New York

Woman Gets Surprise Party for 26th Birthday on Subway Train

She and her six friends ate lobster, drank wine, and even took turns hitting a piñata.

What to Know

  • Six friends threw their friend a party on the J-train in Brooklyn for $200.
  • They dined on lobster, linguine, and white wine, and unwrapped gifts together while decorations of confetti and streamers hung around them.
  • Seyf says that for some weird reason, the group did receive a lot of social media backlash chastising the girls for putting on the event.

Whether you’ve been a New Yorker for years or have only been in the city once, it’s safe to say that a ride on the subway will put you in contact with some pretty interesting characters. 

But you probably haven’t seen a birthday party on a train -- until now.

Los Angeles-based photographer Amber Asaly got a different kind of celebration for her 26th birthday when her cousin Samantha Seyfert, an event planner, decided she needed a next-level kind of party. 

"[Amber] is obsessed with her birthday," Seyfert said. "And her birthday was her thing with her dad before he passed away, so each year, we love to show the love, and do something big for her."

Asaly was in New York working the 2018 Victoria Secret Fashion show and spent the majority of her actual birthday at work, so Seyfert planned a secret birthday party -- on the subway.

"I love to come with originals ideas made to go viral, and this was really my first time planning something like this, though," Seyfert said. "I had never done something this big before."

Six friends and $200 later, they hoped on the J train in Brooklyn and helped themselves to a decadent lobster and linguine feast paired with white wine on top of a yellow wooden table they bought specially for the occasion. The party wasn't complete without confetti, colorful streamers, a construction paper banner spelling, “Go Girl, It’s Ya BDay,” and of course, a piñata. There were even little couch cushions to make the subway car a little cozier.

"(Amber) was so confused when we told her to come over, and then immediately started packing suitcases," Seyfert said. "When we finally told her, she was so happy. She kept saying this was her best birthday, and to see all the love and effort we put into it meant a lot to all of us."

The photos of the party went viral when Asaly, Seyfert, and her friends shared them on Instagram. Seyfert said they did get a lot of social media backlash chastising the girls for putting on the event, but she has no idea why.

"We were harmless. We were making people laugh," Seyfert said. "I live out here. I take the train. Way crazier stuff happens than that. There are definitely more offensive things than six girls having fun on a train."

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