Improv Everywhere: Subway Art Gallery

On the same day Improv Everywhere ran their MP3 experiment here on Roosevelt Island, Agents of IE also set up an underground art gallery on the subway platform giving residents and visitors a taste of an earlier event they ran at another "platform gallery". As opposed to that earlier experiment we did not get the full black tie treatment (see linked post & video) but the photos and "art descriptions" of the local installations were still fun to read and see today.

Thanks to fleepy_99 from Flickr for permission to use her photos and text. To see her complete photo set of the show link here.

"This piece, inspired by the "The Treachery of Images" pipe painting by René Magritte, mirrors that famous work with the suggestion that although the sign claims the availability of assistance through the mediation of an intercom, the assistance which is described will not be forthcoming, just as the pipe in the painting was not, in fact, a pipe: just an emotionally unsatisfying painting of a pipe."

"This surrealist piece plays on the idea that the mystery of what is inside sparks the imagination more than the reality of what is inside. Perhaps concealing an electrical panel, or labyrinthine underground passageways, this locked space nevertheless fascinates us, introducing the possibility that the unseen space contains hidden wonders"

"These speakers, eerily silent, engage the viewer in a peculiar non-discourse as a commentary on the ineffable nature of technologically-mediated communication within the quasi-unreal space of commuting.
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"Intended to be purely ornamental in contrast to the escalators, these antiquated sequentially raised steps draw the viewer to inescapable conclusions about the mechanically-mediated nature of movement in technological society."

Subway Platform & Train Snapshots - Differences of Opinion?

The above and below pictures are snapshots of the Roosevelt Island subway platform (Manhattan and Brooklyn bound) as we got off the steps this morning at 8:07 am. Like most of my experiences at this time the platform has not been overly crowded and the same has gone for the trains.

There is currently a vast difference of opinion between residents and the students from Columbia who are now concluding a study of transportation issues affecting Roosevelt Island. The students spent time on the Manhattan platform and documented their findings via photo snapshots and data collected through at least one sample morning before, during, and following that day's heaviest rush hour period. [Update: If the data was collected from multiple dates I missed that in their verbal and slide show presentation].

The Columbia findings, to my understanding, concluded pretty much that there is excess capacity and that the trains coming in from Queens can handle the number of residents without issue. They also examined alternative train routes and configurations and determined that a greater number of Queens residents would be displaced with the goal of helping a few Roosevelt Island residents and concluded that changing the train routes would be not accepted by the MTA.

The residents who attended the public presentation two weeks ago strongly disagreed. My own experience is that the problems occur during the 815am to 900am period as the trains are either full coming into Roosevelt Island or riders don't move from the doors making it difficult to enter trains.

Frank Farance, President of RIRA, continues to argue that the study had flaws to which the Columbia students reply look at our proof look at our photos. I can"t argue with the photos in question but I must conclude that the day in question must have been an anomaly as my experience, mirrors my neighbors, that during the peak times there is problem. And during the period just prior to the peak, as I have photographed, the situation is closer to what the Columbia students claim.

The key is I believe that any study may need an increased number of test mornings and also must take into account the residents own experience by perhaps selecting 200 residents who will record their experiences over say a one month period. The record should include the time they enter the station each morning with additional notes regarding wait time, platform positioning etc.

I will not attempt to review the full Columbia study here as I am focusing on the morning subway rush but I do feel that once the students saw their own test results they perhaps did not test on multiple dates ( I may be wring on this one) nor did they get a broad swath of the community involved who live this issue every day.

I do want to thank each of the students for their time and effort as the overall presentation did show that a lot of work went into their studio for each of the segments of our transportatioin issues they adressed.

Update: Wheelchair Access from Platform into Subway

The MTA's capital project to raise a portion of the Roosevelt Island subway platform , at the center of each platform, to allow wheelchairs to easily enter subway cars is progressing and as per the above picture indicates it may be ahead ahead of schedule.

You may recall from my earlier post on March 12, that the platforms in some areas are about a 1/2 inch too low making it difficult for mnay wheelchair bound residentst to simply roll into the subway cars requiring them to ask nearby individuals to push and even lift their chairs in some instances.

According to Deidre Parker, an MTA Spokesperson, the project, on both Queens and manhattan Bound platforms is scheduled to be complete by April 30, 2009.

------Original Message------
From: Deirdre Parker (MTA Spokesperson)
To: Roosevelt Island 360
Sent: Mar 31, 2009 11:55 AM
Subject: RE: Platform Construction

The centers of both platforms are covered with plywood. This plywood is painted safety yellow which allows customers to notice the unevenness of the platform. This is the area of the platform where Station Maintenance will be installing the recently approved new ADA Tiles for the ADA boarding area. This work is only done on weekends and is scheduled to be completed by April 30, 2009.

Can 11 Subway Cars Platform at Roosevelt Island?

NY1 is reporting that the MTA ran a test 11 car train through the system last night.

Can 11 cars platform at Roosevelt Island?

I don't believe so.

The answer per the first comment provided is NO so the test by the MTA was in essence as one SubChat contributor stated an "April's Fools" joke by the MTA on the public unless stations were modified to increase the accessible lenth of the platforms needed.

Manhattan Tram Platform Partially Cordoned Off

Subsequent to the incident Friday evening where a piece of sheathing fell from the Manhatan Roosevelt Island Tram Station onto the platform part of that platform continued to be cordoned off as of Monday night, October 27, 2008. It is unclear at this time if the platform is cordoned off due to any additional inspections of the Tram station structure or for an unrelated purpose.

According to one tram operator the metal that fell, contrary to earlier reports, was much larger than the reported 3 to 4 feet in length. This operator heard from others that it was closer to 15 feet in length. Evidence in this operator's mnd that despite opposition to the Tram and station renovations the replacement of the system and stations is necessary for long term safety ad growth.

Tram Outage Day One : No Man Left Behind

The Main Street WIRE, in the form of Dick Lutz, stood this morning on the Queens bound subway platform at the Roosevelt Island station and counted how many subway riders were left behind on this the first morning rush of the Tram's 9 day plannned outage. His count: Zero.

I myself was on the platform for the short period between 745am and 750am or so. I came onto a basically empty platform except for a few riders like myself who just descended the escaltors. A train showed up within 5 minutes with room enough for the hundred or more riders that had accumulated in those few minutes.

As the WIRE Bulletin posited it is unclear if the lack of riders was due to many staying home due to the excessive heat predictions or other factors. The real question is how was the platform between 815am and 845am which is usually the heaviest period of traffic.

Based on this morning I would advise all resident commuters to leave earlier than usual to ensure a stress free ride as much as possible.