Retired NYC subway cars have it good. A few hours ago, I would’ve guessed quite the opposite. I would’ve guessed that, like most relatively large hunks of metal, expired subway cars meet their making in the form of being melted down or scrapped for parts in some foreign country, only to come back in a far less transportive or humanly-helpful form. As of today, I can tell you that this is false — and in the best way possible.
In the photo gallery above, you will find the innovative process that breathes new life and purpose into NYC’s retired subway cars. Let’s just say it involves being dropped into the sea, resting on the ocean floor and ultimately creating a unique ecosystem for sea-life that would otherwise be roaming and searching for food in the deep dark depths as wildlife would be in a dry, barren desert.
Kudos to the NYC for taking on this creative and eco-friendly initiative. And an even greater kudos to photographer Stephen Mallon for providing photographic evidence that this is in fact not some type of thoughtless, wasteful practice, and instead, an awesome + visually stunning reuse effort.
