8 ms·

Inside An Illegal Party In An Abandoned Subway Station Deep Under NYC

252 points by vxNsr 13y ago

afarrell 13y ago
Interesting how all of these folks are cool with someone taking photos of them and posting them to the internet, particularly since the site states that the party is illegal.
- vxNsr 13y ago
  And the organizers stated clearly that photography is expressly forbidden. EDIT: ha, I missed that part, my eyes must of just skipped over it, figuring it to be more about not taking pictures. I just like the idea of exploring the "old" abandoned places that are literally beneath our feet.
  - ctdonath 13y ago
    The organizers stated clearly "There will be professional photographers whose images will be available afterward."
    - lostlogin 13y ago
      I must need coffee. Just spent an inordinate amount of time wondering why anyone would want an image of the photographer.
      - jakejake 13y ago
        That's an SNL skit waiting to happen. "Hey, why did our wedding photographer send us a bunch of pictures of himself?!"
- jrockway 13y ago
  It's very unlikely that the state wants to pursue a trespassing charge based on a poorly-lit photograph. "Do you have any physical evidence that this is my client?" "No." "I rest my case."
  - RockyMcNuts 13y ago
    well, they might want to put a stop to it before there's a fire or stampede in a tight space with no exits. these folks seem pretty well organized but they're also locking people in. if there's an incident, guaranteed the city gets sued for big bucks if it it's on their property.
    - jrockway 13y ago
      I doubt the city would be sued for this.
      - jakejake 13y ago
        Why would you doubt that? Imagine some hot shot lawyer's 19 year old daughter falls and breaks her neck. They would go after the city for not cementing the place shut and probably win - or at least get a deal. The sickening part is that the city does the math and sometimes its just cheaper to pay the person to go away.
      - RockyMcNuts 13y ago
        young padawan, much to learn, you have, about the ways of the dark side. when you look at the dark side, careful you must be. For the dark side looks back. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/22/lawsuits-cost-new-york-ci_n_932962.html http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/22/lawsuits-cost-new-y...
        jrockway 13y ago
        Those sound pretty reasonable to me -- if you get hit by a car, you should sue the driver, even if the driver is the NYPD. That's a far cry from going down into the second avenue subway and suing the city for slipping and falling. (Remember, being an invitee is different from being a trespassee. If you hurt yourself in a normal subway station, that's one thing. But if you open a manhole and crawl down into an abandoned station, that's another thing.)
        13y ago
- anigbrowl 13y ago
  It's not illegal to attend an unpermitted party, only to organize one. (Edit: that I know about...I'm too lazy to research NY law on unlawful assembly, and this isn't meant to be legal advice.) And an assertion on a blog doesn't rise to the standard of evidence. As someone with a lot of experience in this area, authorities are in general not so much concerned with administrative propriety as with safety and respect for others (ie noise complaints).
- delinka 13y ago
  This is one of those things that requires the letter of the law behind any enforcement. You can admit to any crime you'd like, but absent evidence that there was indeed a crime, law enforcement can't exactly put you away for years. Unless law enforcement found these people breaking the law, or "knew" that they did and found evidence of such, there's no recourse. Photos of people at an "illegal" gathering? Maybe the organizers indeed had a permit for whatever space they were in; maybe it was all staged inside a warehouse that they owned; maybe the whole story was concocted by the author. Ultimately, unless they get caught or leave obvious evidence of exactly what took place in which location involving which people ... there's nothing to prosecute. Edit: All that said, I'd hate to see the consequences of someone being seriously injured during one of these events. I'm hoping the "Agents" can get the person safely to the surface and that the injured party will remain mum on the details.
contacternst 13y ago
In the comments section, the author explains that he shut down comments by others due to them exposing the location of the event. The responsible thing to do would be to take the blog post down. I'd be very surprised if he got an invite to the next event at this rate...
- zeckalpha 13y ago
  The photographers were professional hired photographers for the event. The author was asked to cover the event.
  - contacternst 13y ago
    The point is that this "professional" photographer doesn't seem to be acting as professional as this kind of event calls for.
- dedward 13y ago
  Did I read wrong, or was he not invited to cover the event?
- vxNsr 13y ago
  I think it was less about getting caught and more about keeping the place secret so it doesn't get trashed and so that he can keep doing events like this in the future.
  - devb 13y ago
    As soon as they publicized the event, they guaranteed that it would be locked down from this point forward. If you can't tell by the graffiti, many people have been there before them and kept it to themselves, but nobody else will in the future.
jrockway 13y ago
So where was this? The author claims it's in DUMBO, but I don't know of any abandoned subway stations there.
- ganeumann 13y ago
  One guess--if it was in Brooklyn and was a station with no tracks laid down (so never actually used as a station)--is that it was part of the IND second line. Maybe the South 4th Street and Broadway station? This line was started just before the 1929 crash and never completed. See http://www.columbia.edu/~brennan/abandoned/indsecsys.html http://www.columbia.edu/~brennan/abandoned/indsecsys.html, there's a hand-drawn map down at the bottom.
- mbrameld 13y ago
  The author said they started at a DUMBO station. Then they walked for half an hour. The author doesn't reveal the location for obvious reasons.
- gaadd33 13y ago
  Chinatown area, the article says they walked for a bit from DUMBO which would make sense to cross the bridge. http://secondavenuesagas.com/2013/06/25/abandoned-sas-segment-party-prompts-nypd-inquiry/ http://secondavenuesagas.com/2013/06/25/abandoned-sas-segmen...
- devb 13y ago
  Chinatown. The stretch of tunnel goes from near Cyrystie Street, under the Manhattan Bridge approach plaza, towards Confucius Tower.
zkirill 13y ago
What are some potential reasons for a subway station to become abandoned? It looks like the construction had advanced quite far before it was halted.
- gaadd33 13y ago
  In this case it was part of one attempt at the Second Avenue subway. I think it was built in the 70s, then the city ran out of money and construction was halted. I believe the new Second Ave subway will not be using the same route in this part of Manhattan (or will be at a different depth) so they will not be using these tunnels/stations.
- RockyMcNuts 13y ago
  Here's one - got reused as a museum. honestly just seems like poor planning, they ended up not having so many local trains they needed a separate terminus. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_Transit_Museum#Station_history http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_Transit_Museum#Station... sometimes when the system gets extended, sections become redundant. when they built the new South Ferry station they abandoned the old one. then when the new station got destroyed by Sandy they went back to the old one, which is so small everyone has to exit through the first 5 cars. http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/south-ferry-subway-station-reopens-public-sandy-damage-article-1.1307488 http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/south-ferry-subway-stati...
jliechti1 13y ago
This reminds of the secret night club in an abandoned water tower (also in NYC) from last month, albeit larger in scale. article: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/23/nyregion/illicit-nightclub-in-a-chelsea-water-tower.html http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/23/nyregion/illicit-nightclub... photos: http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2013/05/22/nyregion/20130522_SPEAKEASY.html?ref=nyregion#1 http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2013/05/22/nyregion/2013052...
tn13 13y ago
Why was the party illegal ?
- anigbrowl 13y ago
  you're supposed to get a permit for events over 50 people, and you're supposed to have separate permits to the publicly-owned venue, there are supposed to be bathrooms, proper fire escapes, yadda yadda. And in fairness, these requirements exist for good reasons, because for every artsy type that runs such an event in a reasonable responsible fashion, there's a greedy promoter that will do the same sort of thing for purely mercenary purposes and who is willing to sacrifice the safety of the guests on the altar of profit.
  - Gormo 13y ago
    > you're supposed to get a permit for events over 50 people That sounds unconstitutional.
    - foobarbazqux 13y ago
      In the UK you cannot have unpermitted gatherings on your own property where the music being played "includes sounds wholly or predominantly characterised by the emission of a succession of repetitive beats."
      - graue 13y ago
        I wonder if that law was part of the inspiration for breakcore? You'd be safe if the beats aren't actually repeating...
        foobarbazqux 13y ago
        It's not breakcore, but Autechre's Anti EP was released in protest. http://www.discogs.com/Autechre-Anti-EP/release/157 http://www.discogs.com/Autechre-Anti-EP/release/157 I like the way they also printed some of the sticker notes on the actual labels. You can see this if you click on the teal sleeve image at the top left.
foobarbazqux 13y ago
That looks like a fun party. It makes me happy that this kind of thing happens. There's something really exciting about dancing in abandoned spaces. It's as if they've been returned to nature, and the party goers belong to a primitive tribe involved in some ancient ritual. I know that sounds cheesy but I don't know how else to describe the experience. For contrast, I believe that the same event organized in cooperation with the city in a functioning subway station wouldn't be nearly as fun. Perhaps it's the feeling of peaceful anarchy that's most important. Many parties that take place in abandoned warehouses have a similar vibe - most western nations have cracked down on them on the basis of unregulated drug and alcohol use - although this location is really quite dramatic and I bet the musicians were amazing. I wish there was an mp3.
apawloski 13y ago
"I walked away without looking back, feeling like we'd just gotten away with an elaborate bank robbery." I used to run treasure hunts, along with a friend of mine, where teams of four would solve puzzles and clues that would take them through a series of locations similar to the one in the article [1]. This is a really good way to describe the feeling -- I've always described it as "playing secret agent." Incidentally though, we were always terrified to bring even small groups of people into these various abandoned buildings. I still have nightmares about it. Having a party -- with that many people and that much noise -- is absolutely insane. [1] Some examples I dug up: http://imgur.com/a/WVw4Q http://imgur.com/a/WVw4Q
- nostromo 13y ago
  Tangent: There's a guy that's been climbing public spaces lately, including the Golden Gate Bridge and the Space Needle. The photos are absolutely stunning. http://www.nopromiseofsafety.com/?p=1680 http://www.nopromiseofsafety.com/?p=1680 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2336093/Mysterious-urban-explorer-jaw-dropping-pictures-prove-feats-comes-forward.html http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2336093/Mysterious-u...
  - iharris 13y ago
    Related: There's a fellow named Bradley Garrett who did his PhD dissertation on "Place Hacking". GQ has an awesome article of the crazy places he has explored and his run-ins with law enforcement when "hacking" certain restricted locations. http://www.gq.com/news-politics/newsmakers/201303/urban-explorers-gq-march-2013 http://www.gq.com/news-politics/newsmakers/201303/urban-expl...
    - andyjohnson0 13y ago
      Abstract of Place Hacking: Tales of Urban Exploration, doctoral thesis by Bradley Garrett [1]. Includes download link (slow) for the full document. [1] http://pure.rhul.ac.uk/portal/en/publications/place-hacking-tales-of-urban-exploration(f797c2ec-0c78-4a48-a741-ee6015effab6).html http://pure.rhul.ac.uk/portal/en/publications/place-hacking-...
gailees 13y ago
It makes me so happy that this type of thing actually happens in the world.
mehmehshoe 13y ago
When I was a youngin, we took to the woods outside of town with generators, kegs and a couple of live bands. It certainly wasn't as hip as this party but when you get sick of getting busted in the city, you get creative. We hung lights in the trees and constructed stages for the bands. Now I am 40... You kids need to get off my lawn!
- pavel_lishin 13y ago
  I had this exact same thought the other day, walking past groups of people sitting on the stoop, playing music out of their cars. It looked exactly like a field party, except it was in Manhattan.
ics 13y ago
For those curious, the newsletter this was announced on is Nonsense NYC (http://www.nonsensenyc.com/ http://www.nonsensenyc.com/). I've been unsubscribed for the last year or two, but in years prior there have been many very interesting items every single week. Everything from knitting to robots (battlebots!) to things like this and more.
ChrisNorstrom 13y ago
It's sad that this is illegal. They're not doing anything wrong and it's their tax payer dollars that built those tunnels anyway. The depths of New York belong to the people. "But it's not safe". What is? In the USA 40,000 die each year from car accidents, 700+ children from drowning, 1 million+ from cancer and heart disease. If going down there wasn't illegal they'd be able to have lighting, security, and other safety measures to make it even more safe. (btw, this is totally the type of place that Stefon would suggest on SNL)
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
  - ChrisNorstrom 13y ago
    People fall into oncoming traffic everyday. Does that mean we need to build fences around every road? When will the babysitting end? At what point? Each human being is responsible for the risk they're willing to take. From driving to plastic surgery to crossing the street. This is no more risky than the deadly side effects of most of today's pharmaceutical concoctions.
    - dubfan 13y ago
      This is actually a pretty well-covered aspect of liability law. Each party has to take reasonable care to mitigate risk. It's not the kind of problem that you are making it out to be, and there's a huge body of case law establishing what is reasonable and what isn't.
- jakejake 13y ago
  If the city could make a buck off of it they'd have no problem. Problem being that once it's officially ok'd by the city - the city becomes liable for everything. Hell if anything happened to one of the partiers the city might be sued anyway for not sealing the place up.
- dubfan 13y ago
  It all comes down to who has liability when some drunk kid gets injured or killed in there. When it's illegal and difficult to access, the government has no reasonable expectation to keep it safe, and has no liability.
jborden13 13y ago
Reminds me of the parties thrown in the catacombs under Paris. Always wanted to do it. http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/02/world/europe/wus-france-catacombs-explorer http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/02/world/europe/wus-france-cataco...
saalweachter 13y ago
> "How do I get out?" she nervously asked. I followed her back up to the hatch, where some Agents did their best to calm her down, but firmly reminded her that no one would be allowed to leave until the end. She seemed a little upset, but I saw her later and it seemed that she'd happily embraced the Stockholm syndrome. I don't mind the trespassing so much, but activities without safe words aren't cool.
- Alex3917 13y ago
  "I don't mind the trespassing so much, but activities without safe words aren't cool." Consent goes both ways; if you're told beforehand that you're not going to be allowed to leave, then it's selfish to put everyone else at an increased legal risk that they didn't sign up for. "Buy the ticket, take the ride."
- bigiain 13y ago
  Ummmm, maybe. What's the "safe word" for an long (think international) flight? What's the safe word for a deep-enough-to-require-decompression scuba dive? What's the safe word for a roller coaster? A parachute jump? There are lots of things which, once embarked upon don't have any "easy" ways out apart from seeing them through to the end. From TFA "To remind you, this is an event with some legal and physical risks. If you are uncomfortable with these risks you should not attend. Really. Once the event begins you cannot leave for two hours." They made it clear enough - in my opinion. If you're the sort of person who needs a safe word for all your activities, you shouldn't attend that sort of event (or do any of many things which are hard or impossible to "back out of" once started).
  - saalweachter 13y ago
    Fair point; there are some activities that it is simple not feasible to terminate at a moment's notice. But this wasn't one of them: standing between the woman and the end of a claustrophobia-induced panic attack wasn't the laws of nature but two goons scared of the legal consequences of their actions. Helluva difference. And remember, even if the woman knew in advance she was at least somewhat claustrophobic, the exact nature of the physical and legal risks were unknown: maybe the woman would have been fine if they had been climbing up ladders onto an abandoned rooftop instead of down ladders into an abandoned subway.
ChuckMcM 13y ago
Somebody has been reading "Pirate Cinema" (or perhaps Cory was just retelling this story in a fictional setting). I tried for a while to generate interest in a 'no code' sort of limited liability contract which was literally signed with a drop of blood which said "No one is liable for anything that happens to me at this event" that was enforceable in court. Building collapses and 500 die? Oh well. Someone goes ape shit on acid and shoots people, tough. You slipped on some vomit and broke two vertebrae and now cant walk, sucks to be you dude. The interesting bit for me has always been the contrast between people demanding that they should be allowed to throw parties like this, but then are unwilling to make themselves and no one else solely responsible for what happens. Of all the things Cory did explore in his excellent book (mostly a screed on big content types) I wish he had tackled that one too.
- bigiain 13y ago
  The Burningman ticket has for as long as I remember (at least as far back as '98) had words similar to "I voluntarily assume the risk of serious injury or death by attending this event". (We had tshirts made with the exact ticket wording in '01 or '02...)
  - gaius 13y ago
    Right, but that is just hipster douchebags thinking it would be "edgy" to say that. One sniff of actual danger and they'll have Daddy come pick them up, or buy their way out with his credit card.
    - aeontech 13y ago
      There are certainly art installations every year that can maim or kill if you do something stupid. For that matter if you're stupid and wander off into the dust storm without water, you can easily get heat stroke. That doesn't mean going to burning man is "edgy and dangerous", it just means that's what you have to put on a ticket if you are organizing an event in litigation-happy USA.
      - 13y ago
littletables 13y ago
Yay, it's the Extra Action Marching Band - the dancers, drummers and horn players in the photos! (They evolved out of Crash Worship.)
- bigiain 13y ago
  Heh - I've got a picture somewhere of a friend of mine playing trumpet with Extra Action Marching Band with David Byrne. (And some insane stories about the Extreme Elvis tour of Vegas where they played the entire first Back Sabbath album).
- 100k 13y ago
  Extra Action invaded RailsConf 2007 in Portland, leading to one of the most memorable shows I've ever been to. My friend says the Rails community bifurcated at that moment, split between those who thought it was awesome, and those who thought it was disruptive and unprofessional.
untog 13y ago
In case any New Yorkers are wondering, the party was held between Pell and Canal St, in a section of the subway that was created for the Second Ave Subway in the 70s, but will not be used in the one being built now (so, will likely never be used). And this is not confidential information: http://secondavenuesagas.com/2013/06/25/abandoned-sas-segment-party-prompts-nypd-inquiry/ http://secondavenuesagas.com/2013/06/25/abandoned-sas-segmen...
- daegloe 13y ago
  If you remain on the downtown 6 train after the last stop (Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall), you get a glimpse of the abandoned City Hall station [1] as the train turns around. This was one of the very first NYC subway stations to open in 1904! It's a beautiful piece of history. [2] [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_Hall_(IRT_Lexington_Avenue_Line) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_Hall_(IRT_Lexington_Avenue... [2] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWF3IDk9Gek http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWF3IDk9Gek
laumars 13y ago
This reminds me of some of the squat parties[1] that would happen in the UK (and particularly around London) in the 80s and 90s. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_party#Squat_Party http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_party#Squat_Party
- versk 13y ago
  Still happening, except they wouldn't last 2 hours like OP's story. I took an american colleague to a rave (in dublin) about a year ago and he was freaking out at the fact that you had to meet someone somewhere then get passed off to a few more people before you got there. "Its like the movies man!" Then we raved until 9 in the morning to some deep techno. There were no official photographers. I honestly thought NY would have a majorly active underground party scene.
  - rdouble 13y ago
    NYC had a good scene through the 90s but gentrification and a bunch of legislation in the mid 2000s killed it.
  - nicholassmith 13y ago
    I went to a warehouse rave in Manchester (because, well, par for the course), it involved calling a telephone helpline to get instructions, meeting someone who knew someone, then finally getting there. I agree, I thought NY still had a big party scene even if it wasn't necessarily built around dance music.
  - laumars 13y ago
    > Still happening Not as much though. The police basically killed it completely come the beginning of the 00s. (though there's a chance that I'm now just completely out of the loop so oblivious to it all)
    - scrumper 13y ago
      Ah yes, the Criminal Justice Act. I think the law even has provisions about "repetitive beats." I seem to remember vaguely a techno track at the time that sampled some politician (Michael Howard, I think, the Home Secretary) reading that part of the bill. Memory is obviously a bit hazy. There are still raves in fields, but nothing like to the extent there used to be.
abalone 13y ago
Extra Action "crashed" a wedding I was at once. Everybody ended up in the pool (there was a pool). It was awesome. They had to drain the pool the next day. This one's a little too contrived and self-congratulatory for my tastes, though.
Wintamute 13y ago
A few too many brass instruments and costumed performers to be totally compatible with my idea of an illegal rave, but the venue looks fun!
- lmm 13y ago
  An illegal rave, like anything else, needs a lot of planning and organization to make it any good. The reality is that most things like this are set up by rich people with artistic pretensions (and often parents with connections in city hall), because they're the ones who can afford to take the risk. If you go to one that wasn't set up by rich people you get a much more low-key affair; if it's not marketed well enough it can easily degenerate into a handful of people drinking in the dark in an empty building. Which is fun in its own way (but wouldn't lend itself to bloggable photos).
  - benjaminlhaas 13y ago
    I know some of the people involved in this affair, and I can assure you that they are far from rich or connected. The fact is, NYC has a vibrant, organized, motivated underground arts culture and community.
svantana 13y ago
I have attended events like this a few times in the Stockholm area, and although quality varies, I generally love it. I wish there was an easier way to organize and invite people to these types of events - maybe a kickstarter-like website? The tricky part is keeping authorities oblivious...

252 points by vxNsr 13y ago

Interesting how all of these folks are cool with someone taking photos of them and posting them to the internet, particularly since the site states that the party is illegal.

vxNsr 13y ago
And the organizers stated clearly that photography is expressly forbidden. EDIT: ha, I missed that part, my eyes must of just skipped over it, figuring it to be more about not taking pictures. I just like the idea of exploring the "old" abandoned places that are literally beneath our feet.
- ctdonath 13y ago
  The organizers stated clearly "There will be professional photographers whose images will be available afterward."
  - lostlogin 13y ago
    I must need coffee. Just spent an inordinate amount of time wondering why anyone would want an image of the photographer.
    - jakejake 13y ago
      That's an SNL skit waiting to happen. "Hey, why did our wedding photographer send us a bunch of pictures of himself?!"
jrockway 13y ago
It's very unlikely that the state wants to pursue a trespassing charge based on a poorly-lit photograph. "Do you have any physical evidence that this is my client?" "No." "I rest my case."
- RockyMcNuts 13y ago
  well, they might want to put a stop to it before there's a fire or stampede in a tight space with no exits. these folks seem pretty well organized but they're also locking people in. if there's an incident, guaranteed the city gets sued for big bucks if it it's on their property.
  - jrockway 13y ago
    I doubt the city would be sued for this.
    - jakejake 13y ago
      Why would you doubt that? Imagine some hot shot lawyer's 19 year old daughter falls and breaks her neck. They would go after the city for not cementing the place shut and probably win - or at least get a deal. The sickening part is that the city does the math and sometimes its just cheaper to pay the person to go away.
    - RockyMcNuts 13y ago
      young padawan, much to learn, you have, about the ways of the dark side. when you look at the dark side, careful you must be. For the dark side looks back. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/22/lawsuits-cost-new-york-ci_n_932962.html http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/22/lawsuits-cost-new-y...
      - jrockway 13y ago
        Those sound pretty reasonable to me -- if you get hit by a car, you should sue the driver, even if the driver is the NYPD. That's a far cry from going down into the second avenue subway and suing the city for slipping and falling. (Remember, being an invitee is different from being a trespassee. If you hurt yourself in a normal subway station, that's one thing. But if you open a manhole and crawl down into an abandoned station, that's another thing.)
        13y ago
anigbrowl 13y ago
It's not illegal to attend an unpermitted party, only to organize one. (Edit: that I know about...I'm too lazy to research NY law on unlawful assembly, and this isn't meant to be legal advice.) And an assertion on a blog doesn't rise to the standard of evidence. As someone with a lot of experience in this area, authorities are in general not so much concerned with administrative propriety as with safety and respect for others (ie noise complaints).
delinka 13y ago
This is one of those things that requires the letter of the law behind any enforcement. You can admit to any crime you'd like, but absent evidence that there was indeed a crime, law enforcement can't exactly put you away for years. Unless law enforcement found these people breaking the law, or "knew" that they did and found evidence of such, there's no recourse. Photos of people at an "illegal" gathering? Maybe the organizers indeed had a permit for whatever space they were in; maybe it was all staged inside a warehouse that they owned; maybe the whole story was concocted by the author. Ultimately, unless they get caught or leave obvious evidence of exactly what took place in which location involving which people ... there's nothing to prosecute. Edit: All that said, I'd hate to see the consequences of someone being seriously injured during one of these events. I'm hoping the "Agents" can get the person safely to the surface and that the injured party will remain mum on the details.

contacternst 13y ago

In the comments section, the author explains that he shut down comments by others due to them exposing the location of the event. The responsible thing to do would be to take the blog post down. I'd be very surprised if he got an invite to the next event at this rate...

zeckalpha 13y ago
The photographers were professional hired photographers for the event. The author was asked to cover the event.
- contacternst 13y ago
  The point is that this "professional" photographer doesn't seem to be acting as professional as this kind of event calls for.
dedward 13y ago
Did I read wrong, or was he not invited to cover the event?
vxNsr 13y ago
I think it was less about getting caught and more about keeping the place secret so it doesn't get trashed and so that he can keep doing events like this in the future.
- devb 13y ago
  As soon as they publicized the event, they guaranteed that it would be locked down from this point forward. If you can't tell by the graffiti, many people have been there before them and kept it to themselves, but nobody else will in the future.

jrockway 13y ago

So where was this? The author claims it's in DUMBO, but I don't know of any abandoned subway stations there.

ganeumann 13y ago
One guess--if it was in Brooklyn and was a station with no tracks laid down (so never actually used as a station)--is that it was part of the IND second line. Maybe the South 4th Street and Broadway station? This line was started just before the 1929 crash and never completed. See http://www.columbia.edu/~brennan/abandoned/indsecsys.html http://www.columbia.edu/~brennan/abandoned/indsecsys.html, there's a hand-drawn map down at the bottom.
mbrameld 13y ago
The author said they started at a DUMBO station. Then they walked for half an hour. The author doesn't reveal the location for obvious reasons.
gaadd33 13y ago
Chinatown area, the article says they walked for a bit from DUMBO which would make sense to cross the bridge. http://secondavenuesagas.com/2013/06/25/abandoned-sas-segment-party-prompts-nypd-inquiry/ http://secondavenuesagas.com/2013/06/25/abandoned-sas-segmen...
devb 13y ago
Chinatown. The stretch of tunnel goes from near Cyrystie Street, under the Manhattan Bridge approach plaza, towards Confucius Tower.

zkirill 13y ago

What are some potential reasons for a subway station to become abandoned? It looks like the construction had advanced quite far before it was halted.

gaadd33 13y ago
In this case it was part of one attempt at the Second Avenue subway. I think it was built in the 70s, then the city ran out of money and construction was halted. I believe the new Second Ave subway will not be using the same route in this part of Manhattan (or will be at a different depth) so they will not be using these tunnels/stations.
RockyMcNuts 13y ago
Here's one - got reused as a museum. honestly just seems like poor planning, they ended up not having so many local trains they needed a separate terminus. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_Transit_Museum#Station_history http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_Transit_Museum#Station... sometimes when the system gets extended, sections become redundant. when they built the new South Ferry station they abandoned the old one. then when the new station got destroyed by Sandy they went back to the old one, which is so small everyone has to exit through the first 5 cars. http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/south-ferry-subway-station-reopens-public-sandy-damage-article-1.1307488 http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/south-ferry-subway-stati...

jliechti1 13y ago

This reminds of the secret night club in an abandoned water tower (also in NYC) from last month, albeit larger in scale. article: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/23/nyregion/illicit-nightclub-in-a-chelsea-water-tower.html http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/23/nyregion/illicit-nightclub... photos: http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2013/05/22/nyregion/20130522_SPEAKEASY.html?ref=nyregion#1 http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2013/05/22/nyregion/2013052...

tn13 13y ago

Why was the party illegal ?

anigbrowl 13y ago
you're supposed to get a permit for events over 50 people, and you're supposed to have separate permits to the publicly-owned venue, there are supposed to be bathrooms, proper fire escapes, yadda yadda. And in fairness, these requirements exist for good reasons, because for every artsy type that runs such an event in a reasonable responsible fashion, there's a greedy promoter that will do the same sort of thing for purely mercenary purposes and who is willing to sacrifice the safety of the guests on the altar of profit.
- Gormo 13y ago
  > you're supposed to get a permit for events over 50 people That sounds unconstitutional.
  - foobarbazqux 13y ago
    In the UK you cannot have unpermitted gatherings on your own property where the music being played "includes sounds wholly or predominantly characterised by the emission of a succession of repetitive beats."
    - graue 13y ago
      I wonder if that law was part of the inspiration for breakcore? You'd be safe if the beats aren't actually repeating...
      - foobarbazqux 13y ago
        It's not breakcore, but Autechre's Anti EP was released in protest. http://www.discogs.com/Autechre-Anti-EP/release/157 http://www.discogs.com/Autechre-Anti-EP/release/157 I like the way they also printed some of the sticker notes on the actual labels. You can see this if you click on the teal sleeve image at the top left.

foobarbazqux 13y ago

That looks like a fun party. It makes me happy that this kind of thing happens. There's something really exciting about dancing in abandoned spaces. It's as if they've been returned to nature, and the party goers belong to a primitive tribe involved in some ancient ritual. I know that sounds cheesy but I don't know how else to describe the experience. For contrast, I believe that the same event organized in cooperation with the city in a functioning subway station wouldn't be nearly as fun. Perhaps it's the feeling of peaceful anarchy that's most important. Many parties that take place in abandoned warehouses have a similar vibe - most western nations have cracked down on them on the basis of unregulated drug and alcohol use - although this location is really quite dramatic and I bet the musicians were amazing. I wish there was an mp3.

apawloski 13y ago

"I walked away without looking back, feeling like we'd just gotten away with an elaborate bank robbery." I used to run treasure hunts, along with a friend of mine, where teams of four would solve puzzles and clues that would take them through a series of locations similar to the one in the article [1]. This is a really good way to describe the feeling -- I've always described it as "playing secret agent." Incidentally though, we were always terrified to bring even small groups of people into these various abandoned buildings. I still have nightmares about it. Having a party -- with that many people and that much noise -- is absolutely insane. [1] Some examples I dug up: http://imgur.com/a/WVw4Q http://imgur.com/a/WVw4Q

nostromo 13y ago
Tangent: There's a guy that's been climbing public spaces lately, including the Golden Gate Bridge and the Space Needle. The photos are absolutely stunning. http://www.nopromiseofsafety.com/?p=1680 http://www.nopromiseofsafety.com/?p=1680 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2336093/Mysterious-urban-explorer-jaw-dropping-pictures-prove-feats-comes-forward.html http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2336093/Mysterious-u...
- iharris 13y ago
  Related: There's a fellow named Bradley Garrett who did his PhD dissertation on "Place Hacking". GQ has an awesome article of the crazy places he has explored and his run-ins with law enforcement when "hacking" certain restricted locations. http://www.gq.com/news-politics/newsmakers/201303/urban-explorers-gq-march-2013 http://www.gq.com/news-politics/newsmakers/201303/urban-expl...
  - andyjohnson0 13y ago
    Abstract of Place Hacking: Tales of Urban Exploration, doctoral thesis by Bradley Garrett [1]. Includes download link (slow) for the full document. [1] http://pure.rhul.ac.uk/portal/en/publications/place-hacking-tales-of-urban-exploration(f797c2ec-0c78-4a48-a741-ee6015effab6).html http://pure.rhul.ac.uk/portal/en/publications/place-hacking-...

gailees 13y ago

It makes me so happy that this type of thing actually happens in the world.

mehmehshoe 13y ago

When I was a youngin, we took to the woods outside of town with generators, kegs and a couple of live bands. It certainly wasn't as hip as this party but when you get sick of getting busted in the city, you get creative. We hung lights in the trees and constructed stages for the bands. Now I am 40... You kids need to get off my lawn!

pavel_lishin 13y ago
I had this exact same thought the other day, walking past groups of people sitting on the stoop, playing music out of their cars. It looked exactly like a field party, except it was in Manhattan.

ics 13y ago

For those curious, the newsletter this was announced on is Nonsense NYC (http://www.nonsensenyc.com/ http://www.nonsensenyc.com/). I've been unsubscribed for the last year or two, but in years prior there have been many very interesting items every single week. Everything from knitting to robots (battlebots!) to things like this and more.

ChrisNorstrom 13y ago

It's sad that this is illegal. They're not doing anything wrong and it's their tax payer dollars that built those tunnels anyway. The depths of New York belong to the people. "But it's not safe". What is? In the USA 40,000 die each year from car accidents, 700+ children from drowning, 1 million+ from cancer and heart disease. If going down there wasn't illegal they'd be able to have lighting, security, and other safety measures to make it even more safe. (btw, this is totally the type of place that Stefon would suggest on SNL)

deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
- ChrisNorstrom 13y ago
  People fall into oncoming traffic everyday. Does that mean we need to build fences around every road? When will the babysitting end? At what point? Each human being is responsible for the risk they're willing to take. From driving to plastic surgery to crossing the street. This is no more risky than the deadly side effects of most of today's pharmaceutical concoctions.
  - dubfan 13y ago
    This is actually a pretty well-covered aspect of liability law. Each party has to take reasonable care to mitigate risk. It's not the kind of problem that you are making it out to be, and there's a huge body of case law establishing what is reasonable and what isn't.
jakejake 13y ago
If the city could make a buck off of it they'd have no problem. Problem being that once it's officially ok'd by the city - the city becomes liable for everything. Hell if anything happened to one of the partiers the city might be sued anyway for not sealing the place up.
dubfan 13y ago
It all comes down to who has liability when some drunk kid gets injured or killed in there. When it's illegal and difficult to access, the government has no reasonable expectation to keep it safe, and has no liability.

jborden13 13y ago

Reminds me of the parties thrown in the catacombs under Paris. Always wanted to do it. http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/02/world/europe/wus-france-catacombs-explorer http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/02/world/europe/wus-france-cataco...

saalweachter 13y ago

> "How do I get out?" she nervously asked. I followed her back up to the hatch, where some Agents did their best to calm her down, but firmly reminded her that no one would be allowed to leave until the end. She seemed a little upset, but I saw her later and it seemed that she'd happily embraced the Stockholm syndrome. I don't mind the trespassing so much, but activities without safe words aren't cool.

Alex3917 13y ago
"I don't mind the trespassing so much, but activities without safe words aren't cool." Consent goes both ways; if you're told beforehand that you're not going to be allowed to leave, then it's selfish to put everyone else at an increased legal risk that they didn't sign up for. "Buy the ticket, take the ride."
bigiain 13y ago
Ummmm, maybe. What's the "safe word" for an long (think international) flight? What's the safe word for a deep-enough-to-require-decompression scuba dive? What's the safe word for a roller coaster? A parachute jump? There are lots of things which, once embarked upon don't have any "easy" ways out apart from seeing them through to the end. From TFA "To remind you, this is an event with some legal and physical risks. If you are uncomfortable with these risks you should not attend. Really. Once the event begins you cannot leave for two hours." They made it clear enough - in my opinion. If you're the sort of person who needs a safe word for all your activities, you shouldn't attend that sort of event (or do any of many things which are hard or impossible to "back out of" once started).
- saalweachter 13y ago
  Fair point; there are some activities that it is simple not feasible to terminate at a moment's notice. But this wasn't one of them: standing between the woman and the end of a claustrophobia-induced panic attack wasn't the laws of nature but two goons scared of the legal consequences of their actions. Helluva difference. And remember, even if the woman knew in advance she was at least somewhat claustrophobic, the exact nature of the physical and legal risks were unknown: maybe the woman would have been fine if they had been climbing up ladders onto an abandoned rooftop instead of down ladders into an abandoned subway.

ChuckMcM 13y ago

Somebody has been reading "Pirate Cinema" (or perhaps Cory was just retelling this story in a fictional setting). I tried for a while to generate interest in a 'no code' sort of limited liability contract which was literally signed with a drop of blood which said "No one is liable for anything that happens to me at this event" that was enforceable in court. Building collapses and 500 die? Oh well. Someone goes ape shit on acid and shoots people, tough. You slipped on some vomit and broke two vertebrae and now cant walk, sucks to be you dude. The interesting bit for me has always been the contrast between people demanding that they should be allowed to throw parties like this, but then are unwilling to make themselves and no one else solely responsible for what happens. Of all the things Cory did explore in his excellent book (mostly a screed on big content types) I wish he had tackled that one too.

bigiain 13y ago
The Burningman ticket has for as long as I remember (at least as far back as '98) had words similar to "I voluntarily assume the risk of serious injury or death by attending this event". (We had tshirts made with the exact ticket wording in '01 or '02...)
- gaius 13y ago
  Right, but that is just hipster douchebags thinking it would be "edgy" to say that. One sniff of actual danger and they'll have Daddy come pick them up, or buy their way out with his credit card.
  - aeontech 13y ago
    There are certainly art installations every year that can maim or kill if you do something stupid. For that matter if you're stupid and wander off into the dust storm without water, you can easily get heat stroke. That doesn't mean going to burning man is "edgy and dangerous", it just means that's what you have to put on a ticket if you are organizing an event in litigation-happy USA.
    - 13y ago

littletables 13y ago

Yay, it's the Extra Action Marching Band - the dancers, drummers and horn players in the photos! (They evolved out of Crash Worship.)

bigiain 13y ago
Heh - I've got a picture somewhere of a friend of mine playing trumpet with Extra Action Marching Band with David Byrne. (And some insane stories about the Extreme Elvis tour of Vegas where they played the entire first Back Sabbath album).
100k 13y ago
Extra Action invaded RailsConf 2007 in Portland, leading to one of the most memorable shows I've ever been to. My friend says the Rails community bifurcated at that moment, split between those who thought it was awesome, and those who thought it was disruptive and unprofessional.

untog 13y ago

In case any New Yorkers are wondering, the party was held between Pell and Canal St, in a section of the subway that was created for the Second Ave Subway in the 70s, but will not be used in the one being built now (so, will likely never be used). And this is not confidential information: http://secondavenuesagas.com/2013/06/25/abandoned-sas-segment-party-prompts-nypd-inquiry/ http://secondavenuesagas.com/2013/06/25/abandoned-sas-segmen...

daegloe 13y ago
If you remain on the downtown 6 train after the last stop (Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall), you get a glimpse of the abandoned City Hall station [1] as the train turns around. This was one of the very first NYC subway stations to open in 1904! It's a beautiful piece of history. [2] [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_Hall_(IRT_Lexington_Avenue_Line) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_Hall_(IRT_Lexington_Avenue... [2] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWF3IDk9Gek http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWF3IDk9Gek

laumars 13y ago

This reminds me of some of the squat parties[1] that would happen in the UK (and particularly around London) in the 80s and 90s. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_party#Squat_Party http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_party#Squat_Party

versk 13y ago
Still happening, except they wouldn't last 2 hours like OP's story. I took an american colleague to a rave (in dublin) about a year ago and he was freaking out at the fact that you had to meet someone somewhere then get passed off to a few more people before you got there. "Its like the movies man!" Then we raved until 9 in the morning to some deep techno. There were no official photographers. I honestly thought NY would have a majorly active underground party scene.
- rdouble 13y ago
  NYC had a good scene through the 90s but gentrification and a bunch of legislation in the mid 2000s killed it.
- nicholassmith 13y ago
  I went to a warehouse rave in Manchester (because, well, par for the course), it involved calling a telephone helpline to get instructions, meeting someone who knew someone, then finally getting there. I agree, I thought NY still had a big party scene even if it wasn't necessarily built around dance music.
- laumars 13y ago
  > Still happening Not as much though. The police basically killed it completely come the beginning of the 00s. (though there's a chance that I'm now just completely out of the loop so oblivious to it all)
  - scrumper 13y ago
    Ah yes, the Criminal Justice Act. I think the law even has provisions about "repetitive beats." I seem to remember vaguely a techno track at the time that sampled some politician (Michael Howard, I think, the Home Secretary) reading that part of the bill. Memory is obviously a bit hazy. There are still raves in fields, but nothing like to the extent there used to be.

abalone 13y ago

Extra Action "crashed" a wedding I was at once. Everybody ended up in the pool (there was a pool). It was awesome. They had to drain the pool the next day. This one's a little too contrived and self-congratulatory for my tastes, though.

Wintamute 13y ago

A few too many brass instruments and costumed performers to be totally compatible with my idea of an illegal rave, but the venue looks fun!

lmm 13y ago
An illegal rave, like anything else, needs a lot of planning and organization to make it any good. The reality is that most things like this are set up by rich people with artistic pretensions (and often parents with connections in city hall), because they're the ones who can afford to take the risk. If you go to one that wasn't set up by rich people you get a much more low-key affair; if it's not marketed well enough it can easily degenerate into a handful of people drinking in the dark in an empty building. Which is fun in its own way (but wouldn't lend itself to bloggable photos).
- benjaminlhaas 13y ago
  I know some of the people involved in this affair, and I can assure you that they are far from rich or connected. The fact is, NYC has a vibrant, organized, motivated underground arts culture and community.

svantana 13y ago

I have attended events like this a few times in the Stockholm area, and although quality varies, I generally love it. I wish there was an easier way to organize and invite people to these types of events - maybe a kickstarter-like website? The tricky part is keeping authorities oblivious...