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'Just a pure weird moment': Art project takes over Manhattan subway kiosk
By
Stephen Nessen
Published Aug 1, 2026
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Stephen Nessen/Gothamist
By
Stephen Nessen
Published Aug 1, 2026
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A whimsical sight awaited subway riders wandering the downtown B, D, F and M train platform at the West Fourth Street station on Saturday afternoon: a newly reopened newspaper kiosk with nothing for sale. Instead, there were free zines, a “train aura” photo booth and a very limited supply of lucky rat foot keychains.
“Just a pure weird moment,” said the man behind the project, Al Mullen, 37.
Mullen is the creator of Public Transport Magazine, the free guerilla subway zine that has featured writing from the New Yorker’s Jia Tolentino and comedian David Cross. Subway riders can sometimes find issues left on seats or wedged between the glass on subway train ads.
Mullen’s West Fourth Street takeover is part of the MTA’s Vacant Unit Activation Program, which allows artists to install projects in unused spaces throughout the subway system, like newspaper kiosks. Previous projects have included Rex’s Dino Store at Grand Army Plaza, which features a giant papier-mache dinosaur and is described by the MTA as “a childlike exploration of what it’s like to be a New Yorker — if you’re also a dinosaur.”
The West Fourth Street kiosk includes free copies of Mullen’s zines, and guides to several subway stations, although he only has six so far. Tolentino’s guide to Hoyt-Schermerhorn describes the station as an “essential worker” or a “grilled cheese and carrot juice.” Former “Saturday Night Live” writer Jack Handey penned the guide to 23rd Street. Mullen hopes to eventually stock the kiosk with guides to all 472 subway stations.
The kiosk includes free copies of creator Al Mullen’s zines, and guides to several subway stations, although he only has six so far.
Stephen Nessen/Gothamist
“ It's a nice little surprise in the midst of your day, which I think is just very classic New York,” said Veronika Orlovska, 23, who was stopping by the newsstand on her way home to Bed-Stuy. “I think so many of us are just on our phones and just going about our lives, that this is just a moment to pause and reflect and talk to people around you.”
Getting the space ready was grueling for Mullen. The heat on the platform was intense. And then there was the dust in the disused newsstand. “Collecting disgusting dust. Not even dust, collecting evil, hellish material,” he said.
The kiosk will be open from 1 p.m. until at least 4 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays for the next year. Mullen hopes to have different events each weekend, including puppet shows, stand-up comedy and live music.
The MTA’s Vacant Unit Activation program began in 2023 as a response to shrinking demand for retail leases in the subway system.
“As demand for retail space has evolved in recent years, these units have experienced vacancy because their size limitations, shape, or location, make them challenging for revenue-generating businesses to utilize them for traditional retail,” the MTA said in a statement. “The program is intended to encourage visually appealing and engaging uses to make stations more welcoming and whimsical spaces for riders.”
The MTA currently has four vacancies for kiosks in other stations, including the downtown platform at 23rd Street-Lexington Avenue, the Kew Gardens-Union Turnpike mezzanine, the Sterling Street mezzanine and multiple spots at 42nd Street-Port Authority Bus Terminal.
“ I've worked so many jobs where you do the same commute all the time, every day is the same, and it can be kind of crushing. I just want a way to sort of disrupt and make something strange and funny and silly and frivolous,” Mullen said. “I think if we could be entertaining for six minutes, it's a huge success.”
Tagged
manhattan
new york city
subway
transportation
Stephen Nessen
Stephen Nessen covers transportation. Since 2008 he has reported on everything from Occupy Wall Street, the rebuilding of the World Trade Center site, Hurricane Sandy, to Trump’s campaign for president. His transportation reporting has taken him everywhere from the MTA’s secret Rail Control Center to the gleaming subways of Seoul. Got a tip? Email [email protected].
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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