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Video: Explore The Abandoned Second Avenue Subway Tunnels
By
Garth Johnston
Published Feb 1, 2012
Modified Feb 1, 2012
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By
Garth Johnston
Published Feb 1, 2012
Modified Feb 1, 2012
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Beneath New York City lies a vast network of abandoned tunnels, caverns, nooks and crannies that the average joe will never see. But urban explorer Steve Duncan is not your average joe! As you'll see in their Undercity series, he and filmmaker Andrew Wonder really like getting dirty below grade. This week they explore a section of the Second Avenue Subway dug out beneath lower Manhattan and abandoned in the 1970s.
Ever since the Second Avenue Elevated Line was torn down, a subway on that strip has long been a dream for many New Yorkers—so much so that in the 1970s, a chunk of tunnel was even dug for the line, though ultimately abandoned for financial reasons. Sadly, those tunnels will not match up with the ones being dug now. And so the original tunnels sit, empty, nearby the proposed Low Line Park at the Delancey Street Trolley Terminal.
But empty doesn't mean inaccessible! The Undercity guys got their gear in there for a little walk down the six-blocks of unused tunnel, stopping to look at some of the graffiti that still adorns it (note the Jedi tag "Tunnel Crushing since 1991!") before finally exiting onto the Manhattan Bridge. Proving once again that you never know what's beneath your feet in this city!
For more on the unfinished tunnel (started in 1972 and abandoned in 1975) as well as the currently being dug line, start here and then move over here.
Tagged
myblocknyc
second avenue subway
steve duncan
undercity
urban spelunking
Garth Johnston
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