CONEY ISLAND is CON_Y ISLAND! March 11, 2010. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr
How many MTA employees does it take to change a light bulb? How many months or years does it take them to get the job done? Or did alphabet lights get slashed from the MTA’s budget?
Last night we took this photo of the entrance to the MTA’s Stillwell Terminal, the largest above-ground subway station in the world and the gateway to Coney Island. It would be a postcard perfect shot except for the fact that the “E” in CONEY ISLAND is burned out and has been burned out since last summer. We con you not: the photo below of CON_Y ISLAND was taken in July 2009.
When we phoned the MTA’s customer service line in June, the rep dutifully took down the info. But he just didn’t get it: “You can still read it,” he said of the burned out “E.” Personally we think it ruins an iconic photo op. We called up a friend who has a job at the MTA and asked him to pass the word along to the correct department. He wouldn’t and couldn’t. Told us it was against protocol.
Dear MTA Chairman Jay Walder, please send a crew over to fix the “E” and replace the other burned out bulbs asap before Coney Island’s opening day! That will be March 28th, just 16 days away. And while they’re here, get them to straighten out the “L” in ISLAND, which looks like somebody gave it a whack. Millions of visitors will arrive and depart via Stillwell Station this year. We want the new Coney Island to put her best face forward. Burned out lights say who the hell cares.
UPDATE March 17, 2010:
Yesterday we received a message that the “E” in CONEY had finally been fixed and was two-third’s lit! And the crooked “L” in ISLAND had been straightened out, too! Yay and hooray! We’re almost tempted to say the repair of the Stillwell Terminal’s signature sign after months of neglect presages the rebirth of Coney Island. See “Photo of the Day: The “E” is Relit in Coney Island Sign at Stillwell”
Welcome to Con-y island! All Aboard! Coney Island, NY. July 25, 2009. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr
Related posts on ATZ…
March 17, 2010: Photo of the Day: The “E” is Relit in Coney Island Sign at Stillwell
March 8, 2010: March 23: Rescuing Coney Island’s Shore Theater from 35 Years of Neglect
February 11, 2010:Photo of the Day: NYCEDC Signs Herald New Coney Island Amusement Park
January 26, 2010: Scoop: Zamperla’s $24M Coney Island Park to be Named Luna Park!
Maybe the subway sign has magic powers a la Grandma’s Fortune-Telling machine, and in response to events in Coney of the last few years is merely commenting on those events.
Various theories about the burned out “E” have emerged, but yours is one of the most imaginative! Perhaps we can ask Grandma for a prediction of when it will be fixed :-)
The MTAs customer service response is priceless!! It goes to show how much the transit authority cares about simple maintenance. Actually, I hope the guy was kidding but I doubt it! In the photo it appears that other lights on the tower are missing also. A really beautiful terminal and they can’t even manage to change light bulbs!? Maybe another fare hike and they can buy a couple of bulbs and mark it off as major overhaul.