Earl Johnson drives his Checker cab into history in Times Square back in 1999. (Ari Mintz/Newsday)
You wouldn't be blamed for thinking that a Checker cab that was auctioned off for $134,500 in 1999 would go for at least that much today -- especially since it was the last one to leave service. But "Janie" went for less than a tenth of that price on Sunday at Christie's. Earl Johnson, a former owner who sold the cab for those big bucks back in '99, asked in the New York Post why this piece of New Yorkiana sold for a mere $9,400. Good question, considering that years ago, more mundane Checkers sold for much more.
The Checkers slowly vanished after production ended in the early 1980s. Too bad an authentic-looking Checker with modern insides isn't the TLC standard. New York could learn a thing or two from London.
In other news ...
* The Daily News revisits a woman's subway-track death in April. Police say she was walking between cars and fell onto the tracks. Her family says it wasn't in her nature to take that kind of risk.
* More on PSP action in the subway.
* The Philadelphia Inquirer looks at what could become a less costly rail alternative for those traveling between Philly and NYC.
-- Rolando Pujol
