East Side Access

On the subway train, travelling to my Music Under New York busking spot of the day, the guy I sat next to saw the sign on my busking cart (which advertises my CD and said: “You should sell t-shirts with that on”. Turns out he is a track safety worker for the MTA and he has seen me around. He told me that sometimes he works with Arts for Transit, doing movie shoots in the subway.
This morning he checked the quality of the steel used on subway tracks in Glendale.
He showed me the entrance of the subway tunnel called “East Side Access”, that will eventually connect LIC to 34th street in Manhattan. He told me of the new MTA Metro card which will work like a gas key – you don’t swipe it, you just hold it against a window. This card is supposed to enable a better free transfer between stations.

A high school girl and her mother came from Richmond, VA to interview NYC subway musicians for the girl’s graduation project. Unfortunately, when they came to where I was playing, they discovered that their video camera has been stolen. The footage of interviews the girl already did with some musicians – an oriental violinist in the subway and a drummer in Central Park – were on the stolen camera,.

Photographer: © Brian Roche

There was an accident on the #5 train. For a while express trains were diverted to the local line. At 1:45 ER people walked by me with a man in a wheel chair.