All aboard at the New York Transit Museum

DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN — JODI SHAPIRO, CURATOR of the New York City Transit Museum, located in a decommissioned 1936 subway station at 99 Schermerhorn St., recently spoke to the Brooklyn Eagle about the museum’s unique exhibits, her job as a curator and what makes Brooklyn special.

Shapiro has been curator since 2016 and said that while there are many things that make the New York Transit Museum unique, the biggest is that parts of their collection are not just on display, they move. “Our fleet of historic subway cars and buses still operates, and visitors can actually ride them beyond the museum walls,” Shapiro said.

The Transit Museum opened on July 4, 1976, as part of the United States’ Bicentennial celebrations and was originally intended to only be open through that summer. According to Shapiro, it was so popular that it remained open indefinitely, and eventually became the New York Transit Museum that is known today.

Popular exhibits include: “Moving the Millions” (historic train cars), “FAREwell MetroCard” (about the end of MetroCards), and “On the Streets” (buses & trolleys history).

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