Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Subway's New "Help Point" Intercom System Debuts
By
John Del Signore
Published Apr 5, 2011
Modified Apr 5, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Gothamist
View all 3
By
John Del Signore
Published Apr 5, 2011
Modified Apr 5, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Help is on the way at two Manhattan subway stations along the Lexington Avenue line, where today the MTA unveiled the pilot program for the newly-designed Help Points, "an easily recognizable communications tool for subway customers who need to report an emergency or ask for assistance." As we explained back in September, these high-tech gizmos enable straphangers to actually communicate with responders at NYC Transit's Rail Control Center.
If the new call boxes prove successful, the MTA plans to install the Help Points in all of the
system’s 468 subway stations. Each one is equipped with a bright blue beacon light that will
pulse when the unit is in action, helping first responders locate an injured or sick customer at that location. Each Help Point is ADA compliant, and will be individually addressable, so personnel at the Rail Control Center can pinpoint exactly where in the station
the call originated. The digital audio also provides much clearer sound than is available from the customer assistance intercoms used in subways now, and each one comes with a red emergency button and a green information button, to route calls to either the Rail Control Center or the station agent.
The first Help Points were unveiled today at the 23rd Street and Brooklyn Bridge Stations on the Lexington Avenue line. MTA Chairman Jay Walder and New York City Transit Department of Subways Senior Vice President Carmen Bianco were on hand to christen the points, and in a statement, Walder said, "This is just another step in our efforts to bring
new technology to customers in ways that make using the transit system better every
day."
Tagged
help points
intercoms
MTA
nyc transit
subway
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Deer are all over New Jersey roads looking for sex, state officials warn
Mid-October through mid-December is deer mating season, which can be a danger to drivers as the sex-seeking creatures cross roadways throughout the Garden State.
By
Rosemary Misdary
Published Oct 16, 2026 at 4:22 p.m. ET
Man messaged 'I got straight poison' before giving NYC college students fentanyl, feds say
A transcript from an April court hearing sheds new light on what transpired at Fashion Institute of Technology.
By
Samantha Max
News
Man messaged 'I got straight poison' before giving NYC college students fentanyl, feds say
A transcript from an April court hearing sheds new light on what transpired at Fashion Institute of Technology.
By
Samantha Max
Inside the plan to fix the nearly collapsed Pfizer Building, 1/64th of an inch at a time
By
David Brand
School bus carrying autistic students got lost in Brooklyn for 4 hours last year
By
Jessica Gould
NYC’s bridges can last 'forever,' if we take care of them
By
Clayton Guse
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .