Hamptons Subway Newsletter: Montauk Yard Graffiti Perps Sought

SEEN ON THE SUBWAY

Singer Roseanne Cash was seen humming a tune as she ordered a foot-long at the Subway food kiosk in Hampton Bays last Saturday night. Prognosticator Faith Popcorn was aboard an eastbound subway car Tuesday morning heading from Bridgehampton to Wainscott. She was carrying some sort of trophy.

Also on that train but in another car were Laurie Anderson and Cindy Sherman, who talked animatedly with each other, and another apparently lesser-known person who did not give her name.

IN BRIEF

Employee of the Week: Ben Harris, Union Chief, Maintenance Crew, Montauk Yard.

Delays: There will be numerous delays along the entire subway line for the next few days as the Department of Homeland Security does a thorough search of all the stations and lines.

Advisory: Officials from the federal Department of Transportation will be inspecting the new subway tunnel between Shinnecock and Sunrise for construction irregularities next Monday.

Wanted: German shepherd guard dogs. Will pay top dollar, depending upon the level of training. Call 631-4SUBWAY.

VANDALS GRAFFITI CARS. CLEANED IN A DAY.

The Hamptons Subway maintenance team working in the Montauk Subway Yard cleaned the spray-can graffiti that appeared in less than 12 hours on the side of all the subway cars last week.

“A few riders may have seen some subway cars all spray-painted on the morning of July 26,” Commissioner Bill Aspinall said. “But after that, the cars were all gleaming and shining like new again.”

The irregularities consisted of a security breach that occurred at the Montauk Subway Yard sometime between midnight and 6 a.m. on July 26, when unknown perpetrators picked the lock on the gate of the barbed-wire-topped chain-link fence that surrounds the yard, went inside with spray paint, and painted up the cars with phrases such as “Make America Pretty Good Again,” “Montauk Forever” and “Hipsters Go Home.”

The perpetrators were gone before the first shift of maintenance workers arrived at 6 a.m.

All the German shepherd guard dogs that keep the yard safe all night were missing. It is not clear when they got out, if they got out on their own or if they got out when the perpetrators came.

“At the present time, we have no suspects,” said Montauk Police Chief Joe Brendan. “But we do have clues. Two wooden paintbrushes were found at the site. Also a red women’s pocketbook. There are fingerprints on the empty spray cans. The spray cans were not on the premises before that night, nor were the two paintbrushes or the pocketbook.”

Maintenance people were called in from all other stations for this emergency, and the graffiti was scrubbed off the subway cars very quickly. The last graffiti was removed about 11 a.m.

Homeland Security agents have been called in to inspect the entire line to see if some of these perpetrators are still hiding somewhere on the line underground, a possibility since the yard entrance to the underground line is on the property. Also found in several storage rooms between the Montauk and Napeague station were cold pizza slices, empty soda cans and sushi boxes that bore a “good till July 22, 2023” warning, indicating there might have been people living in the storage rooms or at the very least partying there sometime in July.

COMMISSIONER ASPINALL’S MESSAGE

It was a dastardly, cowardly act that was perpetrated on the subway-riding public last week when persons unknown entered the subway grounds at Montauk. The extra overtime spent to remove the graffiti, of course, will have to be borne by the taxpayers. You can bet that we will leave no stone unturned until these criminals are brought to justice.

On the other hand, I want to compliment our maintenance crew on the speed with which this graffiti was removed under the direction of Union Chief Ben Harris. Harris has been selected as Employee of the Week. It is so noted at the start of this newsletter.

On another note, I want to allay public fears about the rumors that the Federal Transportation Authority will be shutting down the new Shinnecock to Sunrise Shuttle over construction irregularities. It is true that there is a little bump on this subway halfway between the two stations. The tunnels were built in a hurry from both ends to meet up in the middle. As it is a 6-mile total run, you might expect it might be a little off. I would not worry about it.

As for the German shepherd guard dogs that apparently got out during the spray painting of the trains in the Montauk Yard, I would like you to note that we are seeking replacements and hope to have the yard secured soon. We now have the yard manned 24 hours a day by regular employees, an assignment that might stretch our regular service thin, particularly at token-purchasing booths, but we will continue to man Montauk, paying overtime, until new dog replacements are found or justice is served.

In the meantime, look out for our German shepherds. They are probably off in the woods of Montauk somewhere. If you find them, do not approach them, as they are highly trained and quite fierce. Instead, call 631-4SUBWAY and we will pick them up.

The German shepherds look very much like all the German shepherds I saw in Montauk yesterday on leashes, prancing along with their masters. I’m told there has been a surge in the popularity of these wonderful dogs in recent days. I hadn’t been in Montauk in a while. It is good to see such happy dog owners with their pets. At least now you know what to look for.