Austin Celestin lined up below the elevated D train in Gravesend, Brooklyn, early on the morning of Friday, Oct. 9, hoping to take home a meaningful piece of the New York City subway.

Celestin was in line for the second day of the MTA’s Memorabilia & Collectible Pop-Up Shop. The annual event provides a rare opportunity for transit obsessives like himself to buy decommissioned pieces of the city’s transit system, such as station signs and the iconic orange and yellow train seats.

Subway enthusiasts checking out decommissioned station signs at the annual Memorabilia & Collectible Pop-Up Shop. Friday, Oct. 9, 2026.Photo by Lloyd Mitchell

Celestin came to the pop-up set on buying a sign from the 66 St-Lincoln Center 1 train station near where he grew up on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. While those signs ended up being too pricey for Celestin, he said he was able to nab a more affordable one from another familiar stop: the 59 St-Columbus Circle 1, A, B, C, and D station.

“I grew up taking the subway, I love taking the subway, and being able to have a piece of it, it’s a nice opportunity,” Celestin told amNewYork, while holding the sign he purchased, which once pointed straphangers to the station’s 58th Street exit and the uptown A, B, C, and D platform.

Austin Celestin standing with the sign that he purchased at the annual MTA Memorabilia and Collectible Pop-Up Shop event. Friday, Oct, 9, 2026.Photo by Lloyd Mitchell

“I couldn’t get the Lincoln Center sign; that’s where I grew up. And those signs were way way way too much [money],” he continued. “But Columbus Circle is a stop that I also use frequently…This is actually a sign that would be in an exit near where I would usually get off in the Time Warner Center. So, finding something of sentimental value also really strikes a chord.”

Celestin was just one of roughly 4,000 New Yorkers who line up each year outside the nondescript yard where the MTA holds the event to purchase a piece of New York City transit history.

While Celestin decided to secure a spot in the queue two hours before the pop-up opened its doors at 9:15 a.m. on Oct. 9, other transit buffs who attended it on Thursday began lining up as early as 10 p.m. the night before.

The line for the annual Memorabilia & Collectible Pop-Up Shop wrapped around the block outside of the Graves End, Brooklyn lot where its held on the morning of Friday, Oct. 9, 2026.Photo by Lloyd Mitchell

The long lines are partially due to the event’s limited nature. It is open once a year, over two days, for just a few hours each; it only allows patrons to buy items in person. No one may reserve times in advance.

But Paul Dovskin, the director of asset recovery and supply management at the MTA’s Department of Procurement, who runs the event, said the reason for its popularity is even simpler.

“There’s nothing more New York than the subway system; that’s just what it is” Dovskin said. 
Paul Dovskin, the director of asset recovery and supply management at the MTA’s Department of Procurement, who runs the agency’s annual Memorabilia & Collectible Pop-Up Shop. Friday, Oct. 9, 2026.Photo by Lloyd Mitchell

However, Dovskin said that even though the MTA has been selling surplus inventory for 30 years, the pop-up format is still relatively new.

“Five years ago an idea was born to hold a garage sale of sorts and to let people just come in and purchase these items in person,” Dovskin said. “It just ended up being significantly more popular than we ever thought it would be. And then the idea was born. And since then, every year we’ve been holding this event.”

The MTA sells an average of 2,200 items at the event each year, based on the last two years, according to the agency.

Dovskin said the inventory comes from pieces of the transit system that MTA crews gather and store in shipping containers on the site throughout the year. Those include signage that has been replaced, parts of out-of-service train cars — such as seats and poles, MetroCards, and much more.

Rows of decommissioned subway station signs on sale at the MTA’s annual pop-up shop event. Friday, Oct. 9, 2026.Photo by Lloyd Mitchell

This year, Dovskin said, MetroCard signs, the orange and yellow seats from decommissioned R46 subway cars, and the logos from those trains have been among the most popular items.

When it comes to the seats, Dovskin said people find all sorts of uses for them.

“Some people just put them in their living rooms, or in their kitchens,” he said. “There’s also bar owners and pizzeria owners who want to create that transit … Lots of different stories, lots of different ideas. You know, man caves, basements, stuff like that.”

Rows of the iconic orange and yellow subway seats being sold by the MTA. Friday, Oct. 9, 2026.Photo by Lloyd Mitchell

But a set of three used subway seats at the event goes for $1,000, while sets of two new seats cost $900 and two used seats cost $650. Most items cost somewhere in the hundreds of dollars, though some, such as MetroCards, maps, and poles, cost less than $100.

Another transit aficionado, Ted Sands, said that while he would like to attend the event next year, he may not because of the prices.

“It’s expensive, that’s the only part that’s intense,” Sands said. He was able to find a station sign for Pacific Street, near where he used to live.
Subway enthusiast Ted Sands holds up a sign he bought at the MTA’s annual pop-up shop event. Friday, Oct. 9, 2026.Photo by Lloyd Mitchell

Dovskin said there are a number of factors that go into how the MTA determines the prices.

“With the station signs, a lot depends on the size of the signs, the material it’s made of, the lettering,” he said. “And obviously the geographical location or historical significance of the sign.”

Among the event’s many attendees was Spike Lee, the director of classic films like”Do the Right Thing” and “Malcolm X” and a noted New York Knicks superfan. True to form, Lee bought a sign from the 34 Street Penn Station subway — the stop for Madison Square Garden, where the 2025-26 NBA Champion Knicks play.

When asked by amNewYork why he came out to the pop-up shop, Lee simply said: “I’m a collector.”
Director Spike Lee holding the 34 St-Penn Station sign he bought at the MTA pop-up shop. Friday, Oct. 9, 2026.Photo by Lloyd Mitchell

Michelle Pillepich said she was drawn to the event by seeing a subway sign hanging in her friend’s apartment.

“I don’t even know if she got it here,” Pillepich said. “I don’t know if it was stolen or what, but I’ve always thought it was so cool.”

Similar to other shoppers, Pillepich came in with an idea of what she wanted to buy.

“I used to live on the Upper East Side, and I always took the Q train,” she said. “So anything Q would be cool. But I’m kind of just looking for whatever looks fun and iconic New York.”

Transit obsessives buy MTA memoribilia at pop-up shop event in Graves End, Brooklyn. Friday, Oct. 9, 2026.Photo by Lloyd Mitchell