Hamptons Subway Signs New Subway Sandwiches Kiosk Deal

SCENE ON THE SUBWAY

Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos were seen getting on the subway at the westbound Southampton platform on Thursday. Our spotter asked where they were going and they waved and smiled.

WETLANDS PROBLEMS

The stop at Georgica, between East Hampton and Sagaponack, has been dripping water coming down from the ceiling ever since it was tunneled out back in 2018. Finally, now, the cause has been found. An employee at the East Hampton Town Environmental Department has discovered that the original excavation for this stop is directly under wetlands just inland from the western shores of Georgica Pond. Discussions are underway about what to do about this. It appears it may be necessary to tunnel out the station 20 feet further into the ground so it is way below the wetlands. This might necessitate the folks who use Georgica Station to take two escalator rides down to get to the platform rather than one. It will also, for those on the trains, be downhill approaching the station from either direction and uphill going the other way.

TORONTO?

Beginning Memorial Day weekend, straphangers will notice that two of our subway cars will say “Toronto Subway” on the side and will have maps inside the cars not of the Hamptons but of the City of Toronto.

It’s not very well known, in fact, we don’t like to mention it except on occasions like this when something requires an explanation, but for each of the last three years, Hamptons Subway has “borrowed” six subway cars from the Toronto Subway System for the 16 weeks of summer to beef up our fleet. The cars come down in mid-April and are repainted with our subway colors (sand and navy blue) and their interiors changed over in our Montauk Yards before they are put into service. Then they are repainted with the Toronto logos, etc.. etc., in September and sent back up there. Toronto does this for us for a fee, and they are able to do it because in the summertime, ridership drops off as people like being outside during the summer months since from October to April, the area is usually buried under 12 feet of snow.

In any case, this year we ordered six, but only later learned they had only sent down four and the people in the Montauk Yards working on them did not think to report this car shortage information to headquarters in Hampton Bays. And so, it will be only in the middle of May before they send the last two down, at which time they will immediately be needed to be put into service. And there will be no time to repaint them. So, no, when you first board one of them, you are not in Toronto getting on the wrong train. It’s just this little glitch.

SUBWAY CARDS WINDFALL

A strange thing has happened since we converted from tokens to swipe cards last year. Not all the swipes on each card are used. Apparently people buy the cards, then don’t use them much. In conversations with straphangers, we’ve learned that the cards are being purchased by tourists who, instead of using them, take them home as souvenirs as a reminder of their time in the Hamptons. Can you imagine? They come down to the platforms, buy the cards, then immediately go back up to the street. This is an unexpected windfall of cash for the subway. The old tokens did not have this cachet.

ROBBERY

A masked man stole everybody’s money on one of the subway cars out of Water Mill last Saturday night. This almost never happens because such robbers are so easy to catch. Immediately after the alarms went off, all subway police went to the tops of all the up escalators on the system in wait for this masked man. Within 10 minutes, he was apprehended as he came up the escalator in Quogue. Apparently, he figured that since he committed the crime in Water Mill heading east, he could get off in Bridgehampton and catch a train the other way going west and come up in Quogue. Wrong. He is currently in the Quogue lockup.

DOG LOST

A fluffy little 2-pound designer dog named Foofie has been lost on the subway. Its owner had the dog in a canvas bag, but it leaped out, skittered across the car floor, went out the sliding door just before it closed and ran off into the crowds on the East Hampton platform at 11 a.m. on Thursday. You are not supposed to bring dogs on the subway. The woman let off such a howl as the train headed out toward Amagansett and this is why. Subways do not have reverse. She is offering a $10,000 reward. Call Hamptons Subway at 611-489-9035. She has been fined $50.

COMMISSIONER BILL ASPINALL’S MESSAGE

I recently signed a renewal of our contract with the Subway restaurant chain so they will continue to be down there selling their sandwiches on the platforms for another year. I did ask, as many straphangers had asked me to, for them to put on their menu some of the fine soups that they sell, but I was informed that considering the jiggling of the trains as they go around the system, this might make a mess of things. They were quite right about this, keeping soup off their menu. I learn something new every day. But try the turkey and Brie sandwich. It’s my favorite and I highly recommend it.