mta

Happy Valentine’s Day

While I’m a firm believer in showing love for those you care about every day, the romantic in me appreciates that there is a holiday devoted to love. (At least, this year. On other V-Days, my feelings have run the gamut from sad to excited to indifferent to content.)

This afternoon, my sister, parents and I were on a group text, sharing our V-Day plans and photos and cards we’d created for the holiday. I got the warm-fuzzies hearing the nice evenings they’d be enjoying. And my sister must have been feeling the same, because she wrote:

Glad we all have so much love and happiness in our lives! Best fam ever!!!

Compared to how snowy and miserable it’s been, NYC was 40 degrees today, which felt positively balmy. Seeing so many people walking around carrying bouquets of flowers added nice pops of color (and a bit of spring) to a city that’s felt iced over and gray for weeks. I couldn’t help but smile at the scene—not to mention at this brilliant sign I stumbled upon at Columbus Circle.

Hope you had a wonderful V-Day, as well!

#foundlove

Subway Kitties Have a (Temporary) Home

Okay, this is really just an excuse to post cute cat photos—but there’s a legit NYC angle!

Last week, while I was sunning myself on the beach two kittens were spotted on the B/Q tracks near theВ Church Avenue stop in Brooklyn.

subway kitten

And then—in what I think was a pretty astounding move—the MTA shut down power to large swaths of the two lines as workers tried to catch the kitties. After an hour and a half of futile attempts, the MTA restored service to both lines. They eventuallyВ rounded up the catsВ later in the evening.

subway kitties 2

In the days that followed, numerousВ mayoral candidates weighed in on whether they would have shut the subway for the kitties. (Quinn, Thompson, Weiner, Catsimatidis, McDonald [who?]: Yes. Former MTA boss Lhota: No.)

And the cats, named August and Arthur, found themselves in comfy new digs. Bushwick resident Steven Liu, who regularly fosters cats, has taken them in.В Liu posted some photos of them on his Tumblr,В Scratching Pad, and they’re too cute!

subway kitties 3

subway kitties 4

subway kitties 5

(Top two photos by Marc A. Hermann/MTA via the Daily News ; bottom three photos via Scratching Pad)

MTA Tattoos

As a non-driver and native New Yorker, I have a soft spot for the MTA and the NYCВ subwayВ system—even though I’m often frustrated when I can’t get a seat in the morning. (I’m the fourth stop on the A train!)

Nevertheless, I’m loving Tattly’s new line of MTA temporary tattoos. I especially appreciate how it includes the diamond shaped icons for the 6 and 7 trains!

mta set

Love this example of A/C/E pride…

a c e

and this double display of NYC pride!

bagel

(Photos via Tattly; found via Swissmiss)

MetroCard Art

In my humble opinion,В few things are asВ quintessentially NYC as MetroCards. They’re literally your keys to the city, allowing you to travel pretty huge distances (e.g. my Washington Heights apartment to Coney Island) with a single swipe.

That’s why I’m loving Single Fare 3, a new exhibit that showcases art created on MetroCards. More than 1,000 artists submitted pieces for a chance to have their tiny works displayed. The exhibit runs at Tribeca’s RH GalleryВ through February 22, and individual cards are available for purchase through March 15.

Some of my favorites:

McKean Thomas MetroCard

Dina Brodsky MetroCard

Stacy Seiler MetroCard

Jeff Faerber MetroCard

Jeff Bellerose MetroCard

Not all the cards are NYC-themed; those are just the ones that I was most attracted to. (Surprise, right?) Check out all of them here.

(Images fromВ Single Fare 3В via WNYC)

One Day of NYC’s MTA Traffic, Animated

This video made my day.

Sumus Technology, a Canadian software company, used MTA data to animate 24 hours of public transportation in NYC. The visual is totally cool; I love how you can see the city awaken as the various lines—which include the subway, buses, LIRR, Metro-North and NY Waterway in their corresponding colors—light up until you can basically see a map of their routes. (I was even able to pick out the LIRR line that runs out to Bayside, where I grew up!)

But really, the music makes the video! The old-school, honky-tonk rendition of “New York, New York,” alone, is enough to make me smile.

(And if you love this, check out “Flight Patterns,” another awesome animation of—you guessed it—airplane traffic over the U.S.)

(found via the Atlantic)

Meeting Jay-Z on the Subway

Are you famous?

A few weeks ago, Jay-Z rode the R train from Canal Street to his final show at the Barclays Center. I, of course, wasn’t lucky enough to be in the car, then. (In nearly 30 years of living in NYC, my celeb run-ins have been very few and far between.) But Ellen Grossman, a 67-year-old artist, was—and Jay-Z happened to sit right next to her. Their brief conversation was captured in Jay-Z’s 24-minute online doc, “Where I’m From.” I couldn’t help but smile when I watched the clip! (Skip to 19:20.)

(Top image via NY Mag)

What Do You Read on the Subway?

The other day, I came across the awesome blog Underground New York Public Library, via Gothamist . Photographer Ourit Ben-Haim goes around NYC capturing subway riders who are deeply engrossed in their books. Her shots are gorgeous and really capture the individual little bubbles we all inhabit when we’re on the train. Plus, it’s cool to see what other New Yorkers are reading–and it’s inspiring me to add to my reading list.

Here are some of my favorite shots; see more here:

What do you read on the subway?В (I’m usually paging through the latest issue ofВ NY MagВ or listening to an audiobook. Though as of late, I’ve also been doing some reading about happiness/mindfulness during my morning commute, which, I’ve found, is a nice way to start the day.)

(All images via the Underground New York Public Library’s Facebook page)