Bringing New Life to Empty Subway Shops

New York Times—Newsstands and other shops, the ghosts of a thriving economy, haunt New York City’s subway system. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has about 100 empty plots of real estate, many awkwardly shaped and lacking proper electricity, gas or plumbing.

The M.T.A. wanted to give them new life, and in 2023, created the Vacant Unit Activation Program, inviting artists and nonprofit organizations to take over.

Janno Lieber, the head of the M.T.A., said inspiration came in part from the positive reaction to other art installations in the transit system. “What we wanted to do is to create activity and interest and fun in places where people are lingering or just passing by,” he said in an interview.

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Barbara Anderson, a founder of the nonprofit Art on the Ave, found the space she leased — sandwiched between the turnstiles and tracks — entirely blackened with grime and soot. She cleaned it up and transformed it into a center for musicians and D.J.s called the Soundboot with hand-me-down orange carpet on the floor and lined with a mural created by the Brooklyn artist Manuel Alejandro

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