Gray weekend

After a couple days of rain, snow, slush, wind, and cold, it’s hard to remember when we last had warm weather. Ever the optimist, I’m thinking The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow.

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This is not a mosaic

When they renovated the Smith and Ninth Street F train station, the mosaic signage wasn’t returned to the platforms. Instead, there are stickers of mosaic, which are good enough to fool you unless you’re standing very close. BTW, have you seen the Magritte show at MoMA yet?

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The deco overlook

Down the platform, away from the escalators at the Smith and Ninth subwaIy stop, there are stainless arches for security on the cement wall. The look is reminiscent of deco. I’ll try for a better picture when I’m not jumping on a train.

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Smith & 9th, subway & streets

It’s a sensory overload, across the street from the new Smith & 9th subway station. The re-done building is like our local Bilbao, so it’s only appropriate that red, white, and blue foil banners are among the complementary shiny visual distractions nearby.

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All new Smith & Ninth Street subway station

I haven’t tried out the escalator yet, but how often do you get to stand on a brand new subway platform? It’s a rare and special thing:  the Smith & Ninth Street station reopened today after  extensive renovations. Three-second rules for dropped food don’t apply, that’s how fresh and clean this station is!

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Good-weird light

Heading into Fourth Avenue from Carroll Street, I was standing at the door of the F Train taking pictures, killing time because I didn’t have a seat. Trackwork goes on, and Smith & Ninth is still closed. The light was nice, though. The reflection of the interior subway light looks like a contrail.

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Smith & 9th, from the F

Public transportation is not a personal obsession, but it’s a big part of our lives, since many of us spend hours every week sitting on trains or buses. If there are breakdowns or other delays, you can add time to that, and minutes spent in close contact with strangers.

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Towards Smith & Ninth

Today the weather was glorious, around 60 degrees, though we were robbed of an hour of our day by daylight savings. Tomorrow we’ll be happy when it’s 5:30 and still sunny out, though.

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The grand panorama

This is the view from Smith & Ninth, taken last April. I’m hoping to revisit the spot where I was standing, toward the front of the platform, as soon as the subway work is done. It’s not a beautiful view, the Lowe’s parking lot, the poisonous canal, and the elevated highway, but I miss it.

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Outside Smith & Ninth

There’s track work going on at the Smith & 9th Street Station, so there are delays at the platform level. Getting there is a problem, too; at least one of the escalators is not running at any given time here at the highest station in the NYC subway system.  The stairs are crowded.

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