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Video: What It's Like Being Trapped In A Crowded Subway Elevator
By
John Del Signore
Published Apr 11, 2011
Modified Apr 11, 2011
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By
John Del Signore
Published Apr 11, 2011
Modified Apr 11, 2011
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On Friday night, 28 people were trapped inside an elevator at the 181st Street Station on the 1 line in Washington Heights. An MTA spokesman tells us there are no escalators, so the only way in or out is through one the station's four elevators. Well, around 8:35 p.m., 28 souls, including the MTA elevator operator, squeezed into one of the elevators. As this video posted on NYC the Blog shows, they didn't get out for quite some time. (Sadly, there were no rats to add to the drama.) Stay tuned for the 3:13 minute mark when—helllooo, do you come to this elevator often?
After about an hour, two FDNY feet comically poke through the top of the elevator, receiving a round of applause. A little girl who has to pee is having a panic attack, and she's the first one to leave with her mom. One by one, everyone climbs up a ladder into another elevator and freedom. An annoying way to start the weekend, to be sure, but considering this is the same station where the ceiling collapsed, maybe they got off easy?
Tagged
181st street subway
trapped elevator
Washington Heights
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.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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