116398, then by hand, 117403, 117408, 117413, in Borough Hall station, a pattern, some of the metadata of New York.

December 1st, 2013, 6pm

I noticed these numbers while waiting for my train. 117403… 408… 413 were a clear series, so I started to walk up and down the tracks to see if the pattern continued. It does, and while I couldn’t say much more about it, I enjoyed the clue to the details that make the subway system work. Perhaps 117,408 is number of feet along the track? That’s 22 miles, which seems reasonable if the 0 is up in the Bronx around Wakefield. Then again, perhaps it’s an indicator of something else entirely, and I am discerning false information from a simple coincidence.


Kristen, Cassie and David Wade said thanks.

Share this moment

Jacob Nadal

Often described as a librarian, an archivist, or a preservationist, I was raised in the Pacific Northwest by coyotes and secular humanists, but after sojourns in Los Angeles and Indiana, I have settled into a home orbit around New York.

Other moments in New York

Create a free account

Have an account? Sign in.

Sign up with Facebook

or