October 28, 2024"I will take the subway and look at certain women and think 'God, that woman's story will never be told. How come that lady doesn't get a movie about her?'" — Natasha Lyonne ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ Hey look, a chance to support the newsletter!
Please let me know here if you can't see the ads. Thanks! ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑ All walks of lifeFront page of the New York Times on March 13, 1888: IN A BLIZZARD'S GRASP
The Worst Storm the City Has Ever Known
Business and Travel Completely Suspended
New York helpless in a tornado of wind and snow which paralyzed all industry, isolated the city from the rest of the country, caused many accidents and great discomfort, and exposed it to many dangers.
I had just moved to the NYC area at the time of Hurricane Sandy in 2012, which people referred to as the storm of the century. If so, the Blizzard of 1888 was probably the storm of the 19th century. New York was clobbered by 20 inches of snow then, with massive snow drifts, immobilizing the city for nearly a week. Horse-drawn carriages, elevated trains, and streetcars -- all the modes of transportation relied on at the time -- were completely immobilized. Fun two-person very human story from then: A woman named Mary McEwen fell into a snowbank and was trapped for hours until a man named George Cozine walked by that night and heard her cries. He dug her out, carried her on his back to her family's home some distance away -- and the two fell in love. Six months later, they were married. I digress, but there's a good reason: Tragedy and chaos sometimes prompt progress. Besides the good fortunes of Mary and George, one of the beneficiaries of the Blizzard of 1888 was the New York City subway system. Following the blizzard, New York's city planners and engineers realized that if the city was to continue growing, it needed a transit system that could operate independently of the elements. Elevated trains, while effective to a degree, were unsightly, noisy, and still exposed to severe weather conditions. The logical solution was to go underground, but this was easier said than done. The ambition for the NYC subway was immense. It was intended to be the largest system of its kind in the world, connecting distant boroughs and neighborhoods into a single, unified transportation network. This wasn't exactly groundbreaking -- London opened its first underground railway, the Metropolitan Railway, in 1863, for example -- but it required breaking ground, pun intended, because Manhattan’s geological makeup, including bedrock and dense underground infrastructure, made digging difficult. Workers had to excavate enormous trenches, often using dynamite and other heavy equipment to break through rock, while ensuring the city above continued its daily activities. The construction of the first subway line was also dangerous; hundreds of workers known as "sandhogs" toiled underground, facing constant risks from cave-ins, explosions, and toxic fumes. However, after four years of intense labor, the vision of a fully operational New York subway was finally coming to life. Just over 16 years after the blizzard, on October 27, 1904 (so, 120 years ago yesterday), the New York City subway officially opened to the public. Initial stats:
Although the initial line was a success, it was just the beginning. The vision was always to expand the system into a vast network, reaching outer boroughs like Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. (Staten Island, being an island, is a special case.) But overall, the subway meant NYC could expand outward, with people living in the outer boroughs while working in Manhattan. Entire neighborhoods sprang up around new subway stations, and boroughs that were once separated by physical and social barriers became interconnected parts of a single metropolitan entity. The subway also fostered a sense of accessibility and unity that remains central to New York’s identity; the great equalizer of the city, used by people of all classes, ethnicities, and backgrounds. Whether you were a Wall Street banker or a Broadway actor, the subway was the most efficient way to get around. Its sprawling nature meant that you could reach virtually any part of the city at any time of day or night, an element that continues to make New York distinct from other American cities. Today, the New York City subway is one of the largest and most complex subway systems in the world, with over 470 stations and 665 miles of track. It runs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week—something almost no other subway system in the world does. It has its flaws and challenges, from aging infrastructure to periodic delays, but its scope and influence are undeniable. Unlike other American cities that rely heavily on cars, New York remains a place where public transportation, especially the subway, is an integral part of daily life. Yes, people can complain, and sometimes there's danger on the subway -- although statistically and across a population it's a much safer way for a city's population to travel than to rely on cars. And whether it's people like the long-ago Mary and George or the 8 million other stories in the naked city, there's something about a mode of transportation in which people of all walks sit and stand together -- and usually do it pretty well. Today's quote comes from actress and lifelong New Yorker Natasha Lyonne: "I will take the subway and look at certain women and think 'God, that woman's story will never be told. How come that lady doesn't get a movie about her?'" If you haven't visited New York in a while, this is the time of year to do it. See you on the subway.
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