⁴ᴷ⁶⁰ The Ugliest NYC Subway Station (Narrated April 2019): Chambers Street (J)(Z)
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- Опубликовано: 15 сен 2024
- A narrated walkthrough of the Ugliest NYC Subway Station: Chambers Street on the (J)(Z) lines in April 2019. The station is in the middle of renovations and will be compliant with the Americans With Disabilities Act once work is completed.
From Wikipedia:
"Chambers Street on the BMT Nassau Street Line is located at the intersection of Centre and Chambers Streets beneath the Manhattan Municipal Building. The station has four tracks, three island platforms, and one side platform (originally two).
The southbound platform is slightly higher at the southern end of the station because the next stop south, Fulton Street, is bi-level with the southbound platform being above the northern one. The two "express" tracks, currently unused in regular revenue service, merge into a single tail track south of the station. The tail track is 620 feet (190 m) long from the switch points to the bumper block, where an emergency exit is available.
North of this station, there are two stub tracks, which end behind the now-closed Queens-bound side platform. These tracks were formerly connected to the Manhattan Bridge, until they were disconnected in 1967 as part of the Chrystie Street Connection, with the BMT Broadway Line being connected to the bridge instead. Also north of this station, the former southbound express track (now the northbound track) splits into two tracks just south of Canal Street: the former northbound local track, and the former southbound express track (the current northbound track).
The tile work on this station includes a depiction of the nearby Brooklyn Bridge that has a subtle mistake: it features the parallel up-down cables between the main cable and the roadway (as seen alone on most suspension bridges) but misses the second set of diagonal cables that radiate from the bridge to the roadway (as seen on cable-stayed bridges)."
History
"This was one of the earliest BMT subway stations opened in New York City, built at a time when Lower Manhattan was the city's principal business district. It was designed to be the BMT's Manhattan hub, with trains arriving from Brooklyn in both directions, and terminating here. Originally, trains arrived from the north via either the Williamsburg Bridge or the Manhattan Bridge. The connection to the Montague Street Tunnel had not yet been completed.
The Nassau Street Loop was completed in 1931, making Chambers Street a through station south to the Montague Street Tunnel to Brooklyn. At this point, the center island platform and two side platforms were closed. The west side platform was walled up and partly demolished when Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall on the IRT Lexington Avenue Line was rebuilt on the other side of the wall in 1960-62.
The loop configuration permitted trains arriving in either direction from the BMT Fourth Avenue Line in Brooklyn to pass through Chambers Street and return to Fourth Avenue without having to reverse direction. A track connection to the Brooklyn Bridge, which would have made a similar loop through the Williamsburg Bridge, was planned in the station's design, but never built.
Although altered over the years to account for changing ridership patterns, the station has not been renovated. In a 2003 poll, it was voted the ugliest station in the system.
When it was being built before World War I, Chambers Street was envisioned as a City Hall terminal, a kind of downtown Grand Central Terminal at a time when the business and population center of the city was still closer to the southern end of the island. Three years after it opened, its four wide platforms were so overcrowded that one newspaper article described them as "more dangerous during the rush hours than at the Grand Central or the Fourteenth Street Stations."
But by the mid-1920s, the subway itself was pushing the city's population north and leaving Chambers Street behind. By as early as the 1930s, in fact, the station's ridership had dropped off so steeply that half of it was closed. By the 1950s, many of the city's business interests had shifted to Midtown. The Chrystie Street Connection, completed in 1967, severed the Nassau line's connection to the Manhattan Bridge, so that the bridge tracks could connect instead to the uptown IND Sixth Avenue Line. The tracks heading towards the Manhattan Bridge (now used for train storage) are visible from northbound trains leaving Chambers Street.
The tail track south of the station was the site of an R42 crash into the bumper block on the lower level relay track on November 6, 2007. The train was operating on the M when it crashed."
To call that place gross would be a compliment.
@@SonsoftheEagle - Why do you feel compelled to inject your nasty comment here? I take umbrage to it, it's offensive. Do us all a favor and attempt to clear your head of bigotry and hatred. TY
They should raise the tax rate and make more jobs for union workers so they can get those places fixed up for disabled people faster and fix the tiles.
As bad as it looks it strangely still has character but it really needs some care
I will clarify some points for you. The black "soot" you described is actually brake dust from the trains brake pads. The white residue that can be seen on the ceilings of many of the stations is actually rock salt and mineral deposits from snow melt and a hundred years of rain. It isn't the fault of transit that people use the stations as bathrooms. Or trash receptacles. It is lazy people. NYCT is the largest system in the world and woefully underfunded for long due repairs. The track shut downs and station closures are necessary to even get any work done. You cannot replace worn out tracks and keep trains running. Metrocard machines are usually out of order due to swipers jamming the machine to force people to buy a swipe from them. Or they pour liquid (or urinate in the machine) to cause it to fail. Yes, I currently work for the city in the system. I can't say where. We do our best (I know I do) to keep things going but nothing comes easy. Hope this helps.
Thank you for all your information and all the work you do to keep the system going! The NYC Transit system needs more funding for sure.
The New York public transportation system is incredible! The amount of people, the infrastructure and the daily operations to keep it running as well as it does is remarkable. There was an article recently that said the subway needs billions right now if it going to continue operations. WOW!
@@ActionKid isn't it mindblowing that what maybe the richest city in the world hasn't been able to forward the creation from 100 years ago?? Sure, subway has expanded but has it got better? You tell me. I dont think so lol
I seen lot’s of people just throw garbage on the tracks or floor when there are thrash cans everywhere. And some folks urinate on the tiles or corners of the station, no amount of cleaning from MTA crews can keep up if the people keep being disgustingly filthy and uncaring.
The city and especially the subway is treated like a toilet. Elevators for handicapped are left with feces in them. Even the train cars are not exempt. It isn't unusual to see men passing between cars while the train is in motion to relieve themselves, which could be fatal. No amount of regulation will change some people. Transit has hired outside contractors to scrub stations completely because it is just too much for one cleaner who is responsible for numerous stations during one shift to do. People don't respect themselves or the city enough to care.
I dunno why but there's something charming about that filthy environment
I know what you mean! Of course others will find such places repellant!
It gives off a metro 2035 or metro exodus vibe...
agree
Please don't romanticize all that filth. You would definitely change your mind if you actually smelled how these subway stations are.
same goes for me !! It might sound weird but there's a little something that I love in this kind of stuff !!!
Here's some trivia from a retired TA motorman.....there are 4 types of trains that have never run on ANY of the eastern BMT lines.... and never will....the 4 different 75' car types....delivered between 1972-1992....the R44,R46,R68,R68A....these cars have slightly curved sides.....because of this....they cannot pass through the Williamsburg Bridge
That's so interesting. What do the curved sides do to prevent them through the bridge
@@MrScottzo they can scrape the bridge pillars....and each other...also the cars can't negotiate some of the tunnel curves....there used to be 67' cars with straight sides that ran through there....but they were scrapped in 1969
@@johnperry4572 thank you so much for the reply! That is so interesting! I am fascinated by the subways here for reasons I don't know yet haha. Thank you!
Looks like a scene from The Warriors 😁 "Can You Dig It?"
Warriors....come out and PLAY YAY
You warriors are good real good. The best!
Exactly whar I thought as he went down stairs, really looks like it.
I greatly admire the architecture and what it took to build these stations. I love the designs of the tile, and other details. They give the stations that New York vibe I love when they were designed and installed. What these stations need is revitalization and refreshment to reverse the decades of wear and tear. It's the lack of maintenance and not keeping up with the proper housekeeping which made these subway stations become in the state they are in.
Looking at more recent videos and pictures of this station all it was kneading was some maintenance work and a good cleaning
I Really Do totally agree,, I worked there at night for about 8 weeks before I retired I really do agree with you.
I got most of my sleep at work. 😅😅😅
What is scary is that there are abandoned NYC Subway stops that are in better shape than Chambers Street.
Your Narration is just great... ✌️👍
13:42 "Even if I was a rat, I don't think I'd want to stay around here."
I had to take a long hot shower with lots of soap after watching this, actionkid..:) NYC MTA could make money during Halloween before they renovate this station and call it "Chambers" of Horror, and sell tickets, transit workers dressed in costumes, and enter at your own risk. Enterprising idea.
For sure that will be the biggest deal in town
This station is absolutely beautiful. I fully appreciate the architecture. Yes it could use a touch up but it is not ugly at all.
denial
@@matthewminiatt8810 In denial of what?
It just needs to be cleaned and a renovation because...
No, it's a shithole that smells like piss.
That old tile work is beautiful. It's really nostalgic in a way. It's like a time capsule.
Finally a detailed video of this station! I have yet to get on the train here but I’ve passed by it on the train it’s horrible😭
Chamber's street station is a 102 year old subway station built 50 years before the first Beijing subway even began and is widely considered the ugliest of NYC's 472 subway stations. For comparison, Beijing only has 428 stations despite having over twice as many people. This station isn't really ugly IMO, the parts they chose to film are the worst parts and they are using a weird lens to make it look dimmer and greener. Some of the artwork is very intricate and beautiful.
Surely it doesnt smell like piss
@@Vocaloid_Enjoyer_Since_2017 Don't blame the infrastructure, blame the nasty two legged beasts that piss on it.
So you're justifying corrupt politics spending billions on this trash. Relative to any other subway system in the world the spending is mind boggling compared to what you get.
Most the stations look lame and ugly, i mean just look at thz moscow metro it's one of the most reliable and beautiful metro systems in the world and it costs so much less. It's also very old. Like having z station as bad as the one in the video is just ridiculous for a city that's supposed to be one of the most powerful
This is exactly what I want to see when visiting NYC subway stations.......it’s part of the fabric of what makes that city so great.
It just gives off that old NYC vibe and i love it
I like the way it looks because is the only station in nYc that has that old broken down vintage look, after this station the majority looks great or are being renovated.
To be honest, i like it when some places like subway stations are run down(especially old ones) because it gives the place character and an unbroken connection with it's history - for instance when it still has rusty 1914 fuse boxes mounted on the walls. He shouldn't be so OCD about cleanliness - rust and corrosion doesn't mean it's infested with rats(it's the littering that does that).
Jack Hawthorn Yes we should. Run down stations are NOT what NYC is about. This is the worlds greatest city, and we should be better than that.
To be honest, i like it when some places like subway stations are run down(especially old ones) because it gives the place character and an unbroken connection with it's history - for instance when it still has rusty 1914 fuse boxes mounted on the walls. Don't be so OCD about cleanliness - rust and corrosion doesn't mean it's infested with rats(it's the littering that does that).
Look at baker street station in London on the underground it is older than this and looks like it was built yesterday
This kind of mindset is the reason why the ny subway is still suffering greatly. The romanticization of such filth needs to die. New Yorkers deserve better than this.
Catching a trains in the US gives me goosbum feeling. US is comparable to India for sure.
Memories of the NYC subway make me glad these videos don't have Smellivision.
1:20.....actually that's an abandoned newsstand...
Thanks, I always thought it was a ticket office
Yes it does need a face lift ,new paint, new tiles, resurface platform, smarten up the stairs, look better than the white house
The Wikipedia of NYC is back at it again. Great video!
It makes the London Underground look as clean and sterile as an operating theater.
I find New York City a very interesting and foreboding place I am surprised this station is not totally closed off due to all the mold and mill due . Being a Fire Fighter most of my life I know what health risks this stuff poses.
No matter what they do to the subways they will always be a CRIME SCENE.
This was great! I cant wait to see when a video is posted of complete work!
Makes me grateful that the London Underground system spends money on our glorious system, even if we do complain that it interrupts our weekends, our stations are practically palaces in comparison to this
Its New York. Its not supposed to look pretty. Its supposed to look tough. What kind of New Yorker are you?
he seems like a transplant, real new yorkers love the filth
"You got rats on the west side
Bed bugs uptown
What a mess this town's in tatters I've been shattered
My brain's been battered, splattered all over Manhattan"
The station is a symptom of the city at large and the culture of no civic pride and empathy that is prevalent in older European cities except for those found in England. There is western culture and all it's cultural trappings and then there is the Anglo Capitalist system that is not concerned with the details and nuts and bolts that holds a society together. We can learn a lot from German, and Scandinavian countries. If this was Japan or Singapore there would be general outrage and someone would be brought up for caning.
@Xman Hunter thats not how New York got it's name. learn your history first
Agreed!! LOL
wow it's so nasty there's not even homeless
Those trains you call the newest model were made here in Sao Paulo. We have trains like that operating here in Sao Paulo too, in the CPTM system.
This station is much nicer than some of the Boston MBTA stations I used when I lived closer
Really 😐😐😐
Not true
@@bruhz_089 You went to all those same MBTA stations I used to go through 20 years ago too and didn’t think they were that bad???
@@richardbarry04553 no i wasn't even alive 20 years ago but it's cleaner now
@@bruhz_089 I was speaking about my experience which was years ago - I have no idea what the stations are like now
I really love the arrivals and departures, and just seeing the huge tunnel
I loved this station,, lots of memories,,thanks for the video
Awesome tour. Thank you!
Where does all the daily fare money go? Day after day, month after month, thousands of people. All that revenue more than enough for renovation.
Hi actionkid105. I loved your opening video intro, it was just like something out of the old "Untouchables" tv show....aka Elliott Ness! Thanks for your cool narration as always. You made the "Ugliest NYC Subway Station" pleasant. :)
It’s kinda beautiful in its own way. The aging gives it a certain beauty to it.
It's time for major renovation
yes they have been saying that since 1930s man. Its sad, i bet in 1910, the engineers and architects were so proud of their creation. They thought they were so early that even 100 years from now no one will catch up to the mighty NYC. Ah, i feel bad for them LOL
Never come to nyc
No, it's beautiful.
@@OneOogaBooga No, it's not.
@@kirbyarroyo2118 Yes, yes it is.
12:30.....That merger actually took place in June 1940.....what is now the New York City Transit Authority began in June 1953
Train door close so fast, haven 1 min door close already LOL😂😂
So, have doors open after everyone has either entered or exited and just wait in the station for 45+ seconds just waiting, huh? People complaing now about long trips and service delays, that's just a logisitic nightmare you're suggesting.....
surprised it doesnt just collapse with that city hall building ontop
I could see someone being chased by zombies.
Well, an crackhead zombie
New York has so much character
This shows how NYC was the best backdrop for Ghostbusters.
Ugh. Awful. I've seen several of your videos now and have been pleasantly surprised by the cleanliness. This is sad because I can see those tiles are quite lovely under all that grime. Wonder why it hasn't been kept up?
If you like old abandoned subway stations, take a look to Chamberí Ghost Station in Madrid. It's not that creepy but its cool.
Nobody has used "IRT", "BMT" or "IND" for at least 20 years. All subway lines are merely a letter or a number.
"many peoples wants to keep it as it is now" those people really lacks taste.. it doesn't look comfortable to stand there and especially for the smell. Ain't healthy that.
нда... в самом богатом городе мира самое дерьмовое (самое грязное) в мире метро. Вы б уже сбросились всем городом по 1 доллару (сколько в Нью-Йорке жителей, 8 с половиной миллионов? - представьте, с каждого жителя по 1 доллару - это будет восемь с половиной миллионов долларов - и почистили бы это метро ваше, хотя бы отмыли, я не говорю а ремонте). Куда смотрит чиновники города?
... in the richest city in the world, the shitiest (dirtiest) metro in the world. You would have already dumped the entire city for $ 1 (how many people in New York, 8 and a half million? - Imagine, for every inhabitant, $ 1 - it would be eight and a half million dollars - and you would clean this metro, at least wash I do not say repair). Where are the city officials looking?
An interesting video. Thanks. Those nice looking subway cars must have been put into service within minutes of your video, I could not see any graffiti.
Mexico’s City subway is cleaner and way better.
Yes. Way cleaner although more crowded and hot.
blackkey1976 hmm 🤔
I try to use the bathroom there at Chambers street , but that was a big big big mistake.... cockroaches everywhere and moisty hot, suddenly I didn't need to go to the bathroom
I was there today...looks like they're in process of renovations...yes, it's ugly but will be up to par over time...right? Thanks for your complete video.
They added a new walkway above the tracks to connect the platforms. Otherwise, little has changed, and little was cleaned.
ADA Compliant? That's the least of the problems of that station. It is dilapidated, ramshackle mess. If MTA had the dough, it would close the station completely for a year or two and totally rebuild it.
No disabled person should ever use the subway it's for able bodied people. there are a lot better options available options available for disabled people.
Thank you for your guided tour.
Even though that’s a cruddy looking subway station.
Never been to NYC
There are a lot of security cameras in that location.. They are watching you watch them...
Interesting as always...This is a subway station that I know well, this was my stop for home, after coming from Columbia University. If it were not for the bright lighting the rats would be visible on the platform. There are a lot of reasons this is neglected. Money, priorities, and politics. This equation never works for big cities.
@ActionKid
Great video and narration too! So many people that document the NYC subway don't give you any details about what you are looking at. I LOVE the original tiling with the Brooklyn Bridge section in it. The original designs were so elegant, and beautiful, you could tell that there was a lot of pride in workmanship back then, even though it was a public area. Modern society has lost touch with such things today. The world was a harsher place back in the early 1900s but in many ways a much better place for humans to live in.
Hi action kid David here a Scot living in London I love your vlog as usual I would like to walk through that station one day soon by the way I have slept in uglier places then that so thank you for sharing it David
They should make the station look like what did in the 40s
Zane Seegers They should make it look clean and state of the art.
Good thing they raised the fares. They’ll have this sewn up in no time. 😆😆
The center abandoned platform has been used in a few films...Fame,Conspiracy Theory....and the TV series The Equalizer
I'm getting new shoes after I go there
I'm so glad to live in the UK
Those ticket booths are really old vendors newstands
9:39 this is some silent hill shit right here.
"Death was in the air at Roscoe Street, I`d have to find Alex fast." MAX PAYNE reference 6:30
That was an awesome game!
It's beautiful for the Baron Harkonnen in Dune the movie.
Would not want to be there in a “lights out” scenario! 😳
Hey actionkid. Is it cold down there? And can you smoke in those areas? And you can bring your dog on the subway right? How do you know so much about all these subways? Have you been riding them since you were a young kid? Yes Im full of questions :) sorry
It’s actually quite comfortable down there. In hotter weather it heats up a little bit more but not by that much. According to MTA rules you can bring a dog on a subway if it fits in a carrier. Some people have taken this a little bit too seriously and put plastic bags over their large dogs 😂
tbh most of the subway stations look like this lol
The Chambers station is a "relic" ... 💝 thank you very much for this informative video 👌👍
It shows it's oldness at least
13:40 The comment that says it all! The narrator really nails it here!!! ("Even if I was a rat.....") Brilliant formulation!
Is it super hot down there? I remember when I visited London last year and I found the London Underground really hot. I find a lot of subways are like that. Toronto and Montreal both had the issue. I actually prefer above ground metros like Vancouver Skytrain, Calgary C-Train, or Notthingham's Trams. I find with underground subways the entrances are sometimes super far from platforms, forcing you to walk the equivalent of a few city blocks after you enter a station before you even get to a platform. With something like Calgary's C-Train, the tracks and station platforms are easily visible from street level and you can just walk up to them without walking through kilometres of tunnel. Just my preference based on experience!
This station isn’t really too hot. There are others in the system which are crazy hot though!
what an absolute embarrassment to the city...
when I'm used to Beauty, clean and well-maintained Moscou Rapid...
Russia is a great White European nation, while the USA which has been flooded with hordes of dark turd world invaders is degenerating fast since the 1970s. I'm in the USA, and it's entirely true.
@@watershed44 In general, Russia is a multinational country.
The forming people are Europioids: Russians, Finno-Ugric peoples, Balts, Belarusians, Ukrainians. As well as the peoples joined in the era of the expansion of the country: Tatars, Caucasians. There are many local nationalities in the north and in Siberia: Pomors, Buryats, Ivenks, Mongols, Chukchi.
Historically, these nations have lived in harmony.
But now in Russia there are many migrants from Central Asia, namely from the former republics of the USSR
@@gustavvandenburger4912 Except it is regional as far as race was concerned at least until recently. Must of the Rus were concentrated in the northern/western part of the country.
On movie us subway station look clean and modern.
I worked the station in my last weeks of my career at night I worked for city transit for 25 years, the station is a ghost station at night only 3 or 8 paid fairs. lots of homeless by my booth and lots of rats i , thank goodness there was air conditioning in my booth. 12- 8 tour with lots of over time , I put in alot of hours in my last year. 😮😢😅🎉
One night new years eve two gay guys were fighting over a cat by my booth, and they beat the fare. One of them stuck his tongue at me. I wanted to tear his head off , but it would have cost me my job.
Lol I used to get out of this station for work but I'm late all the time that i didn't notice how gross it looked!
It gives your mind a fright fest at night. And it is funky.
Thank you for your videos... Do you use a "Steady-Cam" type camera? Or do you just walk very smoothly?
I’m using a gimbal. It’s an mechanical stabilizer for my GoPro HERO7 Black camera
lmao i already knew what station it was before i even read the title and clicked the video. I used to take the J back to brooklyn from the banks everyday back in 06 and before. I hope they keep it like this.
This station is famous!
straight-up dungeon
8:31 Those tiles over there look pearly white, so I guess that adds a little something.
11:51 Does anybody else notice how the pillars up here are pearly white, yet the pillars down there are absolutely filthy? That just proves how corrupt the MTA Train Department truly is.
Wow those trains sound just like ctas 5000 series
The new Metro game looks dope
Looks cool, just like my car, 1974 El Camino, daily drive.
MTA is really backwards and wasteful, needs an audit. You might present this at a meeting.
They really need to provide bathrooms and recycle bins to prevent some of this mess.
the torque of that train at 4:55 omg
Be careful of lead and asbestos
The 2 center tracks at Chambers Street were terminal tracks.....first for rush hour RR service that ran from Chambers St. to 95th St Bay Ridge....later for M trains
John Perry The RR train came from the Montague Street Tunnel. The center tracks came from the Williamsburg Bridge and has been used to terminate service from there, such as the M during middays before its 2010 reroute and the J on weekends from 1994 to 2015, when service was extended to Broad Street.
It’s not nasty; it’s beautiful real.
They could hire one of the many power washer RUclipsrs to clean it up in like 1 day.
Nice place for a horror movie.
I thought NYC has cleaner station than my country, but after watch this i change my mind
15:12 - *Unsafe, unsafe, unsafe - and revealed.* - But the other columns: Unsafe, too, but not visible?
We should mention the Independent system which is the newest of the 3 systems. It was built by the city. Love your videos!
It must of been quite something at 3:30am on this station 😂