The Subway Social Club: New Yorkers Still Like to Talk
A club that believes the NYC subway is essential to the city’s survival.
by Rommel Ojeda
Back in December Claire Feuer boarded the A train at 175th Ave. It was a quiet trip downtown after returning from New Jersey. As the train departed, Feuer noticed the silence inside the train more than usual. She was one of four other passengers — and though they shared the same destination, they were unaware of one another.
Two stops later, Feuer smiled and waved at the person in front of her — “Why does nobody talk? Is this normal?” She asked. The stranger, whose name is Domingo, answered amiably with a simple “No.”
The question railed in the attention of other passengers, Feuer turned to Monica, the person next to her, and asked the same question. Eventually, others joined in, like Trivine, who she describes as an encyclopedia of all topics.
By the end of the ride, Feurer, 28, senior purchasing manager at Public Goods, had met someone who is opening a music business in Manhattan, a person missing the warm weather of the Dominican Republic, and someone homesick away from their family also in the Caribbean.
These types of scenarios seem unusual in a city that is often known for its unrivaled tempo. Whether it is described by the seas of people strolling the iconic streets of the city that never sleeps, or the yellow blur of cabs transporting New Yorkers to and from their jobs, New York City’s vivacity is uncontested. With such reputation comes the notorious belief that New Yorkers are always too busy to stop and talk.
“They say New Yorkers are so unfriendly, but I think like, real New Yorkers will love to tell you, will love to talk your head off. You just kind of have to know what to ask and when to ask it and where to ask it. And I think the subway, because of its diversity can be the place where… a lot of diverse people come together and a lot of communication happens,” Feuer said during a video interview.
Growing up in New York City she spent most of her childhood riding the subway. She recalls using it for everything: going to school, visiting friends, family, and anywhere else where the train could take her. During those rides she also remembered seeing different people, different faces with one thing in common — no one would ever talk. This is where her curiosity and her background in anthropology sparked an idea years later in 2019.
“I’ve always been very interested in meeting new people. And I thought the subway could be a great place to do that. So I did a little experiment… I just basically went up to people and tried to talk to them. And it was kind of astounding how many people were open to chatting and connecting,” added Feurer.
What resulted from this experiment was the Subway Social Club — a club whose mission is to “infuse discovery and delight back into the subway system” by initiating conversations and connections with other passengers. All you have to do is wear a peculiar subway-map-pin with the name of the club cursively written on top of it whenever you want to meet someone new and start a conversation.
The club officially launched in 2020 right before the pandemic appended the lives of all New Yorkers during the peak. But even the pandemic could not stop the subway talk.
Over the last year, it has grown from 120 members to 1200. Many members are natives of the city, but numerous others ordered pins from states like Florida, Texas, and New Jersey.
The club’s Instagram account is a repertoire of stories of the passengers encountered while riding the subway. Beneath the photos are captions with the handles of the riders in the picture and a detailed description of the meeting along with the date.
“When I ride the trains I always look at people and wonder what their jobs and their stories are. With the subway social club, this helps me have the chance to connect with new people,” says Arif Bacchus, a recent member of the club who is looking forward to striking conversations with people when he starts riding the train more often.
Though Feuer acknowledges and respects that people sometimes just want to ride the subway alone, she gives tips on how to start conversations on the club’s Instagram account. She mentions that curiosity plays a big role — and complimenting a person’s outfit can go a long way.
One of her favorite memories is when she met an 80-year-old German chemist. “She had this scarf of the periodic table, so I commented on it,” Feuer said. She recalls thinking that the woman did not want to speak to her — her eyes were unreadable. But then the woman began telling the story behind the scarf, why she wore it, how it related to her profession, and the guilt she felt behind creating plastics. There are numerous stories similar to this one on the Instagram account.
When the pandemic ceases to dictate social distancing Feuer plans to schedule workshops in the subway. An example would be teaming up members and having them go for a ride, or have them approach strangers to start a conversation. Eventually, she wants to get more people involved so that more stories can go up on the club’s Instagram and website.
“I think for New Yorkers it’s about embodying what it means to be in New York, too, right? Like what sets New York apart is the diversity and people coming together. Sure, the infrastructure is great, but you can also go to Paris, you go to other cities. [But] it’s the most New York experience to be able to talk with people from different backgrounds, and to share your knowledge and love for your city,” she said.
