INFLEXIBLE LIKE THAT! THAT’S IF IT EVEN WORKS AT ALL.

Nearby points of interest: Franklin’s town center is cool, as is Patriot Place! You also have Plymouth’s downtown, Scituate & the Greenbush Line, and whatever the hell is in Pembroke.

Overall, WHY?! WHY DID THEY KILL FIXED ROUTES FOR THESE?! JUST WHY?! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Rating: 2.5/10

THIS SHOULD SUPPLEMENT FIXED ROUTES, NOT REPLACE THEM. GATRA GO, MORE LIKE GATRA GO FUCK YOURSELF.

Flushing-Main St. (NYCMTA)

Alrighty, so we made it to the end of line #7, at……north-central Queens? Huh, guess the subway doesn’t go out as far as I’d expect it to. Ah well. Welcome to Flushing, some might say “the better Chinatown”, but regardless, here we go!

The subway station is mostly standard, however the only major difference aside from the usual benches, wastebaskets, and (working!) countdown clocks, are that there’s THREE tracks rather than two here. Which, essentially, means “Doors will open on either or both side” is a real possibility here. There’s also a relatively nice-looking mezzanine with OMNY machines. Allegedly, a restroom also exists here but I didn’t see one. Unfortunately, though, the way the station is designed inherently prohibits any extensions of the line – as they’d all require the mezzanine to be razed as between the mezzanine and tracks are some big mean mother bumpers. But, there’s at least bus connections to eastern and northern Queens! Yay! But, that’s not all to this station…

This picture is the embodiment of what’s quite possibly my favorite area in NYC based on vibes alone. Also, I spy the LIRR?!

Yes. There’s also an LIRR station here, kinda acting as a super-express of line #7 if you take this towards Grand Central/Penn Station. The station is on an embankment, with elevator for ADA compliance. There’s also ticket machines and shelters, but it really isn’t anything to ring home about. It works well for what it is. Some might say “why would you take it when the subway is there?”, to which I raise the possibility of reverse commuters to Port Washington and Manhasset, and also people who prefer a super-express that stops only at Mets-Willett Point and Woodside before going into Manhattan. Oh yeah, I also almost forgot to note, the departure boards tell you CAR CAPACITY. DAMN, I never seen THAT before on a commuter rail system!

The good: It’s a major destination, has both subway and LIRR access, and is the gateway to eastern Queens and Nassau Co.! The “N”-prefixed routes I raised questions about in a caption? Turns out, those are Nassau Inter-County Express (NICE) buses. Yes, an RTA other than the MTA actually serves this station! DAMN. Furthermore, the Port Washington Line is pretty frequent by commuter rail standards, while line #7 is the most frequent subway line in the system.

The bad: The design prohibits extensions inherently! That’s…..really the only negative I can genuinely think of, aside from the piss-scented elevators at the LIRR station.

Nearby points of interest: Flushing, duh! This is probably the more major Chinatown vs. Manhattan’s Chinatown. There’s also buses to Whitestone, Murray Hill, Bayside, and Nassau Co. from here.

Transit connections:
LIRR (Port Washington)
Flushing Line (Line #7)
MTA bus (Q12, Q13, Q15, Q15A, Q16, Q17, Q19, Q20A, Q20B, Q25, Q26, Q27, Q28, Q34, Q44 SBS, Q48, Q50, Q58, Q65, Q66)
NICE (N20G, N20X)

Overall, while the vibes of the station itself are “meh”, if slightly above average, this neighborhood is really vibey, for what it’s worth, and is probably my favorite part of the city. Also, the bus connections are plentiful here.

Rating: 8/10

South Ferry & Whitehall St. (Line #1, R, W)

Oh goody, another station complex! Well, we’re on the southern tip of Manhattan for this one. Unfortunately, this one tends to be a little cursed in the 21st century, in that there’s been several catastrophic disruptions to service here. Well, with that out of the way, let’s get into things.

At the end of line #1 and line W, South Ferry and Whitehall St. (technically two stations, but physically the same station) is the southernmost station in Manhattan, serving the Whitehall St. ferry terminal and the Battery, and the southernmost bits of the Financial District. The stations themselves are pretty modern, with decent amounts of lighting. You also have countdown clocks that actually work, benches, wastebaskets, fare machines, and the usual. There’s also allegedly an in-station connection to each other (I fully believe it exists) but I haven’t seen it anywhere when I was here. Easy to miss? Possibly. Line #1 has big mean mother bumpers at the end of the track (likely because you cannot build tail tracks here – the ocean is 3 feet south!), while line W utilizes a middle pocket track to turn around. On street level, it’s pretty lively overall, with vendors everywhere and modern headhouses that remind me of Hudson Yards – and overall, look nice. And, yes, this is accessible! YAY! There is also a busway here as well, neat!

THE CLOCKS DO WORK?! WHAT THE FUCK, WHY DO THE ONES AT HUDSON YARDS NOT WORK THEN?!

Another headhouse and the Whitehall St. terminal!

Right, getting back to “this station is cursed”. I say that for one reason: there’s been two catastrophic events that killed service here this century already! First off was the 9/11 attacks. Now, we all know what happened with the September 11th incident and the 3000 or so lives lost between here, the Pentagon, and Pennsylvania, and I’m not even going to get into anything about imperialism (this is a transit blog – not “Chelsea’s Political Ramblings”. But if anyone wants to see my political ramblings, let me know!), but between this and the resulting conflicts, there were millions of civilian fatalities. One of the byproducts of the towers falling on that morning was the fact it severed line #1 between Chambers St. and here (Chambers St. was the last turnaround point heading southbound). It also led to service on the Broadway lines to be killed for a while as well, with service beyond being an extension of lines J and M (at the time, line M used the Nassau St. tunnel) into the Montague St. tunnel and towards Bay Ridge and Coney Island. Line #1 would instead be re-routed to New Lots, and these changes would persist for a bit. About a decade later would be Hurricane Sandy. Hurricane Sandy would wreck havoc all over NYC, flooding a decent amount of the city and, unfortunately, South Ferry Station. The salt in the wound here, was that they rebuilt the station in a slightly different location, and that station was completely wrecked. So, with that, they had to reactivate the old station (which was a balloon loop ala Heath St.). This was among the many problems caused by Sandy, among those caused in Queens and Brooklyn. Unfortunately, though, I can’t talk about them as much because there isn’t as much info readily available. But, nevertheless, this station is cursed, and it wouldn’t be opened again until 2017.

These clocks don’t work for counting down. WHY?!

The good: It’s a nice station, it’s modern in design, and it’s well-lit! Furthermore, it’s on the southern tip of Manhattan and has an on-foot connection to the Whitehall St. ferry terminal (stay tuned) for Staten Island ferry service. There’s also a busway and it’s accessible!

The bad: I can’t help but think this station is cursed. In all seriousness though, I don’t have a lot against it. Maybe a better-signed transfer to line #1?

Nearby points of interest: The Financial District, the Battery, and the Statue of Liberty!

Transit connections:
7th Ave. Line (1)
Broadway Line (R, W)
MTA bus (M15, M15 SBS, M20, M55, BM1, BM2, BM3, BM4, QM7, QM8, QM11, QM25, SIM5, SIM15, SIM35)
Staten Island Ferry (at Whitehall St. Terminal)

Overall, it’s a nice and useful station, and I’d say it’s a favorite of mine so far on the system. But, not as much as 33rd-Rawson. Yeah, sorry. But it’s still good.

Rating: 8/10

40th-Lowery St.’s (Line #7)

40th-Lowery is much like 33rd-Rawson. In fact, it’s quite literally a copy-paste of 33rd-Rawson. So, this entry will not be very exciting. Sorry! Here ya go, anyways, as duty calls.

40th-Lowery, quite literally, is a copy-paste of 33rd-Rawson. I’m not even joking. You have the same signage (except reads “40th St.-Lowery St.”), mezzanine design, station design, track configuration, and everything. The only unique thing, as far as I can find, about this station is that it’s the only elevated station on the line WITHOUT a free crossover to the opposite direction. Likewise, there is only one other station on the entire line without a free crossover, being Vernon Blvd. near the LI City LIRR station. Yeah, sorry, but that’s not a good distinction to have. 🙁 The bus connections are also the same as at 33rd St., being the Q32 and Q60.

The skyline view from here is also pretty cool!

The mezzanine! 33rd-Rawson’s looks like this, too.

BIGASS CONCRETE VIADUCT OVER QUEENS BOULEVARD!

The good: It sees frequent service during daylight hours! It also gets the job done, for what it’s worth! It also seems cool for photography. (though, in my opinion, not as much as 33rd-Rawson)

The bad: It’s copy-pasted. That means no ADA compliance here, people! D: Also, no free crossovers.

Nearby points of interest: There’s some restaurants nearby according to Google Maps, including a McDonald’s, Wendy’s, and even a White Castle. There’s also a butcher shop. There’s also a school on the next street over (are NYC public schools really just numbered???)

Transit connections:
Flushing Line (Line #7)
MTA bus (Q32, Q60)

Overall, yeah, I got very little to remark about this station. This might be a common theme with NYC, and a telltale sign of copy-pasted stuff. Sorry. 🙁

Rating: 6/10

33rd-Rawson St.’s (Line #7)

Alrighty, so this entry (apologies for being late – my mental health and work put this on the backburner a bit!) is one of many elevated stations on line #7. The first of many stations on the line with street names (or second – if you factor in the platforms for line E and M at Court Sq. is “Court Sq.-23rd St.”), and the first of many generic elevated stations along the line. Let’s get into this because this is going to probably get monotonous.

33rd-Rawson is on the edge of LI City (going by Google Maps boundaries here), and is on a concrete viaduct over Queens Blvd. Wait, is this what NYC-area foamers call the “Queens Blvd. Line”?

*does research*

Wait, it isn’t? Damn…

Anyways, the station really isn’t much to ring home about. You have two side platforms with wastebaskets, benches, countdown clocks (which means you will hear “THERE IS AN. UPTOWN. LOCAL. SEVEN TRAIN TO FLUSHING-MAIN ST. APPROACHING THE STATION PLEASE STAND AWAY FROM THE PLATFORM EDGE” about once every other minute. We’ll get to that in a minute. The mezzanine has MetroCard machines and turnstiles, however they’re configured in a way to not allow free crossovers. Boo, that sucks! Well, I lied. Apparently, there’s a part-time exit (presumably closed nights or offpeak) that DOES allow free crossovers. Not sure how anyone would think this though if they’re not from the area. Oh well! I must also remark, the skyline view of LI City is pretty sick from here, too!

View of the other platform and the LI City skyline

Countdown clock! Yes, those headways are ACTUALLY REAL.

Line diagram! Where’s the LIRR at Woodside?

Sunnyside is indeed sunny today! (it’s close enough!)

Right, back about those headways. Those headways are actually real, and the trains run at FULL SPEED with those headways. I decided to railfan here a little bit and, I am genuinely not exaggerating, there were moments where trains were pretty much bunched up to the untrained eye, yet they were running full speed and were not holding. Like, DAMN! I’ll explain how it works. This might go over some peoples’ heads, and I probably won’t do the best job explaining, so I apologize in advance. So, here we go:

Line #7 (& Line L, and some sections of the other lines including the Queens Blvd. tunnel, and more recently line G) operate on a different signaling system that operates considerably different than the rest of the subway system, and is considerably different vs. mainline rail (e.g. Amtrak, Metro-North, NJ Transit, the LIRR) or other subway systems (e.g. SEPTA, the MBTA, the CTA). Most of these systems operate their signals with what are called “blocks”, or sections of track that are protected by signals. If you ever sat trackside, you might’ve seen a tri-color light or a gantry with red, yellow, and green. These operate pretty much like traffic lights, and once you enter the block section, they’re supposed to turn red. However, the signaling system on line #7 doesn’t use traditional blocks. Rather, the system, called CBTC, uses what essentially are an infinite amount of blocks and trains can keep as much or as little space as possible to operate safely and at full speed. Furthermore, this technology also allows for, essentially, fully automated subway lines. However, in the context of New York, odds are the unions wouldn’t let that fly because of job security reasons, so if nothing else the operators are there for emergencies and to operate the doors. It’s a bit hard to explain, so my recommendation is to just see it in action if you’re able to. It really is a sight to behold to see 2 11-car trains back to back without any restricted speeds.

If that was hard to understand, I don’t fault you. Here’s a video that can explain it better than I can.

Bye! (there was another train immediately behind it – out of frame)

The good: It’s a cool railfanning spot and, in my opinion, a good place to see CBTC in action! It also serves the Sunnyside and LI City areas of Queens pretty well! Queens Blvd. is pretty nice with what’s on it, even though it may as well be a stroad that happens to have a subway viaduct in the median.

The bad: Eh, not a lot to say outside the station specifically. Again, Queens Blvd. is a stroad. This station also isn’t accessible. Booooo…..

Nearby points of interest: The station itself is pretty cool for railfanning! There’ a YMCA, a gaming store, and a school nearby.

Transit connections:
Flushing Line (Line #7)
MTA bus (Q32, Q39, Q60)

Overall, it’s a pretty cool station for railfanning, but not much to remark beyond that. Sorry!

Rating: 6.5/10

Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall & Chambers St. (Lines #s 4-6, J)

So, here, we have another station complex, although this one isn’t as bad as the 42nd St. megacomplex in terms of how messy it is for me to cover. However, the station itself is kinda in sad condition, but as a terminal, it’s also pretty unique and is the last of its kind in normal service. Welcome to the Brooklyn Bridge/Chambers St. station complex!

Chambers St., on line J (also served by the Z line during peak hours – however we do NOT speak of the Z) is quite possibly among the most depressing subway stations I’ve ever seen. There’s three island platforms, however only two are in use, and only two out of four tracks are used in revenue service. Sometimes, though, if extra trains have to be sent through the Nassau St. tunnel, they might turn around on the middle tracks. But, generally, Chambers St. is a time capsule – and not in a good way. But, it was historically significant, being meant to be a major transfer point between the IRT and BMT before consolidation into the MTA, but that just never panned out. In terms of the station itself, it is just sad. It’s dingy, quite possibly a sorrier state than anything on the MBTA, and it’s just depressing in vibes. At least there’s elevators to render it an ADA accessible station!

In the mezzanine, is your standard faregates and signage to lines #s 4-6, and an exit out to the Municipal Building. Walking down the passage brings one to the ex-IRT platforms, named Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall. The platforms here, just like the ex-BMT platforms, have wastebaskets and clocks, and signage. However, there’s only 4 tracks and 2 islands, with the outer tracks going to the former City Hall balloon loop. This loop, and the fact one can ride through it, makes this station unique as it’s the only in-service balloon loop on the entire MTA subway. The loop is rideable by normal people, and it’s how line #6 turns around back towards Pelham Bay and Parkchester. However, if you are going to ride the loop, PLEASE, PLEASE DO NOT TRESPASS OR SUBWAY SURF INTO THE STATION. IT IS DANGEROUS. I DO NOT ADVOCATE FOR SUBWAY SURFING OR TRESPASSING. AND, YOU WILL LIKELY BE ARRESTED. IT IS NOT WORTH IT. If you MUST check out the old City Hall station, the NYC Transit Museum sometimes does tours. With that aside, Brooklyn Bridge is okay. It’s dingy but it’s not as sorry a state of affairs as Chambers St., and plus the fact that line #6 uses the loop here to turn around is cool! And, there’s also bus connections on street level. Neat!

The good: It’s a transfer point in lower Manhattan between lines #s 4-6 and line J! Furthermore, it’s actually pretty useful for people trying to get to the Municipal Building, various federal buildings nearby, and the Brooklyn Bridge itself. It’s also accessible!

The bad: Unless you’re changing between line #6 and line J specifically, I don’t see why one would change here, rather than at Fulton St. (the next stop over heading downtown), which has express service. Chambers St. specifically is also bad with how sorry a state of affairs it is in. 🙁 If my mental health issues manifested as a subway station, it would probably be best described as Chambers St. (Line J). Yeah, sorry!

Nearby points of interest: This is the closest subway station to various municipal and federal buildings, one of a couple stations to serve City Hall, and the closest station to the Brooklyn Bridge. Pace University is also a stone’s throw away.

Transit connections:
Lexington Ave. (Lines #s 4-6)
Nassau St. (Lines J, Z)
MTA bus (M9, M22, M103, BM1, BM2, BM3, BM4, QM7, QM8, QM11, QM25, SIM15)

Overall, this station is straight-up depression. Yeah, sorry, but I got not a lot of good to say about it. Sorry! The loop is cool, though!

Rating: 3.5/10

34th St.-Hudson Yards (Line #7)

Hudson Yards is among the newest stations on the MTA subway, having opened almost 9 years ago (as of writing this), with only 2nd Ave.-72nd/86th/96th St. being newer than this. The station is, by Manhattan standards, also located in a transit desert otherwise, with 10th, 11th and 12th Ave.’s otherwise having no subway access. This isn’t too big an issue as 8th Ave. is the next best thing, however this location in particular needed a subway connection. With that, let’s get into the station review.

Hudson Yards is one of those kinds of stations where it’s very deep into the ground. However, unlike stations like the LIRR concourse at Grand Central, the various stations in Washington Heights, or Porter Square in Boston, there’s actually half-decent elevators! If I remember right, it took me about 30 seconds to get to the surface – AND IT WAS AN INCLINED ELEVATOR yhfioedpashifopdhsaioufphdsaiofhawdiop INCLINED ELEVATORS ARE AWESOME, OK?! THIS WAS MY FIRST TIME RIDING ONE. Shit, I should make time to ride the Monongahela Incline some time, now that I think of it. I digress. Hudson Yards is pretty nice, the platform is plain but is serviceable. There’s signs pointing to the next train, however there’s one teensy-weensy but crucial problem: THE DEPARTURE BOARDS DON’T WORK OTHERWISE. IS IT THAT HARD TO TELL WHEN THE NEXT TRAIN WILL DEPART?! Anyways, I digress. Going up the inclined elevator (are these called funny colors? fume colors? funiculars? or just simply inclined elevators? what’s the difference anyways?), the station mezzanine is spacious but pretty normal otherwise. The headhouse looks pretty cool, actually. In terms of importance, this station is very important as it’s the closest thing to the Javits Convention Center. For the MTA employees, this is also one of, if not the closest station to the Michael Quill bus garage, so there’s that. Overall, Hudson Yards seems like a cool area.

THIS IS THE LAST STOP ON THIS TRAIN. EVERYONE PLEASE LEAVE THE TRAIN. THANK YOU RIDING MTA NEW YORK CITY TRANSIT.

The Javits Convention Center (apparently a bid for the 2024 DNC was made using this place!)

The good: It serves the up and coming Hudson Yards development, along with the Javits Convention Center! It’s also pretty nice, and the vibes I get from it remind me of my experiences with WMATA from when I went to DC as a child. The mezzanine is also pretty spacious, presumably to accommodate convention crowds from the Javits Center. Also, THE INCLINED ELEVATOR!!!

The bad: WHY ARE THE COUNTDOWN CLOCKS BROKEN?! JUST FUCKING TELL ME WHEN THE TRAIN IS DUE OUT AND WHAT TRACK!

Nearby points of interest: The Javits Center, duh! Furthermore, you have the High Line Park (a rail trail in NYC’s urban core?!), the Vessel, a concerning amount of parking lots, and the Hudson Yards Mall. Yeah, this place largely is probably most comparable to the Prudential Center and Copley Place in Boston.

Transit connections:
Flushing Line (line #7)
MTA bus (M12, M34-SBS)
Megabus (former, long live THE GUY)

Overall, it’s a nice station. It’s pretty modern, serves an important area of NYC, and has some cool stuff around it. And, inclined elevators are pretty cool! DAMMIT MTA, FIX THE COUNTDOWN CLOCKS THOUGH!

Rating: 8/10