Chambers Street

Waiting for the subway at the Chambers Street stop on Sunday afternoon.

Help Us Help You

The truly awesome thing about living in New York City is you never know what you are going to get hit over the head with from one day to the next.

For example, a random heavy set Hispanic dude in his mid-thirties with an ace bandage (or a cast) on his right arm might just come up behind you while you are reading the subway map and assault you.... w/ Hammer. Then he'll flee on the subway to an unknown destination. Watch your back!

Missing Presumed Missing

Does this sign strike you as really strange too? I saw this in the subway at 42nd Street. She's been missing since 1995! Why put up this sign now? Obviously someone thinks these Church of Scientology members didn't do a very good job of taking care of Lisa McPherson because there's a lot more to this story.

Have a Nice Day?

Today was sort of a strange Monday, don't you think? It seemed like everyone was in zombieland.

Maybe you need a closer look? See! I was right. Zombies.

Men in the Women's Room

The only place in New York City that I know of where men are definitely encouraged to spend time in the Women's Room (aside from maybe Marquee club or the unisex bathrooms at Bungalow 8) is in the Astor Place subway stop where they've converted the women's bathroom into a newsstand.

Times are tough, but at least he's doing his part to keep The New York Times in business.

Manhattan Bound

Somewhere out in Queens, waiting for the subway back to the city.

Bootleg DVDs

I don't think you should, but if you wanted to buy completely illegal bootleg DVDs, the best place to find them is down in the subway. I knew this dude would be completely pissed off if he knew I took his picture so I waited for the right moment and snapped away.

(Smart Tip of the Day: Try not to take pictures of criminals as they may not take too kindly to your photography and the possibility of being posted on a blog.)

What I liked best about this illicit salesperson is that he had a DVD player so you could see the quality of his wares before purchasing. The criminals in NYC are technologically savvy! I would much, much rather see movies in the theaters than on DVD, but if I had to buy any DVDs right this second of movies in current release, I suppose I would take a copy of Jennifer's Body, The Informant, Paris, Bright Star, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, and The Other Man. $5 is way cheaper than $12.50 at the theater and for lots of people this is a viable alternative since they have been priced out of going to the cinema.

Flooding Fifty Seven

You never know when a subway station is all of a sudden and completely out of nowhere going to get flooded. This was Sunday afternoon at the N/R 57th Street stop which I seem to use a lot. The best thing about this stop is that the trains come very regularly and there are usually no long waits for trains even if the station floods from time to time.

The transit system in Manhattan is totally unpredictable, but I imagine it runs pretty well compared to other cities. I prefer the bus for the ride and the weird people who you see on the bus, but the subway is way faster and much cheaper than taxi cabs which are totally outrageous. I was running late the other day and a cab from 57th Street to the World Trade Center was $19. Serves me right for being late I suppose.

Attention! You May Be Recorded.

Don't do anything illegal.

At least you have a huge warning sign. I wonder why they felt the need to post such an enormous sign in this station. It is the City Hall N/R station, one of the closest subway stops to the former site of the World Trade Center so maybe this will scare all the terrorists and erstwhile Mayor Bloomberg protestors away.

I wish they would use these cameras to apprehend the scofflaws who gunk up the subway platforms with chewing gum.

I just noticed that I have been nominated for a 2009 Cool Photoblog Award. Someone submitted me yesterday and the comments are good too! There are tons of very popular sites that gets lots of traffic, but it's nice to be nominated. You have to register to vote, but if you are inclined to click the link above please do so, no one is stopping you.

Saturday Night Legwear

Every Saturday night a huge number of people gravitate into the city to visit one of the many nightclubs scattered throughout the city. Here's what a couple of New Jersey clubbers were wearing on their way out to frolic the night away.

All City Tags

Subway maps for sale this afternoon in Union Square. Only $10. If you look closely they are very well done. I should have bought one. They hand out clean non-graffiti versions in the subway for free if you ask for one.

Waiting for the F Train

The long wait for the subway to arrive.

No Loitering

Sometimes the homeless guys in the subway look really cool to me. As if he doesn't have enough problems already. For all I know they could be talking about the Knicks season. I didn't stop to ask.

Subway Man and the City

An MTA worker with a bright orange flag stands precariously close to the third rail on the side of the subway tracks in Queens. As the subway was turning, I took this picture through the window of the train.

New York City looms in the background. You can see the United Nations, the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building if you look hard.

Nothing Illegal

A group of men counting their money. They appear to be one of the many barbershop quartets that move from subway car to car singing up a storm this time of year. They were resting after a long day and counting up all their hard earned loot. They need to watch out for pickpockets with all this cash they are flashing around.

Headed Uptown Friday Night

Holiday couple.

Your Next Stop

Red Bull and Blake. A heady combination.

Little Mitten meet Little Glove

It snowed today. Two little ones will need new gloves or mittens for Christmas.

1. Found: One lost glove in 57th Street Subway station
2. Found: One lost mitten in front of Carnegie Hall

Subway Broadsheeting

This dapper bespectacled gentleman displays the proper way to fold and read a broadsheet newspaper on a semi-crowded New York City subway car. It's the safe and courteous thing to do.

Here are the four simple steps (courtesy of wikihow).

1. Fold your paper as soon as you get it, preferably before boarding public transportation. Fold it in half lengthwise, both ways. This will create a flexible, two-way crease. Then fold the newspaper back along the vertical crease.
2. Find your desired page by leafing through the paper, using the top corners. This takes up little space and provides for better handling.
3. Fold the left page back along the vertical crease. You will be able to read the outer columns of the left and right pages. To read the inner columns, fold both pages back along the newspaper's center crease.
4. Fold the paper half horizontally, into quadrants, for better handling.

I like newspaper reading even in the digital age. It's important to have your very own newspaper because I don't like to share mine. But if you ask nicely...you can have the sports section.

Purple and Pink Underground

I saw these two girls earlier in the day on 57th Street and then ran into them again in the Prince Street subway station in Soho later in the afternoon. It's kind of hard to miss two girls with bright purple and pink hair.

I meant to ask them where they were from, but I had a couple bags in my hand and the subway was arriving and I was probably just totally overwhelmed by their buoyant and colorful personalities. Let's just pretend they are tourists visiting the city from Chicago, land of purple and pink hair.