WEST HARLEM, Manhattan (WABC) — When there is baking, summer heat, New York City’s No. 1 train is “number one,” for all the wrong reasons.<\/p>\n
The train line has gotten the most complaints for being too hot – more than any other line in the city.<\/p>\n
If you think it’s broiling topside, at least up there’s a breeze, but underground, you’re trapped in the heat.<\/p>\n
At the 137th Street station in West Harlem, riders did whatever they could to survive.<\/p>\n
They used battery powered fans, giant manual fans and even a piece of paper was called into action… not that any of it made a difference.<\/p>\n
“I feel so much heat down here. Like I’ve never,” one rider said.<\/p>\n
“When it’s crowded, it’s kind of the worst because I feel like I can’t whip this out. We feel like sardines a little bit,” said another rider.<\/p>\n
No. 1 train riders come prepared because in the past five years there have been nearly 3,000 complaints for no air conditioning on this line. That’s more than double the next closest competitor.<\/p>\n
Coming in second place was the No. 6 train with almost 1,200 complaints.<\/p>\n
“Extreme heat is the top weather-related death emergency that we have in our city,” Mayor Eric Adams said.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, at the Office of Emergency Management in Brooklyn, City Hall is coordinating with Con Edison.<\/p>\n
Officials are asking customers to conserve electricity to avoid a brown out or black out.<\/p>\n
“These are really, really critical steps that you can take to help protect the grid that’s important for protecting our critical infrastructure, our nursing homes, our hospitals, our schools to make sure that we don’t have any of those impacts around the city,” said OEM Commissioner Zach Iscol.<\/p>\n
As for the trains, MTA crews are out with temperature guns to check air conditioners.<\/p>\n
When a car is above 73 degrees it’s taken out of service.<\/p>\n
An MTA spokesperson pointed out many of the complaints were about the same car, and in a statement, added that “complaints dropped 21% last year from the year before.”<\/p>\n
The statement goes on to say that “subway air conditioners are regularly checked and when they fail, usually on a decades-old car, they get fixed.”<\/p>\n
But No. 1 train riders say the MTA is struggling to keep up.<\/p>\n
“In the summer it’s awful. You can’t be inside, you can’t breathe,” one rider said.<\/p>\n
The MTA says the current capital plan includes funding for 1,500 subway cars which will replace the fleet’s oldest cars and come equipped with modern HVAC systems.<\/p>\n
———-<\/p>\n
* Get Eyewitness News Delivered<\/a><\/strong> <\/p>\n * More Manhattan news<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n * Send us a news tip<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n * Download the abc7NY app for breaking news alerts<\/a><\/strong> <\/p>\n * Follow us on YouTube<\/a><\/strong> <\/p>\n
Submit a tip or story idea to Eyewitness News<\/p>\n