Jun 30, 2010
By Lisa T. Bergren
For views, we went to the breath-stealing Top of the Rock and the next day, settled in for the Circle Line Cruise which took us under the Statue of Liberty. For culture, we took in a Broadway musical and the planetarium. For exercise, we meandered through the gorgeous, green Central Park. For the awe factor, we stood on a corner and stared at the corona-exploding electronic billboards of Times Square.
But my favorite part of our NYC trip was the subway.
Far better than an airport or even a street corner for people watching, the train is truly a microcosm of this great, diverse city.
We meet up with a marching band from Iowa—in town for a competition and buzzing with excitement—then a cheery mariachi band playing as close to you as possible between stops, holding out a bag for coins and a “por favor.” Later we see an old, black blind woman, tapping her way through with a cane, singing something you might hear in a jazz club, her voice mellow and engaging. Throughout every trip, people speak in Russian, German, Korean, Japanese…name a language and you’re bound to encounter it here.
There are hospital workers in scrubs, and people who look like they need a night in the hospital. Weary workers napping on their way home, and others who are obviously sleeping for hours on the train, not caring where they end up or when. Businesspeople and college students. Mamas pushing strollers, tourists pulling suitcases, locals awkwardly handling bulky air conditioners and bags and grocery sacks.
The subway car is lined with advertisements for free summer meals for kids (in English and Spanish), infertility treatments, a government census long over, alluring airline deals to London, the latest bestseller. And speaking of books, this is the reading-est crowd I’ve seen in a while. Many hardcover books, their jackets carefully stowed at home. A couple leaning close, reading a book of poetry. Two editors, reading proposals. Everyone reading suspense, romance, and a plethora of literary titles, as well as the New York Post and The New York Times.
If people aren’t reading, they’re checking phones for messages, or listening to their MP3 players, eyes closed, or unfocused, staring ahead. I slip on my own headphones and my view becomes a music video. But I take the headphones off and pay attention to the ba-dump, ba-dump of the train, the screeching of wheels on rails at the turns, the sudden, eerie silence when I wonder if we’re still moving…and then realize I’m just on a rare, perfectly straight section.
Couples hold hands, or argue, or make out like they’re the only ones on the train. Tourists with “I *heart* NY” t-shirts move in and out, staring hard at the subway map, anxiously looking for the name of their next stop. The stations are hot, jumbled cauldrons of people just anxious to get on the next air-conditioned car and to their destination. “Washington Square,” says one man to us, “avoid that one at all costs. That place is the hottest subway station of them all.”
But we experience stations that are sweltering. Sweat rolls down our scalps and backs at 42nd. Beads up on our lips and foreheads at NYU & 8th. We fan ourselves in Brooklyn, staring down a dark, empty tunnel, willing our train to arrive, our temporary savior, our transport to light. If the Rodenticide hasn’t beaten the rats, the temperature is giving it a go.
The heat seems to incite everyone. Irritated parents yank kids to their sides. Couples argue about the right train to take. It’s Gay Pride week in NYC, and at one stop, a tall man in a rainbow shirt comes out of the train yelling for help, nose bleeding. Two cops are there in seconds, pushing a yelling woman and man away from the men in short-shorts. The train is stopped, a whistle is blown, a radio signal goes off and thirty more police stream onto the platform, all on the run. It’ll undoubtedly be a long night for the foursome.
By and large however, the subway feels safe, like a neighborhood to me. A far more diverse, fascinating neighborhood than my suburban, white-washed one at home in Colorado. But that’s what I love. For a moment, just a moment, I’m one with them, on my way home to Brooklyn after a long day, waiting for my stop, spelled out in mosaic tiles at the turn of the century, the silent observers of millions more, just riding the rails.
TIPs:
• Get a current subway map from the visitor’s center; the lines change, so don’t trust an older guide book
• Pay attention to notices of lines changing or temporary issues that might affect your route
• Pay attention to “late night” or “weekend” alternatives posted
• Metro cards also can be used on city buses
• Sometimes trains are delayed; if time is tight and you have to get somewhere at a certain time (such as to a show or meeting), you might be better off in a taxi
• We purchased the unlimited 7 day pass ($27 at this time), which also allowed access to the city bus system; regular fares were $2.50 (however far you were going each time), but we used it enough to more than pay for itself in 4 days
• We tried to take the AirTrain ($5 each) to reach the subway system from JFK, but then there was some issue with the train, and had to take it back to the airport (another $5 each) to catch a taxi. If you’re traveling in a group of 3 or more, I’d just go with the taxi option to/from the airport.
Used the subway system in NYC? What’d you think? Weigh in below.
Posted on Wednesday, June 30, 2010
In Trip Reports
Tags: 7 day pass, JFK, metro, New York City, nyc, people watching, subway
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Great article! Subways were definitely one of the highlights of our trip, too. And not at all "scary" like in the movies. The good news for us is that it was late November… so no heat to worry about.
One comment about taxis from the Airport: When we looked into transport, we learned that there's a limit of 4 passengers per taxi (not sure how strictly they enforce this one). Since we had 5 on our trip, we would have had to pay for 2 cabs… we opted for a Limo. It wasn't too much more than all our other options (and you can negotiate with them!) and it made our first trip to NYC that much more "Special"!
Kevin—a year ago, I was in NYC with a group of youth from my church and we took a limo from LaGuardia to uptown Manhattan for about the same price as a cab. And we crammed in 12 kids plus 2 adults! And, yes, the kids loved it…
Wow, I love this. Really well-written, and it completely captures that subway experience. I kind of fell in love a little with the subway while I was there, too, except for the sweltering heat of the stations. I kept thinking: This is what Hell feels like. What a slice of NYC life you get on the subway. Just a note: A taxi won't always get you to the airport faster if you're in a hurry. On Monday, traffic was so gridlocked in Manhattan, I got into a taxi, watched it rack up $5 just sitting in traffic and got out because I knew I could walk the distance faster. It was crazy.
Thanks, Gray! We witnessed some of that gridlock while tooling around Manhattan on foot and were very glad to be catching a subway instead of joining in the street mayhem…We took a taxi from Park Slope in Brooklyn to JFK and were able to avoid rush hour traffic by taking surface streets…(took around 40 minutes)
Great post about NYC Metro!!
It was so nice to meet you and your family. I wish we could have spent more time together.
My take on the NYC metro is that it's very old and dirty.
I have the fear of rats so hanging out in the metro and people watching is not gonna me my to-do list in NYC. 
However, I do love the fact that it's so diverse and like you I feel like I'm one of them on this train ride!
Amy, we loved meeting you too. I think I'm enamored with the subway, partly because I don't have to ride it every day! And we saw a couple of rats! *shiver*. But it was definitely…cultural.
Love this post, Lisa! You did capture the scene beautifully. (BTW the entire experience is even more compelling when it's not hotter than Hades down there. October=good.)
Mmm, I think practically EVERYWHERE is better to visit in the spring or autumn, but then I'm a heat wimp!
Such an accurate description! You captured it perfectly and poetically. The diversity you describe IS New York, which is why I love it so much and the subway offers a concentrated slice of it. I’d emphasize checking for postings at the stations for line changes before you get on a train, especially on weekends and out to Brooklyn.
Excellent advice, Laurie.
I love when you ride the subway and another train goes past and you catch the eye of someone else on the next train over and you're both riding along side by side but worlds apart.
Yes–that is cinematic, isn't it?
Like the others, totally agree, you've captured the experience so well. Subways are wonderful places for amateur anthropologists like ourselves (you, me and your readers above) but I actually prefer them more for entertainment when I live in a city than when I'm visiting. I much prefer to walk – or take a bus/taxi if I have to – so I can see what's going on above ground and take in the fresh air. I find parks as fascinating as subways, don't you?
Mmm, yes. Parks are another fabulous place to people-watch. I think I liked the subway because it was such a great opportunity to observe people from all walks of life. (Everyone in NYC is pretty much forced to ride the subway at some point.) I also think I had a rather romantic perspective on it because I don't have to ride it every day of my life!
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[...] since I caught a ground-up perspective on a NYC subway, I’ve been intrigued with shooting from this angle. On our October trip to Rome, I took the [...]