LTVSquad

Month: December 2010

  • There is no snow in NYC!

    There is no snow in NYC!

    The city is going fine, Broadway shows were full last night. There are lots of tourists here enjoying themselves. – Mike Bloomberg

    For anyone that doesn’t get it

    Epic Photoshop cred: Grep

  • MTA Snow Subway Service, Explained.

    MTA Snow Subway Service, Explained.

    For anyone that might not understand why some subway lines run in the snow, while others do not, consistently year after year, here’s a mini guide with explanations that the MTA never seems to want to admit to.

    Let’s take this Line by Line with 4 samplings of major routes.

    The A Train:

    The A of course is not running south of Euclid Ave, with the already famous horror story of the one train that was stuck in the snow all night.
    Explanation: The A line is above ground after Euclid Ave – first on an elevated line then on the surface (old LIRR Rockaway branch) out over Jamaica bay. Any subway line running on flat on the ground in a blizzard will soon shut down. The third rail will be buried. No power, no trains. On the Rockaway side, the subway line is elevated again- though it is not a traditional elevated subway line. It’s a solid viaduct where snow can accumulate and bury the third rail – unlike the other elevated lines in the system where the tracks sit on beams and the snow falls through.

    The 4.5.6 Lines:

    Explanation: The 4 and 6 lines only run either in tunnels (where no large amount of snow can get in) or elevated lines, where the snow simply falls between the tracks to the streets below and rarely gets a chance to cover the third rail.

    The 5 though, runs on the surface (along the route of the old NYW&B RR) in the northern Bronx, and thus will always be shut down in a major snow storm. Third rail buried, no power, no trains. Done.

    The BDFM:

    Explanation: The D runs in a cut below street level around the 9th ave station in Brooklyn, thus it’s no surprise that this line is prone to getting shut down. The B (and the Q) run through the ‘brighton beach’ line in Brooklyn, which is also a ‘cut’ below the streets, yet open to the air and elements. It’s the perfect ditch to get snowed in. It doesn’t take much for the snow to go over the 3rd rail here.

    The M line near fresh pond is on the surface, and thus prone to 3rd rail burial. You’ll note service ended where the elevated line begins.

    As for the F, the viaduct around Smith / 9 is solid, much like the A line in Rockaway. Without holes for the snow to fall through, burial happens.

    And lastly, the N and Q lines:

    Explanation: Both of these lines run in ‘cuts’ in Brooklyn. Ditches where snow gathers fast. Both lines always shut down in the snow. On the Queens end, they’re on an el, and through Manhattan in tunnels. The R rarely shuts down in the snow, because it’s in a tunnel the entire length of it’s run. Same goes for the E and a few other lines.

    Variety of subway line types
    By now you might wonder, why the hell were some subway lines built in ‘cuts’, others on elevated lines, and still others in tunnels and flat on the surface. The reason of course is hinted at above- all of these lines were build by different companies, none of which I’d imagine gave much thought to how nature might effect day to day operations of each.

    As you can gather from the above. There should never be any surprise what subway lines will shut down in the snow. When you look at the physical characteristics of where each subway runs, it’s pretty obvious what to expect.

    Of course, what has made the 2010 storm worse is the fact that it happened right after a holiday when most people were off, and even if they wanted to, a lot of workers couldn’t even make it in to clean up the mess. But that’s fodder for some other blog post..

  • NYC Underground LAPP Dance

    NYC Underground LAPP Dance

    Surviving a trip into the NYC underground and shooting some quick video and photos is so 1995. Under pressure from imminent death, CHUDS and various people that don’t want you around, the ability to seriously create in this situation is the new standard of excellence.

    Major props to my science lab partner, P-Zak, Esq.

  • The Blue Bolt Express

    The Blue Bolt Express

    Here is the perfect home for those perpetually perturbed by life in New York Above.

    Here is where in your darkest hours, the writing on the wall can show you the way.

    Here is where boys become men, and where the scared either die a grim death or get over themselves.

    Here is heat, hot in the winter and sweltering in the summer.

    Here is simplicity: You follow the rules, because death is the only other option.

    Here there is only one rule: Survival. Beyond that there are no laws, no heros, no one coming to save you from your demons.

    Here is ritual, here is religion. And here the proverbs need not be spoken.

    Here is the gateway to Creation. Reinvention. Solitude. Soul building hours alone in the darkness left with nothing but your brain, a camera and a memory card… and the grim reality that yes, sooner or later one of the above will run out…

  • Ripping people off with fake NYCTA lanterns

    Ripping people off with fake NYCTA lanterns

    This is amazing. Some company is selling what some claim are NYCTA lanterns for the ridiculous price of $150. The only thing is they look very little like actual NYC MTA safety lanterns.

    Here is what they are selling: Note the rubber handle and non-MTA logo.

    Now here is a real MTA lantern (photo provided by one of our trackworker friends). Note the plastic handle, and embossed ‘NYCTA’ lettering along the side.

    These lanterns are not sold to the public (though you can occasionally find them on ebay, craigslist, etc).


    See that lantern on the far right – it’s the type that contractors use, which is the same model as the one this company is selling, only it has no weird logo on it.

    The lantern these guys are selling can be found online for a mere 50 bucks. I guess that logo on there warrants a huge mark up? That’s like taking a honda, sticking a ferrari-esque logo on it, and selling it for 3 times the price to unsuspecting consumers who don’t know better.

    Hey I’m all for people making money, but consumer deception is lame.

    Gizmodo says you can look like a real MTA engineer with one of these fake lanterns. Uhm… No. If you really want to look like an MTA employee, this is the gear you need:

    And if you want a real original set of MTA work lanterns, you’ll have to contact the infamous Caveman and make a seriously good offer, though really, I don’t think money can buy these.

    I’m going to drop the same knowledge my first boss ever gave me: ‘Don’t take any wooden nickels‘. If it ain’t real it’s nonsense.

    (Thanks to The Don, MW, Axe and Caveman for much of the fodder in this post)

  • Gimme Gimme Gumballs

    Gimme Gimme Gumballs

  • Freedom Tunnel, Painted

    Freedom Tunnel, Painted


    …so Gothamist today picked up the story that anyone with their ear in the underground has known for a few months now: Amtrak has painted over much of the freedom tunnel.

    The rumor is janet Nazipolatino road through the tunnel on Amtrak one day and was appalled at all the graffiti down there. Thus, someone threw a huge pile of cash at Amtrak to paint and ‘better secure’ freedom tunnel.

    With this new monumental act of state sponsored vandalism, NYC lost a huge amount of priceless art. The works of art in freedom tunnel ran the gauntlet of graffiti, and included everything from a dizzying array of throwys by FE to a 20×30 foot reproduction of Goya’s ‘3rd of May’ by Freedom and Smith. Many of these were priceless works, some created nearly 25 years ago.

    There is absolutely no good reason for this state-sponsored whitewash to have occurred. The tunnel is out of public view so no civilians ever complained about it. To paint over the entire tunnel surely cost taxpayers a huge amount of money. Think about it: 2 walls, running along 2 miles of tunnel, 12-14 feet high. how many gallons of paint was wasted on this project? How many man hours at union wages were wasted on this utterly ridiculous endeavor? What is the total cost to taxpayers for this completely pointless destruction? How many hundreds of thousands of dollars were thrown at this? Money that could have been used to feed the poor, bail out the MTA to keep subway fares down, aid in the construction of the 2nd avenue tunnel… there are dozens of more important projects around NYC that all this time and cash could have been better used on.

    This isn’t the first time that Amtrak has tried to ‘secure’ and clean up freedom tunnel. Several times in the 1990s they evicted homeless people and sealed up entrances to the tunnel. Those entrances were always broken open again, or new ones were created. Many of the homeless moved right back into the tunnel and never left. The tunnel is simply too big to ever be completely secured, and this new creation of miles of clean wall space is just a brand new canvas which will be retaken by graffiti artists in time.

    Meanwhile, all of the exits to this tunnel are chained shut and locked with ‘102’ high security locks. If a train were to derail and burn in the tunnel, there is no escape. NYPD and FDNY do not have 102 keys. They would have to wait on amtrak to show up to get access to the tunnel, and by the time that happened, dozens, potentially hundreds, would be dead.

    Way to go Amtrak and Federal ‘security’ morons. You succeeded in throwing away more taxpayer money while not making this tunnel one bit safer for the public. I for one am completely disgusted by your useless idiotic actions, and you can be damn sure you won’t be getting one red penny out of me on tax day next year.