LOWER EAST SIDE — A self-proclaimed "guerilla historian" who claims to have taken an unsanctioned trip through an abandoned section of subway beneath the Bowery has posted a video of his adventure to share the experience with curious New Yorkers.
Steve Duncan of Undercity posted a video on MyBlockNYC.com, in which he narrates his experience of touring a defunct portion of the Bowery J train station "without consent or permits from the New York City Transit Authority."
Duncan — whose illicit adventures have led him through derelict subway stations, underground sewers and the very top of the Williamsburg Bridge — took the excursion with cinematographer Andrew Wonder through the Bowery station’s now-closed west mezzanine, according to Bowery Boogie.
He says in the video that he's encountering train tracks that haven't been traversed by passenger cars for about 40 years, and then ends his tour by emerging on the platform at the Second Avenue F train station.
In another viral video Duncan and Wonder posted online, Duncan describes his fascination with exploring the city’s unseen infrastructure, despite the danger it poses. The video has gotten 1 million views since it was posted in January.
“Here in New York, nobody really seems to understand why I want to see these amazing structures,” Duncan said. “It kind of makes me sad that there’s so much suspicion around just appreciating the city.”
The MTA, however, does not look kindly on such rogue adventures.
"Trespassing into non-public areas of the New York City subway system is both dangerous and against the law," an MTA spokesman said. "It is just not smart for anyone to put themselves at risk by venturing into areas that are clearly not designed for, or intended for the use of the public."
