#ny transit museum

[hooliganists]

Museum Highlight- New York Transit Museum

To set the mood, the New York Transit Museum is located in a defunct train station- and you can tell. Although your GPS will lead you to the front doors of a building, follow the signs around the corner to the nearby subway stairs- this is the entrance to the museum! Tickets are checked upon entering, but they can be purchased at a teller’s booth if needed for $10 per adult or $5 per child-…

[copperbadge]

Hi Mr Starbuck! Some friends and I are moving in a few months and we're eyeing various places all over the US. Chicago came up as a relatively affordable big city (compared to LA and NYC) and I have to ask the resident Tumblr Chicagoan his opinion. As a resident who lives and works in the windy city, what's your big pros and cons of residing there (especially things you might not encounter as a tourist)? (also, how accurate is your "guide to chicago" still, since its been a few years!)

Well, I definitely have opinions!

The guide to Chicago is no longer accurate -- too many places have closed or moved, and the pandemic altered a lot (for example the Money Museum still exists but I'm not sure if it has regular hours even now). I should do a new one but like, I really don't get out much anymore so I can't talk about restaurants outside of a VERY local area, and I never could talk much about hotels, which just leaves points of interest mostly already covered by Atlas Obscura. :D At this point it'd just be kind of moot, others are doing it better than I am.

Chicago is inexpensive compared to New York or Los Angeles, but like, that's everywhere in America. Chicago is still a quite pricey city to live in, mainly because the taxes are so high -- 10.25% sales tax, for example, and my property taxes are also pretty steep. People joke about Taxachusetts, but I'm pretty sure Chicago at least has it beat (and 2/3 of the state's population lives in Chicago or the outlying suburbs). Housing is not at a premium in the way it is in NY and LA but depending on where you want to live and how far you want to commute it can still be very expensive. My housing was never less than half of my monthly income until I bought this place, and then ONLY because the job I'm in now came with a $10K/yr raise from my last one.

Chicago does have great culture, great museums, great food, and it's a liberal island in a pretty conservative region. It is however quite segregated, so if you are any race other than white, living here can get a little more complicated than I've portrayed it as a white dude. There is significant crime and particularly gun crime, but it's generally confined to specific regions of the city. That said, even if you discount crime, the Chicago PD are corrupt as fuck and uninterested in being helpful, so if you are from a demographic the cops enjoy harassing, it will not be different here.

I do love the city, warts and all. I like the water, I like the people, I like the midwestern vibe. I'd find it very hard to leave, especially because I have a network of friends here, but also because I just plain like it and I know it really well. There is a very short list of cities I'd consider leaving Chicago for, and most of those would have to have a well-paying job waiting for me. But it did take me time to fall in love with it -- it took a few years before it felt like home.

It's a little difficult to get more specific without knowing more about your situation -- what you do for work, what your budget is like, what your goals are in leaving where you are. Do you prefer to drive most places? (Parking and traffic can both get dicey.) Can you tolerate taking public transit if driving is inconvenient? Is the industry in which you work something that has a lot of openings here? Do you want to live in an urban environment, and if so are you prepared to live in a likely somewhat shitty apartment to do so? If you prefer to live in a house, are you prepared for a long commute? What do you like to do for fun and is there a thriving culture for that here? What is it important to have access to -- museums, concerts, theater, sport? Where do you need to travel to regularly (ie, I go to Austin several times a year) and how do you prefer to travel there?

Anyway, yeah -- like, I love it but I have few illusions about it. If you want to chat further feel free to hit me up by email, happy to answer more specific questions!

[dionysus-complex]

So last night I was reading Wikipedia articles about abandoned NYC subway stations (as one does) and stumbled upon one of the weirdest historical mysteries/conspiracy theories I've ever heard. Buckle in/grab on to the handrail for this:

Unsurprisingly for a 100-year-old, highly complex subway network, there are quite a few abandoned subway stations in NYC. Some of them are famous, like the gorgeous Romanesque Revival City Hall Station, or the Court St station in Brooklyn now in use as the New York Transit Museum. Others are more mundane, like the 18th Street station and the Worth Street station, both of which are disused stations on active subway lines that can be seen out the window of a passing subway car if you're paying attention. But by far the weirdest is the 76th Street station, which may or may not actually exist.

Basically, the IND Fulton Street Line is the line that carries A and C line trains from central Brooklyn to Queens (if you've ever taken an A train from downtown Brooklyn or Lower Manhattan to JFK Airport, that's the one). Just before the Brooklyn/Queens borough line, the line veers slightly north as it changes from a subway under Pitkin Ave (on the Brooklyn side) to an elevated line over Liberty Ave (on the Queens side). But originally, when this line was being extended toward Queens in the late 1940s, the plan was to continue the underground line further into Queens under Pitkin Avenue. Tunnels were dug to the present-day Euclid Ave station and then continued further beneath Pitkin Ave, toward a planned station at 76th Street and Pitkin (just barely over the Queens borough line).

On Nov. 28, 1948, this line is recorded as opening with service to 76th Street station, but almost immediately there was a controversy over whether, when, and how this 76th Street station had actually been built. Some engineers and tracklayers were quoted in the Times as saying they hadn't built anything past the borough line, but maybe someone else had. There was also a story on Dec 2 that quoted a local who noticed a new subway station entrance at 76th and Pitkin that had sprung up seemingly overnight. The Board of Transportation was unable to produce any contracts for construction of this mysterious station, and the line past Euclid Ave to 76th Street is recorded as having closed on Dec 20 after legal threats from unions, which suspected a coverup of non-unionized labor. Thereafter, any reference to the 76th Street station was purged on maps, signs, etc., although the signalboard at the Euclid Ave station evidently still has a taped-over portion which used to show the 76th street station.

Eventually, the line was extended by connecting the subway to the already-existing Fulton Street Elevated line, which is the path used today. A cinderblock wall apparently blocks off the end of the subway tunnel under Pitkin Ave, and a retired transit worker named Steve Krokowski told the NY Times in 2014 that he had tried to dig under the wall and found a track tie but was forced to stop when the hole began to cave in. He also mentioned a retired police officer and other unnamed colleagues who claimed to have seen the fully completed 76th street station, which may or may not have been accessible via a door that may or may not have existed in the cinderblock wall.

The intersection of Pitkin and 76th is now a populated residential area, and it's unlikely that anyone is ever going to excavate it to find the station. As far as anyone can tell, on the surface, there's no evidence (i.e. ventilation tunnels etc.) of a subway station existing beneath Pitkin and 76th. There seems to be one existing picture of the 76th street station from its brief time in service (you can view it here - scroll down almost to the bottom), but despite this, it seems like people are still skeptical that the station exists at all.

Sources/further reading:

-Wikipedia article on Euclid St station, with a section labeled "East of the station"

-Article on the station from Joseph Brennan's page on abandoned NYC subway stations

-NY Times article from 2014 in which Krokowski is quoted

[thyunnoticedsposts]

The importance of Donnie's location in the trailer

Call me a nerd, but when it comes to location, I go all Matpat and begin to do a research. I like to use location and some canon aspects with my fictional story, for the sake of world building.

I have a feeling Donnie is the first or second character they will focus on because hes the one in the background after the trailer ends. Also, the idw comic ended with him in a way, so it's a beautiful way to start this series

So, the location of Donnie on that train is super important for his character arc. Where is Donnie? Let's look at the picture and analyze it.

We see that inside of the underground train station, the architectural design is square shape and a bit narrow. The train stations choice of light bulbs is the linear fluorescent light bulb or, simply put, the lamp type. After some digging I found out that The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system that serves four of the five boroughs of New York City, namely : the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens

At first, I thought it was Nenvins St Brooklyn. Because there, Thearthe Shakespear was nearby. Mikey would love it there. But it didn't fit the picture at all. I hear you thinking, but what about the graffiti?

So I did a bit more digging for specifically train stations that had or still have graffiti art on the wall, and I found this

This is the Sutphin Subway entrance.

It's possible that Donnie is at Sutphin Boulevard station (IND Queens Boulevard Line) instead of Nenvin.

New York City Subway station in Queens The Sutphin Boulevard station is a local station on the IND Queens Boulevard Line of the New York City Subway. Why does this matter?

Take a look at the Google maps. We'll well well, what do we have here?

BINGO! A museum of science. It's also right next to the Zoo! We all know what happened to the Zoo animals in the movie, when Suplafly mutated. It may not be the same Zoo, but it's an interesting detail!

I live in Holland, so I am new to the train stations in NY, but I'm positive that the reason Donnie is on that train is related to the science museum. Donnie is smart and usually is the one that comes up with plans, and once he's at the science museum, he will discover his love for science and slowly become the tech genius we know and love

An honorable mention is the subway station, Washington Hights in Manhatten. This is the deepest and the most dangerous subway station tunnel. It's filled with amazing graffiti art, and I can only imagine the amazing fight scenes that could take place here.

All in all, it's just a shot in the dark because it's a theory, and I could be wrong.

[documentary-surrealist]

Vintage subway ad at the NY Transit Museum via: tumblr.com/daiseys-vintage-and-cool-stuff

[supertrainstationh]

Bluebirds in the Bronx by Matt Csenge Via Flickr: New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) R33WF no. 9308 (St. Louis Car Co., 1963) brings up the rear of a NY Transit Museum excursion train as it passes through Freeman St Station on the IRT White Plains Road Line.

[travishuggett]

I posted a few photos from my Railfan show at The NY Transit Museum.

[public-transportation-tournament]

Round 1!

The TCAT, Tompkins County, NY, USA vs Seattle Center Monorail, Seattle, WA, USA

M1 (or Millennium Underground Railway, but also known as "the small underground" by locals), Budapest, Hungary vs Grande Recife, Recife, Brazil

London Underground, Greater London, England vs Rotterdam Metro, Rotterdam, Netherlands

Beamish Tramway, Beamish Museum, Beamish, England vs Catbus/Nekobus, Sayama Hills, Saitama Prefecture, Japan (My Neighbor Totoro)

The New York City Subway system, New York City, NY, USA vs Corviknight Flying Taxi, Galar (Pokémon Sword and Shield)

Buenos Aires Underground (Subte), Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, Argentina vs Monte Toboggan, Funchal, Madeira, Portugal

The Stargate Network, throughout the Milky Way and Andromeda Galaxies (the Stargate franchise) vs the Deepsea Metro, Inkopolis Bay (Splatoon)

CAT, Perth, Western Australia vs SkyTrain, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Brolly Rail, Nevermoor (Nevermoor by Jessica Townsend) vs Métro Ligne 4, Paris, France

Tyne and Wear Metro, Tyne and Wear, United Kingdom vs the REM, Montreal, Quebec, Canada (upcoming)

Jeepney, the Philippines vs Sea Train, Water 7, connecting it with St. Poplar, San Faldo, and Pucci, as well as the Judicial Island Enies Lobby (One Piece)

The MTR, Hong Kong, PRC vs the Omnibus, New York, NY, USA (1832)

SeaBus, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada vs Wuppertaler Schwebebahn, Wuppertal, Germany

Ice Highway, the Nether Roof (Minecraft) vs Battle Subway, Unova (Pokémon Black and White)

WY Metro, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom vs Tunnelbana, Stockholm, Sweden

MRT (Moda Raya Terpadu/Mass Rapid Transit), Jakarta, Indonesia vs An Luas, Dublin, Ireland

RIPTA (Rhode Island public transit authority) (it’s buses), Rhode Island, USA vs Bakerloo Line, London Underground, London, England

Mount Vesuvius Funicular Railway, Mount Vesuvius, Italy (opened in 1880, destroyed by volcanic eruption in 1944) vs AquaBus, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Yarra Trams, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia vs SEPTA (southeast pennsylvania transportation authority), Pennsylvania, United States

Cable Cars, San Francisco, California, United States vs MAX Light Rail system, Portland, Oregon, United States

Amtrak, United States vs Fenelon Place Elevator, Dubuque, Iowa, United States

Ninky Nonk, Night Garden (In The Night Garden) vs Prague Metro, Prague, Czech Republic

Polar Bear Express, between Cochrane and Moosonee, Ontario, Canada vs the Crosstown Express, Robot City (Robots (2005))

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (the T), Greater Boston, Massachusetts, United States vs Worcester Regional Transit Authority, Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States

Kakola Funicular, Turku, Finland vs Angkutan Kota (Angkot), Indonesia

Galaxy Railways, the Milky Way (The Galaxy Railways (銀河鉄道物語, Ginga Tetsudō Monogatari)) vs The Ride, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States

MST Trolley, Monterey, California, United States vs People Mover, Magic Kingdom, Walt Disney World, Florida, United States

Public Transit Victoria, Victoria, Australia vs Carmelit, Haifa, Israel

The L, Chicago, Illinois, United States vs Leadhills and Wanlockhead Railway, South Lanarkshire, Scotland

Personal Rapid Transit (PRT), Morgantown, West Virginia vs Helsingin seudun liikenne/Helsingforsregionens trafik/Helsinki Regional Transport, Helsinki, Finland

Gondolas, Venice, Italy vs the Trolley from the Trolley Problem (Philippa Foot came up with it originally, but in media it was also presented in "the good place")

Zahnradbahn Stuttgart (die Zacke), Stuttgart (Marienplatz to Degerloch), Baden-Württemberg, Germany vs Detroit People Mover, Detroit, Michigan, United States

Warp Pipes (Super Mario Bros.) vs SCMaglev, Yamanashi, Japan

Transport Canberra Bus Network, Canberra, Australia vs Stagways, Hallownest (Hollow Knight)

Roosevelt Island Tram, Roosevelt Island, New York, NY, United States vs NJ Transit (Northeast Corridor), New Jersey, United States

Sunrail, Orlando, Florida, United States vs Bay Area Rapid Transit, Bay Area, California, United States

Purple Route (Charm City Circulator), Baltimore, Maryland, United States vs Alderney Ferry (Halifax Transit), Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

Millennium Line, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada vs MARTA, Atlanta, Georgia, United States

Dual Mode Vehicle (DMV), Asa Coast Railway, Shikoku, Japan vs Lynton and Lynmouth Cliff Railway, Lynmouth, England, UK

Hovercraft, Portsmouth - Ryde, UK vs Funiculars, the Questionable Area (Psychonauts 2)

WildNorWester, Sodor (The Railway Series) vs Shinkansen, Japan

Métro de Paris, Paris, France vs Metro do Porto, Porto, Portugal

Deutsche Bahn, Germany vs UC Davis Unitrans Bus System, Davis, California

Vaporetti, Venice, Italy vs Harbour Bus, Copenhagen, Denmark

[ifeellikeiswallowedamagritte]

NY Transit Museum, Brooklyn

Notes: Definitely worth the $10 ticket. I love trains. It was awesome to see vintage train cars and to walk inside them. It can get crowded but this is such a cool museum. The last floor is where all the train cars are at and it's located in an unused station. The entrance is really unique.

Also highly recommend going to Dekalb Market Hall. It's a short walk from the museum. There's awesome food. Katz is there and I ate at Fat Fowl. Also there's a Trader Joe's and a dine in movie theater.

[freeworldallahexecutivembaclass]

And another one

Proposal for New MTA automobiles , vans , buses and electric trains and Mass Transit services

All trains from the A train to the F train , J Train , Z Train be changed into a newer shell more cleaner , faster and more modern trains with Television on the train with channels from NY 1 news channel ABC News Channel Fox News Channel WPIX News Channel

Joyce Meyer TV show on the train 🚆🚂

Joel Osteen on the train we already have stores in his name in New York City now we could get his show and sermons live on the train or catch the reruns on the next train if you miss your train don't miss the chance for a better life in your city and country

I just finished Joel Osteen Peaceful on purpose and rule your day two very thin books probably 100 pages book that you could breeze through going to read it again it is a easy book and I'm asking all New Yorkers to read it share it and to use it in our daily interactions with each other it will help develop a new mindset and you can enjoy your day on your way home or to work with a victorious mindset and behavior live a life of victory and don't forget to start a book club and add on Joel Osteen and Joyce Meyer in your book list in your book bag if you are a student or purse and pockets on your way to exercise .

ESPN channels with all sport shows like sports center in the train that is great for all New Yorkers erasing all tension and anxiety depression and frustration of all commuters and not to mention the upgrade for New York City and any country and cities transit system it help reduce crime and bring more businesses to those cities not to mention the millions made for the advertising industry . I see that they have a new store in NYC next to the library Disney Haunted Mansion that is going to be great for the family for the kids they are going to love it they will scream and enjoy it love it and laugh and have fun Justin Bieber song Ghost 👻 brought this all about so I want to be there . Imagine trains with views of the graffiti in the tunnels of the train station like make that a tourist attraction on the new trains for MTA you could look at the tunnels graffiti like it's a museum 🖼️🎨 art exhibit with special effects sites by MTA workers showcasing the best graffiti the world has ever seen enhancing the commute experience for all New Yorkers .

Trains running on Grand Concourse a New station the outside rails carrying electric 💡 ⚡ trains 🚂 Travel Routes include New Jersey , Connecticut , Example of New trains and their names

The Golden Eagle 🦅 The Aurora The Fury The Storm ⛈️ The Rock Climber The Great Bear The Laser The Vision The Messenger The Sunflower The Sparkle The Dynasty The Vortex The Phoenix The Knight The Hunter The Polar The Diplomat The Paradise Coast The Liberty The Jade Garden 🪴 The Frost fire The Ambassador The Hawk The Rage The Ghost 👻🎃 The Angel The Warrior

Cabin rooms doors to private cabin rooms with 4 passenger seats with Tvs in the cabin , cushion chairs with cushioned headrest and recliner chairs and modern pop , R and B , and Gospel Music , Rock and Roll stations playing over a system in the background in the cabin .

Fully carpeted train with a diner on board for fried foods and drinks and other refreshments , and restaurants on board . Salons and Barbershops on board as well as Newspaper news stands with magazines , candy and sodas lounge area for tv watching sports , the news and nature channels with water kingdoms and traveling to foreign countries channels .

Book of the month Joel Osteen empty out the negative it means let go of the negative influences and negative people in your life that hold you back with me is to get these tyrants and puppet masters off of me and truly live the message that Joel Osteen is preaching I just read some of it from chapter 2 to 4 and wonder can I be let go of please if you other than a person that follow his message in that please let me go so I could live my life and yeah it could save your life Don't feed on poisons chapter 3 to 4 is good for you unclog your heart drink water and do light exercise just walking is a start but also clean out out your inside as well from the filthy anxiety look at the definition of anxiety , the hurting people feelings and blocking my path in my life if their is book that will save a life it would be this one book in fact get his whole collection I got all his books , Joyce Meyer and Victoria Osteen books I kinda teach now to get the voodoo and mind control off of me I don't want to think like my enemy about myself , no thanks read the book and change your life .

According to Social Psychology people and your environment make you who you are and I'm against that especially if your from an environment where people are hateful towards you verbal abusive and telling you that is the best that life has to offer you no their is a better life for you I want a new kind of community and environment it is people like me that change where we live and put the people and our community on the right path call it a new social psychology thinking like my pastor Joyce Meyer or Joel Osteen and Victoria Osteen about me and other people I only have good things for you in my heart and your future . I truly believe you have to reeducate the people and teach them to build the kingdom of God on this earth 🌍 the Muslims do try but they needed help and plus it is effecting me and my mental health and physical health and I have to speak out against it so read the book empty out the negative by Joel Osteen their books and live it out you got it from me , thank you and remember nature can be changed by nurture and nourishing yourself with love and a good education you can change your life and be successful you heard it from me you can be anything you want to be and beat any disease and incurable illness of the mind and the body especially now with the cure for HIV Aids and be freed from the curse of the death of the spirit through spiritually depressed neighborhoods read the book and love your friends family and even the stranger on the street with your words behavior and attitudes , thank you let's practice social psychology together in a better way take this words home and practice them instead of creating social schizophrenics mumbling and talking to themselves in self hatred and living less than their best potential lets treat each other better and want the best for each other each human and race period that is how it is suppose to be on this planet .

[kttg74]

Mind the closing doors...

NY Transit Museum. Olympus.

[tomorrowusa]

New York is not shy about deploying the National Guard.

NY Air National Guard were present when I got my first COVID booster at the American Museum of Natural History which was serving as a mass public vaccination site in January last year.

This photo was taken on Wednesday 08 April 2020 at 11:20 AM at The Oculus – a combination transit hub and shopping mall on the site of the World Trade Center; there’s an Apple Store there among other things. This was during the lockdown phase of the pandemic. Of the seven visible humans, five were members of the National Guard.

[tigerstrikesasteroidnetwork]

LA / Carlie Trosclair: a semblance of b r e a t h . . .

Carlie Trosclair: a semblance of b r e a t h . . .  November 19 - December 11, 2022

a semblance of  b r e a t h . . .

     a liminal space,           of longing between~                a living archive.                     vignettes of time.

Tiger Strikes Asteroid LA is proud to present a semblance of  b r e a t h . . . a solo exhibition by Carlie Trosclair. Approached through a lens of reordering and discovery, Trosclair’s work contemplates the living and transitional components of home. Architectural bodies carry with them the layered histories of previous residents. These become the shells we leave behind; Relics of habitation and home-making.

From structural cracks in a building, the palimpsest of paint, or footprint of rust these surfaces are connected by the ways they mark time. Echoes of the familiar are absorbed into the membrane of each latex body, crystallizing textures and detritus of place. Combining structure and fluidity with cycles of expansion and contraction, the narrative of home shape shifts from a secure space into one that is permeable and ephemeral: both structurally and in our memory.

Carlie Trosclair’s sculptural installations create new topographies and narratives that highlight structural and decorative shifts evolving over a building’s lifespan. Growing up in New Orleans as the daughter of an electrician, Trosclair spent her formative years in historic residential properties at varying stages of construction and deconstruction. She found that even when abandoned, the presence of the body still lingered. Reflexively her work reimagines the genealogy of home using latex as an architectural skin. Thin ghostlike imprints mark an in-between space that is transient and ever changing: both structurally and in our memory. Trosclair’s select artist residencies include: Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts (NE), Joan Mitchell Center (LA). Loghaven Residency (TN), Tides Institute & Museum of Art (ME), chashama (NY), Vermont Studio Center (VT), and The Luminary Center for the Arts (MO). Trosclair’s work has been featured in Art in America, The New York Times, ArtFile Magazine, and Temporary Art Review, among others. She is the recipient of the Riverfront Time‘s Mastermind Award, the Creative Stimulus Award, Regional Arts Commission Artist Fellowship and the Great Rivers Biennial Award. Trosclair earned an M.F.A from the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis, a B.F.A from Loyola University New Orleans, and is an alumni of the Community Arts Training Institute in St. Louis.

photos by Gemma Lopez

[starvels]

Would Steve like the 6?

what a cute question, nonny! my answer is yeah! i think so!

in a lot of ways, toronto and NY remind me of each other: similar very populous, cultural melting-pot, with unique architectures, bustling massive metropolitan with a lot of self love and good branding.

toronto has great food (lots of mom and pop shops and eclectic cuisine with someone always trying something new), fab art museums, a public transit system that is second behind new york's in NA, is really walkable, and has a surprising amount of green space. i think bc toronto is a city that runs on word of mouth and instagram recs, tho, steve would want an in with someone who knows the city better and he would NOT enjoy the amount of condos and the desolation of cold, windy days with no sun for weeks. the construction would probably annoy him, but who's to say whether its more of less than NY has lol.

however, i don't see him staying or falling in love with the city really. in the sense that things that are too similar to one another in nature, but just slightly off -- can sometimes simply make you long for home, instead of peaking excitement for something new. yunno? he'd find a parkette on a walk and be like, it's very nice but it's not a triangle :/// or he'd go to an italian place and be like, why does it have to be a fusion place with three michelin stars, though, why can't it just have pasta. sdkjbkdjfbsn fussy lad, is he.

[queerworldtravelers]

Brooklyn, New York

40°39'0”N and 73°56'59”W

So much has transpired since we last updated you all. In reflection we were in a cocoon, turning into mush, and then emerging. Our wings are still drying, but we made it. We landed on our feet in NYC and still have the strength to smile. For those who don’t know yet, Mary has transitioned her name to Oliver. We are also transitioning the blog to Tumbler. 

We can’t dive into NYC without sharing that a piece of our Volcano heart has transitioned to the next realm. Aunty Nona, the driving force behind our business, wedding celebration, and countless other social goods is no longer with us. She was fierce and we are so grateful for the opportunity to have spent time learning from her. She shared so many lessons and the most indelible: when working for the good of others sometimes things get in the way. When that happens you tell um “get out of my fucking way.” 

There is no place in the world like NYC. Truly. The Mother of Exiles stands in her harbor, the huddled masses yearn to breathe free on her sidewalks, and the wretched refuse - oh the wretched refuse that many of us descend from is inescapable. A dear east-coast friend said New Yorkers are not nice, but they are kind. We completely agree. 5 months has found us hazed, dropped to our knees, blessed, surrounded in love, amazed, disgusted, terrified, freezing, and dripping in sweat. This is a city of dramatic contrasts and the trick is to master your balance. Here is how we have done it so far:

NYC appears to be the first landing place for many folks coming to the United States for the first time. Returning to the US after selling everything and traveling abroad for an extended time pivots one to a place of great empathy for those just arriving. The internet will have you convinced you can’t get an address without a lease and in NYC you can get a lease without a salary 40X the rent (which is often $3K+ a month). We learned that you just have to be nice to the folks at the post office. With a PO Box secured (eerily similar to our Volcano PO Box number) our next stop was the NY Public Library. A complete gem in a city full of financial mirages. A NYC library card opens a Pandora's box of resources including free access to museums, career support, bathrooms, and more primary and secondary sources than we could ever even imagine. 

Hold the celebration for a minute. The city of immigrants also has hucksters and enforcements that will crash a reality in mere hours. You see, when we got to NYC we found a place to rent on Furnished Finders. Lots of hubbub about short term rentals being illegal, so we made sure the landlady lived in the building and we rented for longer than 30 days. All of that ended up being for not as we discovered, by way of a surprise visit by the NYC Department of Buildings, that our cozy little apartment was super illegal. We were 100% below grade. People have died in similar apartments throughout NYC by being trapped in fires and floods. We already experienced two floods in our short time. Our land lady tried to tell us we could stay. It was ok. Krystal did research and a guy on the phone said “DOB doesn’t work on the weekend, but they will be back on Monday to paste a physical vacate order.” Time to go! The Universe lined us up with friends who were headed out of town and needed a cat sitter and two younger girls looking for a 3rd roommate on Myrtle Ave. in the Hasidic neighborhood. We landed. It wasn’t perfect, but it worked. A month of sleeping in a room facing possibly one of the busiest streets in Brooklyn, tucked in the heart of a failing migrant resettling program, and next door to the Hasidic event center made for a really long month. After a bit of suffering we decided to take our dinner show on the road and enjoyed picnics throughout NYC in order to avoid total kitchen and home chaos. 

A result of some portions of our hazings granted us a free pass to Cornwall, Connecticut for a few nights. Unlike the majority of the United States in NYC you can reliably get places on the train. We hopped on a few and were whisked away to a sleepy New England hamlet. Steve, one of our hosts, was driving us around and said “this is where the missionary school was. There is the plaque.” Reading slowly we realized we, somehow, ended up in THE town where the ABCFM missionary originated. ABCFM were the missionaries who indoctrinated the Hawaiian Islands with Christinaity. It all started in, what is to this day, a tiny village. Totally freaked out, but not surprised by the synchronicity we headed to the local library for more information. We went to Henry ʻŌpūkahaʻia’s grave and marveled at just how small the world is. Note that his iwi (bones) have been returned to Napoʻopoʻo on the Island of Hawai’i. 

We made it through the dregs of shit because of many factors, but the most sassy was Hattie, the black cat. Hattie likes humans and we were grateful her humans trusted us to care for her while they were away. 

Speaking of humans - so many folks have come into our lives. New and old friends have been making their way through NYC and our hearts in the past few months. We have lots of space for guests now, so let us know if you are coming. We would love to see you! 

Why on earth would anyone put up with such righteous hazing? If for nothing else, the food. Tunisian dates in a Queens bodega are what inspired us to move here and the city has yet to disappoint. Georgia, Philippines, Albania, Sicily, Kosher, Bahrain…you name it there are folks in NYC making the food and speaking the language. 

Spring in NYC is pretty spectacular as well. The tulips, cherry blossoms, and hints of spring were really special. And we, as unsuspecting new New Yorkers, didn’t know that sweltering summer was right around the corner. So we really enjoyed the days as they slowly warmed.

Krystal has been busy digging for family records in the NY Public Library Picture Collection and was happy to find originals of some images showing where her great grandmother was handed over to nuns in Palermo. This inspired a fellowship application that was not granted. We are just not NYC enough yet. The concentration of 8 million people pushes human creativity to the absolute edge in order to stand out. We are getting there! 

She also landed a job as the Associate Director of School and Teacher Programs at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in Battery Park. She overlooks Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty while attempting to navigate an ever-shifting field of societal chaos. 

Oliver has been dusting off manuscript records and starts as a supervisor for a feminist black owned bookstore in Crown Heights next week. She is also growing chives and hyssop from seed on the south-facing window sills. She found a skateboard in the basement and we have health insurance again. 

Our new home is a testament to our house karma. It's a unique Brooklyn solution and we are super grateful.  We are in a cohousing set up in a 4 story Brownstone. We have our own 1 bedroom apartment and share the first floor, laundry, and garden with three other folks. The house was built in 1871 and the main newspaper articles about the address mention funerals in the parlor. She has been here for a long time. Long enough to be located on a street named for a slave owner in a historic black neighborhood. We are making friends with the spirits and cleaning out old energy. If this all goes to shit we are going to start an energetic cleaning and decluttering business. It seems to be our calling right now. 

NYC is full of more adventures that we can count. Museum archives, eclipses in cemeteries, really old and forgotten buildings, famous paintings in real life, live music, Garibaldi hide outs, and epic old maps. Every day is an adventure and one must be discerning as the capitalists are hiding in plain sight. Today we are writing this blog instead of marching in NYC Pride because we checked the 990 for NYC Pride. 8.5 million dollars last year…and one of the main sponsors is Target. Not sure what Target looks like in the rest of the country, but here they lock up toothpaste and laundry detergent. 

The greatest NYC adventure has been the privilege of knowing dear Julia. Julia has been our patron saint (she is also Hattie’s mom) and she took us to her family's beach house on the North Fork of Long Island. Wow. This is how one lives in NYC! It was the greatest gift to slow way down, watch the sun and the sea, and eat really, really good food. Oliver also logged the first swims of the season in the Long Island Sound.

Julia also made sure we saw our first Broadway play! We caught Ani DiFranco in Hadestown and now we are hooked! The production was awe inspiring, heart wrenching, laughing, crying, and reminiscing as Ani’s voice pulled out the baby dyke memories in our minds. 

A reflection on Ani the folks singer to Ani as Persephone: 

“am i headed for the same brick wall is there anything i can do about anything at all except go back to that corner in manhattan and dig deeper, dig deeper this time down beneath the impossible pain of our history beneath unknown bones beneath the bedrock of the mystery beneath the sewage systems and the path train beneath the cobblestones and the water mains beneath the traffic of friendships and street deals beneath the screeching of kamikaze cab wheels beneath everything i can think of to think about beneath it all, beneath all get out beneath the good and the kind and the stupid and the cruel there's a fire that's just waiting for fuel”

“Sister, even at my age I believe the world can change Sister, this is how it starts A change of heart.” 

We believe the world can still change. It IS changing. We are grateful for the youngest voters in our midst for keeping us rooted in the truth under the hood of this crumbling democracy. If New York City is the front line of cultural and political change in the US, fasten your seat belts. We don’t know what the US version of the Storming of the Bastille will be, we just know it is coming. And we also know what Aunty Nona taught us and we will work until our very last breath to make the world a better place. 

[apexart-journal]

Mvelo Mahlangu in NYC, Day 16

Today, I looked forward to speaking with Sonia again, which I did not think was going to happen until I saw it scheduled in my calendar. I think this time, I felt a lot more prepared in asking some of the questions I had. I guess the first time we spoke, it was more about getting to know one another and the places we were in. This time, I wanted to find out how this program was going for her in terms of the difference in pace of her life in NY vs. Uruguay, and share what we both thought of the program itself.  Like me, she’s definitely been struggling to keep up with the daily journaling, which we shared a laugh but encouraged each other to keep going. She also did mention that she notices the difference in pace, being in Uruguay where people are a lot more slower paced - to the point where she sometimes finds herself walking too fast on the heels of someone haha! I will agree and say, NY is quite fast paced and everyone is on a mission to somewhere. 

As we eded off our call we realised there’s an overlap between her arriving back in New York, an me still being here. So we thought it would be nice to also physically meet up. 

My next activity was going to the transit museum with Nia and it was such a hidden gem! The entrance to the museum looks exactly like a subway entrance, so I'm sure a lot of people either miss it, or people walk into it confused. As we walked in, Nia mentioned that the museum was an old train station that still has an active line. Reading on the history of the subway system and finding out about all parties involved in the construction of it, I would say I have a new-found respect for something that is seen as ‘mundane’ or normal. I think it would be an appropriate moment to use the phrase “they ran so we could walk”, but in context to our daily use of the subways. I appreciate some of the activities I’ve had from the previous day because they’ve added wider context to some of my other activities. For example, I'm glad I went to MOCA and the labor studies with Barrie as they both added context to my comprehension of the labor unions that were created during the construction of the subway system. Less work hours, and higher wages. 

One thing I also really liked about the transit museum was the documentation of anything and everything related to the subway. This meant, the evolution of train route maps, the evolution of advertising in the train cars, the transition of turnstiles when entering the subway, and lastly the overall aesthetic of trains through the years. Nia and I discussed some of the design choices we observed regarding the evolution of interior design elements such as cushioned & fabric seating as opposed to the current plastic seating. We then made a comparison to other subway systems around the world. Which also made me realise that everything is a design choice based on the functionalities, needs & efficiency of the era and environment its been created in. 

Straight afterwards, I quickly grabbed some Onigiri to eat, and realised that the transit museum was right opposite the Quaker prayer centre/ church. That felt comforting knowing exactly where I was, cause most times it feels like I'm constantly ‘lost’ in a new place. I then made my way over to the NY Public Library. Definitely not like many libraries I know, it was designed well, with open space planing on the ground floor allowing people to work on one side but then on the other side was a gathering spot where people could meet and chat. I made my way up to the floor where the Spanish class was happening and when I looked at my calendar again, I realised it was an Intermediate Spanish class. I just remember thinking, “oh no! I’m considered basic, how will this class treat me?”. Regardless, I was looking forward to interacting with Spanish as I tried learning it a couple years ago using Duolingo… Its definitely much more different when hearing it in person. 

As I walked in, we had to introduce ourselves as well as share our opinion on a famous quote by Andy Warhol on his thoughts that everyone should have the right to 15 minutes of fame. This was asked in Spanish, and we had to reply in Spanish. I tried pulling my phone out for google translate but could only say “Hola, my name is Mvelo. Apologies, I’m new to this so don’t have much vocabulary”.  I was warmly welcomed and advised to be open to listening as everyone went onto introduce themselves around the circle. We then went through a power point presentation on famous people and the awards that they were given. Everyone in the circle took a turn to read paragraphs and translate it. Because there was a lot of repetition, I started understanding what was written on the slides and also took note of words and their meanings. So when it was my turn to read and translate, I knew what to do. Its like it clicked in my brain. At the end of the class, I realised I could understand some of the questions that were being asked on the presentation as Spanish is not too far a foreign language from English. The sentence structure was also easier to catch onto unlike other languages. I made an acquaintance, Damani, through the class who shared some tips on learning Spanish and some materials I could look into. We followed each other on instagram and realised that we have a mutual friend! It's funny how the world can be small at times and clearly, in one way or another, we are all connected somehow. 

I made my way back home and along the way, walked passed Grand Central. I definitely got hit with the same feeling like when I first saw it: So Alluring and Grand on the outside when looking at the central statue. Once I got to the apartment, I went into prep mode for my trip to Washington DC the following morning. I’m so excited!