For the first time, New Yorkers are praying for subway delays.
According to an MTA announcement: In 2025, the iconic part of the vehicle will be phased out. The usually well-worn straphanger is filled with nostalgia for the loss of another piece of Big Apple history.
The more than 1,700 subway cars, which date back to the 1980s and are known for their staggered orange seats, will be replaced with more efficient models with more standing room seating, leaving some passengers worried. They will be left behind mentally.
“I miss the colored seats…we all get nostalgic when things change,” Queens-born actress Debi Mazar told the Post, adding that the upholstered seats were last seen in the 1970s. He admitted he was “old enough” to grieve the loss.
The “Goodfellas” actress, who once voiced the MTA's PSA, loves her hometown's transit system so much that she once competed in the “Miss Subway” pageant. I wear an old subway token from 1964, the year I was born, as a necklace.
Mazar admitted that he was happy to see more senior seats in the new livery, but he does miss the models R46, R62/62A, and R68/R68A, which had staggered seating patterns that accommodated more passengers comfortably. Not just that. Reduces the burden on tired Tootsie.
South Brooklyn City Councilman Justin Brannan sounded positively poetic when asked to comment on recent commuter chatter.
“Watching the sunrise from the N train over the Manhattan Bridge was special. The yellow and orange seats were something to be proud of,” Brannan said.
“When I was a kid, I remember spending all day in the Village or on the Lower East Side. I got a corner orange seat. It was glorious. It looked like the MTA stole it from McDonald's. You were there, too. I think they needed to be there.”
Some have romantic memories, like Gothamite's Veronica B., who recalled a magical moment in the early stages of dating her future husband.
“We started hugging each other in the two-seater section of the train,” said the commuter, who declined to give his last name for privacy reasons, adding that he skipped his usual stop and headed home. I wanted to keep living this moment.
“We just had so much fun.”
loss of creativity
Many New Yorkers say the boring pale blue benches and the new navy benches on the R211/R211S, which recently began service on the A and C lines, don't look good.
“Big modernism has decided to wipe out creativity from New York. When will we see bright colors like silver and orange meet again?” said Alex Rivera, a Bronx photographer nicknamed “The Bronxer.” He said this.
“I don't think the next generation will be as creative as they are now. Everything is so monotonous now,” he mused.
Sarah Nisbet, an Upper East Side artist who gained online fame by sketching strangers on the subway and handing them out portraits, said the seating arrangements of old trains offered a more unique perspective. spoke.
“You literally interact with people in different angles and in different ways,” she said. “This arrangement also felt like a great example of public privacy. Everyone had their own room.”
Cindy Scholl, an Upper East Side real estate agent and member of the New York City Transit Museum, said the loss of obsolete vehicles was a major concern when the MTA phased out subway tokens for MetroCards in 2003. I likened it to the sadness that people felt.
“I really think there is value in preserving the uniqueness of our city,” Scholl said.
Ethan Blake, 29, of Morningside Heights, also said the new trains have a more bland, corporate feel.
“Advertisement is [on new trains] It’s much more pervasive,” he said as he boarded the orange-seat B train to Brooklyn.
“I'm a big reader on the subway. I look for spaces where there aren't any ads or screens on my peripherals. Older trains have a lot of that.”
The classic transit seat has created many unique New York moments over the years.
“About eight years ago, I saw someone preparing food for the holidays,” said Jalen Coleman, 28, of Harlem.
“They set up a table with food in the middle. It was so cute. That's the spirit of these trains and that's the way it should be. I'm sad to hear they're going away. The spacing between these trains. was always the best.”
Great sheet discussion
The orange train's unique seating arrangement has become a part of life in New York, and recently became the subject of much discussion on social media.where straphangers discussed their favorite spots.
Myron Mitchell, a 22-year-old train vlogger from East New York, Brooklyn, recalled to the Post the joy of sitting in a window seat, which offered views not available in bench-style cars.
Mitchell, known online as TransitTalkNYC, said, “My favorite views are the view of the Manhattan Bridge, the view of exiting the tunnel to see Yankee Stadium, and the view of getting on the 7 train in Sunnyside, Queens and looking at the midtown skyline.'' It's my favorite,” he said.
Rick McGuire (40), a resident of Brooklyn, We run the popular Subway Creatures Instagram account.it was revealed that among railway enthusiasts, the old seats actually had an unofficial numbering system, with the prized vertical window seat being known as number four.
“Many people felt that sitting on the train was the most effective way to do it,” he says.
McGuire said the worst seat is considered to be the middle seat, or number two.
New Yorkers interviewed by the Post tended to agree with that assessment.
“My favorite was the corner seat with a window view,” underground artist Nisbet added of the four seats.
“If you look outside, you can see New York passing by from outside, and you can see New York come alive on the subway.”
Rivera, the photographer, added that the special seating arrangement gives a glimpse into each rider's mind.
“You can tell if the person next to you is friendly by looking at the seating format,” he said. “It shows their character without them even knowing it. It was so beautiful to see that every day.”
