Optimize your life on the NYC subway
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- čas přidán 20. 01. 2023
- Three popular New York Subway stations are on 42nd street: Port Authority Bus Terminal (PABT), Times Square, and Bryant Park. These NYC subway stations are more related than you think for there are tunnels that connect all of them together (tunnel between 8th Ave and 7th Ave under 41st Street; and the new Bryant Park tunnel under 42nd Street that connects Times Square Broadway and Bryant Park at 6th Ave). On top of that there's a shuttle train from Times Square that goes to Grand Central Station. Learn more in this video!
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Fun fact about the passage way between Bryant Park and the Times Square station, it was built on top of what used to be a track that was used by the shuttle train. The shuttle train used to have 3 tracks but one was taken out of service. Also the Grand Central LIRR station is set to open up tomorrow on Wednesday, January 25th. Limited service though.
I used to walk past that one poem every night on my way home from work. My coworker and I would go from the ACE to the 456 together in this silent, dismal march through the tunnels. I think that poem encouraged me to quit my job and go back to university. "Why bother?" It's interesting to learn that the installation is older than I am, yet still had such an influence on my life.
On a lighter note, the bathrooms in the new Grand Central Madison (LIRR) are now probably the cleanest public bathrooms in the surrounding area. Lots of stalls, brightly lit, and easy to access if you don't mind going down the extra flight of stairs. The entrance is through JP Morgan on 47th and Madison, so it's a convenient place to stop if you're too far uptown from Port Authority.
Geez, this video is masterfully edited and made. I love it. I'm not even going to NYC and watched lol.
Lol. Glad you enjoyed it!
Hi. Thank you so much for making these videos about the subway and rail in NYC. I've always been super interested in the subways and your videos helped me understand the system as someone who doesn't live in NYC. Thank you so much and looking forward to so many more amazing videos.
She has amazing videos. NYC is a dump and I hate living here. I’m stuck here for 3 more years though.
@@yusefkhan1752 sorry! 😢
Biggest tip I will give to any tourist: know what train you take before you go into the station, and GET THE HELL OFF YOUR DAMN PHONE while you're traversing the tunnels. There's nothing worse than a ditz derping around walking slowly or standing in everyone's way.
I'm a transit/train nerd, thank you for this explanation because it's really unclear for most foreigners !
so am i.
1:58 I just made a little mnemonic on the fly:
8th St. is the ace
7th St. goes 1-2-3
Broadway is Not Quite Right, Weird (as in it's not in a right angle/parallel to the other streets, use the first letter of each word)
And the 6th has BaD FaMe (use the consonants)
Thank you for this. I discovered the new connection to Bryant Park by accident, and it's almost worth a trip underground just to see the artwork.
Pro tip: Another spot for a public bathroom on 42nd Street is the north side of Bryant Park. That tends to have a line coming out of it, especially on the weekends when there are lots of tourists and locals using the park, but it's free.
Love these vids so much. The more numtot content the better. Much love from Chicago!
Great video! It's refreshing to see well-researched, comprehensive NYC travel vids like this one.
Another amazing video Thea, thank you. Always love your videos on the Subway system. Cant wait to visit NYC again in June this year.
This was a really interesting look at wayfinding in a city - especially when things are underground. Thanks for being so thorough!
Nicely done and very useful video with great diagrams and clear explanations. Strong work Thea!
Thank you so much, Thea! We're thankful that when you make videos every week 😋
Thanks for the great explainer! I enjoy the tangents that you're putting into your videos, like the art display! Looking forward to your next videos.
Mnemonic:
At 6am, i tune in to my neighbors practising BDFM
At 0630, i eNQuiRe why i'm still aWake
At 7am, i've snoozed my alarm 1-2-3 times
At 8am, i still somehow ACE my exam
(...it really is time to reform the names of the lines btw O_O )
This is Gold 🥇
5:45 That was a former entrance/exit that was moved down the block in 2016 when the 7 Bryant Park building was opened. Apparently, the MTA forgot to remove this entrance/exit from the map (they're the ones providing Google Maps with station shapes, station entrances/exits, line information, etc.).
Great video. Lots of helpful graphics and such.
Such a great deep dive into these stations wow!! (I spent many years learning some of this while I was a tutor so I could be hyper efficient getting from student to student ). But I would say the biggest efficiency hack is actually - e-bikes 🎉 that’s by far the most efficient way to navigate most of nyc most of the time. 🚲
Love this! Was just visiting NYC last week and I similarly caught that poem in the tunnel between 8th and 7th ave halfway through and was super confused, haha!
Thank you very much! Your video is absolutely helpful.👍
Love your poem story!
Thank you Thea for going outside to check many subway entrances, and going to the studio space to film.
Sometimes I miss the "how do you do" Thea.
Visiting NY this year thanks for your guidance
great guide! would you consider making a video in the future of all stations where you can transfer backwards? (e.g. you were distracted and missed your stop, and need to know the closest station where you don't have to step outside)
Overall good video! Just a note that the sequential signs in the tunnel between 7&8th Aves were there well before 1991... I can remember them there in the early to mid 80s
You are AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you!!!!
once in brooklyn, near by dumbo, the only subway entrance was ina bulding without any sign ... believe me when i said... "ok this is where i die".lol. Now everytime im in the area, i just cross the brigde walking
Blue - 8th Avenue, Red - 7th Avenue, Orange - 6th Avenue, Yellow - Broadway, Dark green - Lexington Avenue, Purple - Flushing (42nd Street), Brown - Nassau Street (Jamaica), Light gray - Canarsie (14th Street), Lime green - Brooklyn-Queens Crosstown .
I hate how long the 8th av line platform stagger is. It makes transfers an absolute chore
The blue is on 8th, the red on 7th, the yellow on Broadway, while the orange is on 6th. Across those lies the purple line along with the shuttle
My biggest gripe about this mega-station is that there’s no escalator between the walkway under the 123 up to the Times Square NQRW and Shuttle. It’s such a long staircase and the escalator from the 7 is right there almost to mock you!
Also, IMO you were a bit too generous in your review of the PABT bathrooms! Maybe the Women’s room is cleaner than the men’s? 😅🫣
PABT is open to the public until 1am. After that time you have to show NYPD a ticket to enter, ONLY at the main north doors on 42nd, and only the north-side basement is operational. I’m not sure what time in the morning it all reopens, I want to say by 5.
Thanks for an interesting video! When the Bryant Park tunnel first opened I spent like 20min just trying to find the entrance because I was so curious. It being at the end of the Shuttle platform was not intuitive, but makes sense structurally! 😄
Last time I was in New York I discovered that poem in the connecting tunnel and had basically the same experience you did.
yes, going to Times Square socks the life out of me as well. i do avoid it as much as possible. unless i absolutely have to visit. lately i'll tube to Bryant Park & walk to AMC or Regal, which is the only reason i visit Times Square. thanks again for another informative video.
That's actually a good tip for those that absolutely hate going to times square.
I see you recently viewed where I work (Madame Tussaud's). Hope you came by and had fun!
- Zack (the guy who runs Marvel 4D)
Thanks!
You're welcome and thank you again! 😊
There's a new LIRR east side Madison terminal near grand centralll
Back when Pokemon Go was still very popular, it was made a lot easier to know how to get to certain locations for the fact that some PokeStops and Gyms/Raids are the train stations themselves and landmarks that help you get to you to where you need to, especially these mid-town lines and transportation.
I at the time almost made a map guiding this specific area, but life got in the way and I moved on from it.
A/C/E - 8th Ave
1/2/3 - Broadway (from 96th to 42ND) & 7th Ave (from 42ND to Chambers)
N/Q/R/W - Broadway
B/D/F/M - 6th Ave
4/5/6 - Lexington Ave & Park
The first time I visited NYC in 2021 my hotel was slow to the Port Authority and there were two entrances on the block of my hotel. It was a life saver.
Thea, maybe you can make a video about using Bank of America cards to get free entry to several popular museums such as Guggenheim and MoMA
Nice! I’ve been to the Times Square station hundreds of times and yeah I hate having to walk down the long passageway to get to the A, C, and E! Lol. It’s also nice that there’s a tunnel to the B, D, F, and M trains now! Also just wondering, have you ever taken New Jersey Transit?
In general, trust the signs. Not all stations are so permeable. Several entrances do not grant access to all trains.
The bathrooms at Port Authority are always open since the station is open 24/7! Every now and again they’re closed for cleaning for a few mins tho ofc
I enjoy your subway videos. I have a hard time with the subway. Coming for the US Open this year. Staying near Moynihan Train Hall. Where should I go to get on the correct train? (7?) Walk to Hudson Yards ? I also did not understand the difference in subway 7 Train and LIRR Train which appears to be going in the same direction, but it seems to cost more.
The US Open is somewhere near the baseball field. Also wanted to see a game there. Any suggestions? Thanks. Sandy.
Hello Thea! Thanks, great videos! Helped me out a lot when I visited last October. Question, what's with the "No Standing" sign underneath the bus stop sign poles? Was I breaking the law waiting for the bus? 🤣
The "no standing anytime" signs refer to cars (vehicles), not people.
(For people it's called "no loitering")
as someone who loves transit this was so interesting
You take the NRW (like NordRhein Westfalen) to the downtown, like the Flat Iron building and the Chealsea Hotel, as well Casey Neistat's studio. I am a German, NRW is easy to remember. Colours make it easy to navigate NYC.
I did not know about the Bryant Park tunnel. Neat!
I don't have a good mnemonic device. I just stare at the maps a lot.
The LIRR station at Grand Central is opening on 1/25!
I am good with taking the NYC MTA buses, instead of subways. : )
Wow I didn’t know the Bryant park tunnel existed much less that it was new! I can’t remember if I walked though it
I also find apple maps significantly easier to navigate the subway another great app is city mapper
1:59 The Colors represent the main trunk line. Blue is for 8th Avenue, Red is 7th avenue, Yellow is Broadway, and Orange is 6th Avenue
I would love a video like this but for Chicago
Google makes it easy to report inaccuracies on their maps, especially from a computer. Highly recommend everyone do that, I've found them to be pretty responsive to my suggestions!
👍
True. Love dark truthful humor.
Also true, the subway signage needs fully updated and needs to be fully understood.
Most importantly...make public restrooms 24hrs, a real open thing! Everywhere! Now! Damn it! It is literally a human rights issue!
I think 87B6C is one mnemonic that I'd note down Thea. I've found it impossible to lose my way through 42 Street because it's a street I've been to so many times, especially since my Dad had his workplace north of there along Second Avenue. My homeroom teacher in Highschool then was concerned I'd be lost through that maze.
I take the bus into the port authority from New Jersey to go busking in the subway. As to the bathrooms in the port authority. The one on the 3rd floor doesn't open till one in the afternoon. The one at the second floor is always open. And I always visit it before taking the elevator down to the subway level and head into the subway.
Ive just use Google maps since moving here, so far no issue at all.
What a blessing to find a female content creator in the urbanism field
Why does it matter the sex of the person? As long as they're competent at the material they're presenting.. this creator is competent .. thats all that matters
Hello, coming to NYC in September. Do you have a video related to Handicap accessibility? My husband does not always need an elevator, but he has difficulty with lots of stairs and lots of walking. We will be staying in the time square area.
We never called the #7 the crosstown station (I'm an old timer). We called it the Flushing Line. So I guess things change. Meanwhile the shuttle was given that designation.
The shuttle was created from the original subway line. They literally extended along Lexington Avenue After Grand Central Station north. While lower 7th Avenue especially Varrick Street was a little more difficult to construct.
14th Street on 7th Avenue looked very much like 23rd Street and 5th Avenue. Same could be said about Church Street.
These streets did not exist before the subway. They bulldoze all the buildings blocking the path to create this new subway on Varrick Street (Church Street).
Besides most of the streets at this time could not carry a subway. They were too narrow.
Many street did not survive this subway expansion unfortunately. But the one that did survive does give us an idea that something else existed before it.
The 9th Avenue EL, which was the first ever line to run in New York City to make room for the 8Th Avenue Church Street extension from 6th Avenue.
Thank you, Thea! I always lost myself in 42nd st around. Feeling like I'm an idiot who can not read the Google Maps, but after watching this video, I know it! There's something wrong with the location of the subway on the Map. lol
The "Times Tower"? I've lived in NYC for more than 20 years and I've never heard that name.
As a New Yorker for over 30 years, and lifelong in the New York metro area, I have never heard of Times Tower, nor have I ever heard anyone call the station at 6th Avenue Bryant Park Station.There's One Times Square, though it's rarely mentioned as such, and it's just the station at 6th and 42nd, or the B, D, or F station, whichever train you intend to take. I even work at 40th and 5th, so that's the station I use when I take the train (I mostly ride a bike).
Times Tower is the one with the ball drop on top! And I also usually call that stop Bryant Park 🤷🏻♂️
If you’re lost or just completely overwhelmed, hollering out “hey, can I get to [place] from here?” will usually get you an answer. If someone feels like being a bit of an angry New Yorker stereotype, they might tack on “a$$hole” to the end of their response. But someone will almost always answer you.
Is there a passageway from Grand Central to Bryant Park? It would be nice to walk from PABT to Grand Central if needed
Avoiding Times Square station is hard when your destination is near Times Square, such as when I went to concerts at PlayStation Theatre.
The current Times Square is exhausting, but I'll take it over the Times Square of the 70s and 80s with street hustlers and other criminal elements. For a great look at the way Times Square used to look, watch the movie"Taxi Driver" with Robert De Niro. It's pretty unsettling, so you've been warned 😬
Just remember on the East side it’s only numbered lines. In the middle and to the West it’s lettered lines.
But this all changes once you get to 59th street. Now it’s the 1&9 along with the A/ C & D.
But on the East side the only lines running will always be the 4-5-6.
Again this all changes below 14th street.
Given trains have to go across the island to get to Brooklyn. So below 14th street train lines tend to zig zag from east to west and vice versa regardless if they are lettered on numbered trains.
Don't have a great way of remembering, but here's a start:
ACE(ight th Ave)
1+2+3=6 & 7 are on 7th
BDFM - F is the 6th letter of the alphabet - on 6th ave
Could you PLEASEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE make a video over Forest Hills and the surrounding neighberhoods, (Rego Park, Kew Gardens) as well as Forest Hills Gardens. ITS MAGICAL!!!
(sorry if im spamming but I just would really love to see a video over it)
Port authority has decent bathrooms? Damn last time I used them in 2007 they were stinkier than the Bronx Zoo.
I love your informative videos. I have a question. I will visit for week and need to know: Can I use my phone to pay for 6,subway rides, at a time? Will I get free rides after 12 entries? If I bought metro cards would we all need 1 each? I would love to see a video on traveling with a family from JFK and how to save money on public transportation for 6 days to include LIRR, subway and ferry rides.
Hi there. Here's the video I made that explains multiple riders and fare capping when paying for multiple people: czcams.com/video/g2_aEHQlPSQ/video.html
If you want unlimited rides, everyone needs their own MetroCard. If you pay per ride, you can swipe up to 4 people at a time.
Here's a video on JFK to Manhattan: czcams.com/video/wIb5sAgNkp8/video.html
LIRR and ferries don't have an equivalent to the 7-day unlimited for the subway. You can look up CityTicket for LIRR ($5 tickets for certain hours).
Hope this helps!
@@UrbanCaffeine thank you!
It is NEVER called the "7 Crosstown train" (I been here 63 years)
Times Square is not named after the Times tower. It’s named after the New York Times.
Fun Fact: Times Square used to be called long acre square. Why? Because it’s and acre long.
I haven’t have any inaccuracies with Apple Maps on the subway so far
Subway markings in NY are terrible. For someone not used to the system, it can be confusing.
What no one talks about is how yiur gps gets confused with all the towers and as a tourist you don’t know which corner of the intersection you are on. Frustrating!!!
(A) (C) (E) HEAD TOWARD HARLEM LIKE THE ACE OF SPADES.
I 8 some BLUEberries
The BROAD YELLOW bus
The 7 Train Slides across?
ideas for mnemonics
Thinking of 7th and 6th ave ones
Subway lines are named by numbers or letters, but not colors.
Nice video :)
Just so you know that the PABT is between 40th and 42nd, not 41st and 43rd. I hope you're correcting this mistake.
are you filipino by any chance?
Why do you need a mnemonic? Just memorize it.
no one calls it the 7 crosstown
Yes they do
Useless video, you really dont have to know this info. Just put a good metro map on your phone and you'll easyily find your way around in NYC...
Bernard Goetz optimized his life by taking out several thugs trying to rob him. Unfortunately, no one else has been able to duplicate that action and people have died.
Yeh, 'optimize your life' on an American urban subway nowadays....carry a .357 or 44 magnum! Optimize surviving, that is. Especially considering what ahh, *sort* of neighborhoods one is traveling thru, factoring in just who lives there.
Please don't use racist memes.
Port authority is an eye sore, it's not a landmark! We don't say "new yorking" it sounds stupid and it is not correct!
I believe it’s a term she’s using to express navigating life in NYC… I kind of like the positive outlook. More of an optimistic viewpoint. The bus terminal doesn’t have “landmark” status that I could confirm but it is a landmark - as in its hard to miss - as calling it an “eyesore” only confirms. I’ve driven up 8th Avenue way too many times to not recognize it. I don’t remember it as anything as anything but an unsafe and unsavory place but I’ve read many posts that talk about how different it is today and it’s been years since I’ve been there.. come to think of it.. I was last there during Times Square Renovation that pushed all the old porn houses over to 8th and 9th avenues.
Your videos are all good. Thanks so much for making them. @BitcoinJC