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Since when is 47th Street-50th Street Rockefeller Center the "Top of the Rock." Since conductors began to mention the observation deck after Tishman Speyer approached the MTA in a bid to tout the recently reopened facility atop 30 Rockefeller Plaza. The Daily News broke the story, reporting that Tishman wanted the station to be essentially rechristened, but MTA Chairman Peter Kalikow instead came up with a compromise: Have the conductors mention the observation deck.
And mention it they must. Says the News: The "Top of the Rock" directive, however, came as an official TA bulletin signed by the top subway manager, which conductors said was unprecedented. And supervisors have been posted on the Rockefeller Center station platforms for the last two days to enforce the order.
The whole thing strikes us as unseemly. The MTA argues that conductors sometimes point out worthy places to visit, but Top of Rock is hardly a civic institution like, say, any of New York's great museums. We'd rather the conductor tout the nearby MoMA than Top of the Rock, as much as we like the observation deck and are happy more of this important building is open to the public.
Here's a link to Gothamist's coverage, where an interesting conversation began on favorite subway conductors. Back in the early 1990s, our favorite was a fellow on the 1/9 who would share a tidbit of history about each stop.
-- Rolando Pujol
