Q Train Connection

Map Quest

“Every line a different color, every stop a dot.”

In 1972, when the NY MTA hired Mario Vignelli to develop a new plan for subterranean navigation, he was tasked with streamlining the wayfinding process for riders and bringing New York into the future.

Train routes were straightened into neat angles to make a tidy diagram out of the actual snarl of criss-crossing tunnels. Forty years later, graphic designers still laud Vignelli’s map as a triumph.

Another Hidden NYC Gem

Did you know that there is a National Park that you can get to by subway? You actually have to take the subway and then a bus from the subway to get to the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge (part of the Gateway National Recreation Area) in Queens but it is one of those amazing, peaceful places seemingly plunked down in the middle of the typical NYC chaos.

It was a grey day yesterday and we should have gone earlier if we wanted to see more birds but it was still a beautiful, quiet place with amazing views of Manhattan and Brooklyn. There is a guided walk along a flat gravel path that took us around the West Pond with many ducks, swans and a few snowy egrets on view. You can borrow binoculars from the friendly, knowledgeable staff at the Visitor's Center.

NYC - Where the Sidewalks Are Paved With...Smiles!

Don't know exactly what these mini-manhole covers are but they're popping up all over my neighborhood. They are placed near the curb and probably have something to do with the new subway line which is being built under Second Avenue - small vents maybe????  At least they're fun to look at, not like most of things "left" on the sidewalks of the city!

A Quick Review of Umbrella Etiquette

I realized yesterday while walking around the city during the umpteenth day of consecutive rain (I'm exaggerating, we did have one day of partial sunshine) that some people need to review the rules of umbrella etiquette. Perhaps the problem is that they have always been unwritten rules, passed down from parent to child for generations (for as far back as umbrellas have existed). Well, they are unwritten no longer:

- When walking on a crowded sidewalk (and in NYC they always are, even in the rain), dip or tilt or raise your umbrella away from people you are walking towards as you pass them. This prevents the tips of the spokes of your umbrella from gouging out the other person's eyes! The action you take will depend on the height of your umbrella which of course is dependent on your own height.

- When walking under scaffolding with an open umbrella, DON'T! There is no space for people let alone people with open umbrellas. Although the scaffolding will probably be leaking, close your umbrella until you are about to step out from under it. Because there is so much scaffolding in the city, you might be lucky enough to get where you're going without actually having to open your umbrella.

- Golf umbrellas are meant for golf courses (those open expanses of green that we don't have any of in Manhattan). Umbrellas used by people in NYC should be small and compact. (See Rule #1) In strong winds, a large umbrella never protects your bottom half from getting wet anyway.

- When getting on a bus with a soaking wet umbrella, fold it completely before you start walking to the back of the bus so that you do not get other passengers wetter than they already are.

- Do not lay a wet umbrella on a bus seat or subway seat. Carry packs of tissues with you on rainy days so that when other people have ignored this rule, you have some recourse. It is your moral obligation if you are sitting near a seat that you know is wet, to inform people who are about to sit in those seats of their "wetness". If they choose to sit anyway, your moral obligation ends.