This is the third in a new NBC 4 series documenting happenings on the New York City subway from week to week. Some 5.6 million people ride the subway each day, which makes it not only a hot spot for talent scouting and people watching, but also a snow-globe of sorts for some of the strangest behavior in the city.
This week: a pair of twins who got famous in the subway appear on the 'Ellen' show, the music of Bach takes over the tunnels and a dog lost in the storm is reunited with its owner.These are the top 4 moments from the subway Mar. 16 to 23.
READ MORE:
- Off the Rails: Buskers Like the Beatles, Man Under a Train and Corgi in a Backpack Highlights on the NYC Subway This Week
- Off the Rails: Subway Stampedes, a Beer Called 'Delayed' and a Busker Who Has Never Given Up
1. Shock Horror! Penn Station Empty at Peak Hour
It was bizarre, it was unnerving: empty train stations in New York City at rush hour.
After a storm dubbed the 'four'easter' blew into New York, dropping inches of snow across the city Wednesday, many feared Penn Station would become a nightmare as people tried to get home.
But when reporter Andrew Siff arrived at Penn Station at rush hour, he found the eerie opposite -- an empty station. It seemed New Yorkers heeded transit advice to stay home, or to head home early.
MUST READ: New York Subway Singer Mike Yung, Stabbed 9 Times, Tries One Last Time to Make an Album
2. Twin Buskers Go from NYC Subway to 'Ellen'
The twin subway buskers from Brooklyn who gained viral fame in recent weeks for their covers of the Beatles got on the express train to some national TV exposure.
Amiri and Rahiem Taylor performed "Eight Days a Week" on Thursday's broadcast of "Ellen."
A video of the brothers covering a Beatles song in the subway earlier this month racked up millions of views in less than two days, with New Yorkers stunned at how similar they sounded to the real thing.
READ MORE: Twin Subway Buskers in Viral Beatles Cover Video Appear on 'Ellen' Thursday
3. Little Dog Lost
As the snowy nor'easter roared in Wednesday, an adorable dog somehow managed to get swept away from its owners.
But it was subway officers to the rescue, with the NYPD Transit Chief tweeting Wednesday afternoon that police were able to reunite the dog with his owner, just hours after police tweeted a photo of the dog.
"This little guy lost his way - anyone recognize this pup? Our officers found him a few mins ago near Hoyt/Schermerhorn station in Brooklyn," the original tweet said.
READ MORE: Dog Lost Near Subway During Storm Reunited With Owner
4. Bach Takes Over the Subway
Richard Richards, operator: Honestly, as an operator, I have to tell them something. In an attempt to keep the customers calm you tell them we have traffic ahead, we have delays ahead, but in honesty we don't always know 'cause they are not telling us and radio communications can be choppy.
nJoe Costales, conductor: The system is antiquated, the relay for the radio systems are not kept up, they are not repaired, they are not constantly checked so there are black-out areas.
nCrystal Young, conductor: We may talk to them over the radio and they can hear us but we can't hear what they are saying. Sometimes when we are on a train it's not that we don't want to let the customers know what's going on, we don't have the communications to let them know what's going on.
Costales: All the time.
nRichards: They had hot-plates they had TVs, they literally lived back there.
nCostales: You see them coming out. A lot of times people who get hit by trains, are the ones living in the subway.
nBrandon Patterson, conductor: Sometimes when we go to set up tracks we go down there and they get mad because they think we are invading their home space.
Richards: I've seen people actually having sex on the train.
nCostales: Masturbating, having sex.
nRichards: And they've got a bed set up, they tap into the third rail and they are watching TV.
nYoung: One time someone brought a goat on the train. They bought it at a live mart.
Tramell Thompson, conductor: The E train has been dubbed 'The Homeless Express', it's one of those lines that doesn't go outside. So from terminal to terminal it's underground. It's pretty warm. You have new, nicer trains over there, it's clean over there. And you know the homeless, you go on there at midnight, you'll see five or six homeless people in each car. But the homeless isn't really the issue with us, it's mainly the drunks.
Richards: In the middle of the car. You don't want to sit in the corners [because that's where people throw up and urinate]. Also by the doors, you'll be on your phone and as soon as the doors get ready to close, they snatch it and they're off.
Conductors: A safe place to ride on a subway train would be in the middle of the train in the conductor's car or in the very first car where the train operator's going to be. That way at least you're closest to a crew member to help if they have to.
Conductors: Absolutely.
nYoung: At the end of the line they have a sign that shows on-time job performance, where they literally track to see how many people were injured while in performance of their duty so that's what they are concerned about. It's easier for a passenger to make a complaint versus us making a complaint because they just want to keep that train moving.
nPatterson: The MTA's logo is 'Every second counts,' so every second counts to them.
nYoung: Some superintendents, if someone has to take a comfort they want you to write a [note]. So you have to, as an adult, write down on a piece of paper that you had to use the bathroom. God forbid if you use the bathroom too often, then they will try to write you up.
Tramell Thompson, train conductor: Anything, EDPs (emotionally disturbed person), anything. Could be a disturbance on the train, fights.n
Eric Loegel, train operator: Unattended package, suspicious package..."customer injury" as they say. A customer injury is generally someone who has been struck by a train. And we internally refer to that as a 12-9.
Patterson: No, I try not to. I tell [my kids] not to touch anything, I carry hand sanitizer.
nRichards: I don't touch the poles or I sit in the middle...I'm a big guy, I brace myself.
nCostales: We transport millions of people, it's hard to keep it that clean.
Patterson: Standing behind the yellow line, the [public] leans over looking for the train, they could slip, and that's what causes 12-9s and delays
nRichards: I've seen people fall on the tracks 'cause they hear the announcement and they think the train is on their track and they start straight walking because they are online...we get conditioned, oh the train is here, they start walking and they fall.
Commuters are in for a treat this weekend as Bach in the Subways takes over for its seventh year in celebration of the revered composer's 333rd birthday.
Local
Bach in the Subways, which began on Wednesday and will run through Sunday, was an initiative that was started in 2011 by cellist Dale Henderson. He believed that the decline in appreciation for classical music was mainly because of the fact that there was less of an opportunity for people to experience classical music live.
Henderson invited musicians to join him in playing Bach's music throughout various New York City subways, and was joined by two other cellists in his first year. He encourages the musicians not to accept donations.
READ MORE: Bach Is Taking Over the Subway This Week
Subway Etiquette: Canvas on the Commute
Thai artist Pairoj Pichetmetakul has been taken his painting to New York's underground for his art project 'Subway Journey'. He's been painting on trains for almost three years in Thailand, Japan and New York.
He said commuters generally enjoy seeing him painting on the commute. "A lot of people watch behind me and some of them want to be in the painting," he said. This particular work below saw him painting on the train for five hours.
Dog of the Week
Alfie is a "chill" dog who has no problem hopping in a bag for a ride on the subway.
